On the heels of the disclosure of GoPro, Inc.’s GPRO video editing software debut, CEO Nicholas Woodman has now amazed investors with the news of some innovative product launches being on the cards. The company is now foraying into the air-born equipment market, with its own quadcopter drone to be launched in the first half of 2016. Alongside, GoPro announced a six-camera spherical array in alliance with tech-giant Google Inc. GOOG that is in its pipeline.
Investors rejoiced, following this news, as evident from the approximate 6.6% rise in GoPro’s shares on May 28.
Portrayed as “the ultimate GoPro accessory”, CEO Woodman didn’t provide any information on the specifications or price of the Quadcopter drone. However, as per the market speculations, the drone could cost between $500 – $1,000. Although GoPro will launch its own drones now, it confirmed the continuation of providing its cameras to drone makers.
Drones are anticipated to take over the world in the future, by minimizing human workload. Drone deliveries are among the several initiatives taken by the e-Commerce giant to help control the rising shipping costs and take on brick-and-mortar retailers. They can deliver packages to consumers in 30 minutes. While some of these drones are small enough to fit in a child’s palm, others are as massive as jumbo jets. These can be programmed to perform various tasks ranging from surveillance, agriculture, pizza delivery, extreme photography to rescue operations.
It is interesting to note that GoPro is expanding its foothold in the thriving drone market. However, the company needs to be wary of the rising competition in this space. Earlier this year, Nixie came up with a flyable drone that can shoot images. Also, industry giants like Amazon.com AMZN is making its presence felt in the dynamic world of robotics, thus increasing competition for GoPro.
On the other hand, to actualize its dream of transforming into a “content maker” firm, GoPro took its big leap into virtual space with the plan of a virtual reality camera system. This ball-shaped device, which will use Google’s software, will combine six GoPro’s HERO cameras placed at different angles to shoot 360 degree high-resolution pictures and video. Further, users can unite the captured images and videos via Kolor app– the virtual reality software bought by GoPro last month. The created single spherical image can be seen on PCs, smartphones as well as virtual reality handsets like Google Cardboard, Microsoft MSFT HoloLens and Oculus Rift.
We view the transformation of GoPro from the camera maker to content maker as a strategic fit amid the emergence of spherical media. Notably, this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock is currently highly focusing on media software advancement and has increased its spending on these by over 100%. Such a business strategy nullifies the risks associated with operating in a single market and promises strong growth prospects.
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