Preorders For HTC Vive Accepted On February 29

The HTC Vive is set to be released into the market and consumers can preorder the device starting on February 29 through htcvive.com. The first batch of VR kits will be delivered by April. However, the specific date has yet to be announced by the company.

The price tag of the device is at $799, which is $200 higher than the Oculus Rift. The VR kit will feature a head-mounted display with a built-in camera, a break-out box where everything is plugged, a pair of wireless base stations, and two wireless VR controllers. The position and motion-tracked controllers along with the ability to track users are they walk around the room sets it apart from the Oculus Rift.

While the device is expensive, Valve and HTC said it offer a complete VR experience.

Preorders For HTC Vive Accepted On February 29 - image credit: en.wikipedia.org

The HTC Vive is an enhanced version of the “Vive Pre” that was displayed at the CES. Even though they have a similar appearance, the new device offers better ergonomics and an integrated microphone. The headset features an enhanced strap and two swappable gaskets that rest on the face. The Vive can also be connected to a phone allowing users to receive texts, calls and notifications while wearing it.

The VR kit also features two games, Job Simulator and Fantastic Contraption. The Vive can be compared to the Xbox One when it was released into the market. The game console was sold by Microsoft at a higher price, indicating that Kinect was an essential component to the whole experience. The company also did not want to alienate anyone in the developer community.

Despite this parallelism, it should be taken into account that the HTC Vive provides users the capability of naturally manipulating objects, which is not similar to the importance of Kinect to the games for the Xbox One.

Posted by Melanie Mendoza on Friday February 26 2016, 10:26 AM EDT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Shopping. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0