Hololens, Oculus Rift have a Chinese rival in Letv

CHINA: Letv, so-far known for running an online video service by the same name in China, is branching out into virtual reality (VR). The company is getting ready to sell its own VR headset, dubbed LeVR Cool 1, which just passed the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) which regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable.

Virtual reality (VR) used to be one of those things that people talked about in the same breath as sci-fi and it definitely tests the frontiers of our imagination. Today, however, it is becoming a new reality. Since Facebook bet on VR with Oculus Rift, there have been other tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, Sony, Samsung and HTC that have announced their own headsets at different price points to bring the VR universe to life.

From the looks of it, Letv’s headset seems to be similar to Google’s Cardboard VR headsets. Users have to use their own phones as displays, with the headset itself functioning as enhanced lenses. The difference is that the LeVR headset comes with straps, which should make it easier to wear it for a longer period of time. Also, it looks like the company is set to sell it in combination with a simple Bluetooth input device, adds an announcement.

Letv has been making its own hardware in China for some time. The company began by producing its own TV sets, which offered access to Letv’s streaming services. This year, it added Android-based phones to its hardware line-up.

Additionally, earlier this month, Letv announced the hire of Eric Mika as senior VP of open ecosystems, strategic alliances and partnerships, a key role for the Chinese company as it steps up its global expansion. It has also acquired 70 per cent stock shares of Yi Dao Car Services, a transportation network company similar to Uber, apparently making Letv the largest shareholder of Yi Dao Car Services, which was founded in 2010 and currently holds 17.5 percent of China's car-hailing services market.

The company explains how for Letv’s electric vehicle business unit, the acquisition completes the company's electric car strategy after it established cooperation with Aston Martin and BAIC Motor and invested in a string of upstream and downstream companies.

Letv's founder Jia Yueting also confirmed the news on his social media account. "After establishing cooperation with Aston Martin and BAIC Motor and investing in DZ company (a leading charging pole infrastructure company), this strategic investment in Yidao Car Services means Letv has completed its mapping in the internet-based smart electric car industry, including fields like R&D, manufacturing, sales, auto-network, charging infrastructure, after-sales, car-sharing and public running and so on."

Jia revealed Letv’s electric car ambition last December by introducing the SEE (Super Electric Eco-system) project.