SAN JOSE, Calif. & SHANGHAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Immersion Corp. (NASDAQ: IMMR), the leading developer and licensor of touch feedback technology, today announced that it has signed a license agreement with Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Company Limited (Tencent) to bring creative tactile effects to Tencent’s instant messaging application, QQ, and its live-streaming platform, NOW. By using Immersion’s TouchSense® technology, Tencent has delivered next-generation interactive experiences to its mobile QQ and NOW applications.
Immersion has created a number of different tactile effects that provide interactive features and capabilities for inclusion in the mobile versions of the QQ and NOW applications. These capabilities enhance mobile communications with the sense of touch, as users send touch-enabled, animated messages to each other in addition to simple text and pictures. For example, a QQ user feels a “flutter” sensation when a loved one sends her a cascade of hearts. For NOW users, when virtual gifts (for example a rocket, airplane or torpedo) are given remotely by fans, both fans and the live host can simultaneously experience associated haptics on their mobile phones. With Immersion’s TouchSense technology, these sensations are rich, immersive and multi-sensory, making the conversation and interaction engaging and memorable.
“Heightening the interactive experience with tactile effects makes social media and live streaming content more meaningful,” said Liu Shuo, Managing Director of Greater China region, Immersion. “We not only see characters and icons in our text and image messages on QQ or NOW, we now feel the emotion associated with these person-to-person messages. That is powerful.”
TouchSense Technology Enhances User Experience
TouchSense technology allows device manufacturers, content creators and software developers to design high-quality, power-efficient, tactile effects that enhance mobile device user interfaces, apps and entertainment content. Immersion’s TouchSense software includes haptic software and design framework, integration tools, reference guides, and UX design services and support. More information on TouchSense technology can be found at www.immersion.com.
Immersion Demonstrates Haptics at NOW Live Event and QQ JOY
Immersion and Tencent first demonstrated their technical cooperation at "Now & Future," the Tencent Live NOW annual celebration event this summer. As one of the three invited partners, Immersion showed how haptics enhances the user experience on the Tencent NOW Live broadcasting platform. In a visual room Immersion created especially for haptic live broadcasting, fans and hosts experienced the impact of touch effects when virtual gifts enhanced with Immersion’s technology were presented. Immersion has also attracted a large number of fans at Tencent’s QQ JOY X-dim Festival in Chengdu as it demonstrated virtual gifts with haptics in its custom “Touch NOW” demo area.
About Immersion
Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ: IMMR) is the leading innovator of touch feedback technology, also known as haptics. The company provides technology solutions for creating immersive and realistic experiences that enhance digital interactions by engaging users’ sense of touch. With more than 2,500 issued or pending patents, Immersion's technology has been adopted in more than 3 billion digital devices, and provides haptics in mobile, automotive, advertising, gaming, medical and consumer electronics products. Immersion is headquartered in San Jose, California with offices worldwide. Learn more at www.immersion.com.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of Immersion Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
All statements, other than the statements of historical fact, are statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the benefits of Immersion's technology and Tencent’s use of Immersion technology in the QQ and NOW applications.
Immersion's actual results might differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with Immersion's business, which include, but are not limited to: unanticipated difficulties and challenges encountered in product development efforts by Immersion and its licensees (including Tencent); unanticipated difficulties and challenges encountered in implementation efforts by Immersion's licensees; adverse outcomes in any future intellectual property-related litigation and the costs related thereto; the effects of the current macroeconomic climate; delay in or failure to achieve adoption of or commercial demand for Immersion's products or third party products incorporating Immersion's technologies; and a delay in or failure to achieve the acceptance of touch feedback as a critical user experience. Many of these risks and uncertainties are beyond the control of Immersion.
For a more detailed discussion of these factors, and other factors that could cause actual results to vary materially, interested parties should review the risk factors listed in Immersion's most current Form 10-K, and Form 10-Q, both of which are on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this press release reflect Immersion's beliefs and predictions as of the date of this release. Immersion disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements as a result of financial, business, or any other developments occurring after the date of this release.
Immersion and the Immersion logo are trademarks of Immersion Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
(IMMR - C)
