A quick brush with the HTC Vive at the HTC Global HQ

We have just arrived at the HTC Global HQ in New Taipei City, an industrial suburb of the Taiwanese capital. The comparison is almost bang on. This striking landmark has been HTC's global power centre since 2012, the year the company turned 15. It was also the year that the company's drawing boards would have been filled with the HTC One, the Android smartphone that Apple might have been proud to build.

The HTC One was not quite the blockbuster HTC had planned; it might have been the slight delay in reaching the market (by which time its competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S4 had already cashed in) or the ultrapixel camera - the jury is still out on that. 

There is an imposing sculpture at the entrance; it is part of one of Taiwan's most famous art series - the Taichi sculptures by Ju Ming. The pose is symbolic; it is the lowest Taichi pose you can strike. A subtle reminder that despite business lows you still have to pick up yourself and get back in the game. It's probably what happened with the HTC One M8, the company's 2014 flagship that built on that all-aluminium, slinky build and performed significantly better than its predecessor.

That's not the only art in the large foyer, there's an art gallery too where the art on display is refreshed periodically. There are about 2,000 employees who work in this building and art is meant to be a constant source of creative inspiration. The building is all-white and designed creatively - there are a series of inter-connecting walkways that crisscross through the atrium design. It is meant to ensure a constant exchange of ideas between different departments and teams in an office environment where cabins and closed spaces are a no-no. There are a few exceptions though. Like HTC's COO David Chen; but it is all glass. He is a busy man who also keeps one eye on product development and HTC has at least two major new product lines that are at an advanced stage of development.

The first might have been the reason why there's a surprise visit by Bollywood Star John Abraham, who has just been named HTC brand evangelist for India. The company's smartwatch is expected to have a strong fitness slant and a major fitness brand is also involved. It will arrive at the end of the year. Another Taiwanese brand - ASUS, has just launched its second smartwatch – The VivoWatch, aimed at the fitness segment. Chen believes the smartwatch segment is still evolving.

The second product is what I'm more excited about - HTC's first stab at the ever evolving VR (Virtual Reality) segment. After much prodding I'm allowed a demo. The designer is clearly not impressed; he allows me into the test zone only once I shed my mobile camera and strap on a device that looks somewhat like the Oculus. It was at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that HTC revealed Vive. While other VR early movers are mostly about a 'stationary' virtual reality, Vive takes this to another level by allowing you to walk around. 

HTC boasts that the Vive features a  1,200 by 1,080 pixel screen in front of each eye, with refresh rates of a blistering 90 frames per second displaying photorealistic imagery that fills your field of vision in all directions, eliminating the jitter common to previous VR technologies, and transporting you to another world.

I get a few sneak peeks. First I'm in the ocean surrounded by fish and I am waving a stick – one of the Ergonomic VR controllers, that has the fish scurrying for cover. Unreal! Next I'm in a medieval game; I suddenly feel like Gulliver, all the action figures around me are pint-sized. The designer saves the best for last - a virtual kitchen of sorts where I’m assembling desserts. A gyrosensor, accelerometer, and laser position sensor combine to precisely track the rotation of your head on both axes to an accuracy of 1/10th of a degree, allowing you to look around the virtual environment naturally. The possibilities are endless.

Chen has set the year-end as a deadline for his production team for Vive. This could mean that the product hits the shelves by Q1, 2016. Faisal Siddiqui, HTC's South Asia head and Chialin Chang (President - Global Sales) reiterate that the Vive will reach India almost simultaneously. 'India is one of our three biggest markets. We are also setting up a small assembly unit that could see small volumes by the year-end' India will also see the delayed debut of the HTC One M9 within a month. HTC launched the HTC One M9 Plus instead of the M9 in India; but the launch of the M9 is evidence of a change of tactics. I run into a couple of UI designers on my way out; they haven't seen the Vive yet and I can spot the envy in their eyes. They want to know if I clicked images of the Vive; the smiles return once they figure that I haven't managed the pictures. HTC will hope that the smiles get bigger come 2016 when the Vive and the smartwatch go on sale. And then there's the One M10 too.