This will be the first Vive headset available to the general public
HTC has launched a consumer edition of its Vive virtual reality headset which it claims will change the virtual reality market.
The new device features updates absent from the Vive Pre unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 5. The Vive Pre was only available to select app developers, and not the general public.
HTC claims a feature called ‘Vive Phone Service’ will set a new standard in virtual reality. The service allows users to connect their smartphone to the headset, letting them to respond to calls, receive and reply to text messages and check upcoming calendar invites through the headset.
The controllers feature haptic feedback and front-facing cameras, which capture and add outlines of real-world objects into the headset’s screen.
The device is priced at $799 (£564), but no exact UK pricing has been released yet. Global pre-orders begin on February 29, with shipments being sent out early April.
Two virtual reality games will be shipped out with the headset for a limited time only. This includes ‘Job Simulator,’ a game where you play as a robot acting out various human jobs and ‘Fantastic Contraption,’ which places you on an island in the sky to build machines.
