What can we tell you about the upcoming HTC Vive consumer release based on this video? Well…it’s black.
Seriously though, The HTC Vive will be sold for $799 (AKA $800) and has been further enhanced with Bluetooth connectivity for your smartphone so you can take phone calls in VR. Similar to the previous editions, it features two positionally tracked hand controllers, a front facing camera so you don’t bump into things in the real world, and two lighthouse trackers.
I admit to being a bit old school in that smartphone minutes can add up and be expensive. If there is a way to make and receive voice calls through Skype or a similar WIFI service, then we’ve got a winner on our hands. There is indeed a lot of potential with that.
Now before everyone jumps the fence between HTC and Oculus in either direction, it’s important to not be so quick to gravitate towards Oculus’ $600 price tag for the $200 savings. Once you add in a pair of Oculus Touch devices with camera to be released later this year, and then factor in the additional shipping charge for ordering items separately…it’s highly likely that the two brands will be equally matched for gobbling up our hard earned VR dollar.