Smartphone vendor HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday announced that preorders for its first virtual-reality (VR) headset, the HTC Vive, are to be bundled with Google’s VR painting application, Tilt Brush.
The Vive is to be sold at US$799 in the US and NT$28,288 in Taiwan, according to the international pricing announced by HTC and US video game company Valve Corp, joint developers of the headset.
Preorders were to begin in Taiwan at 11pm yesterday and individual customers can buy only one unit.
The preorder bundle includes real-life simulation game Job Simulator, building game Fantastic Contraption and Tilt Brush, which allows users to paint in 3D in the space around them, the companies said.
The bundle is to be available for a limited time and shipping is to begin on April 5, they said.
INTERACTION
The HTC Vive features a head-mounted display and tracked controllers, allowing wearers to inspect objects from every angle and interact with their surroundings in virtual reality.
It includes a headset, a front-facing camera that blends physical elements into the virtual world, room scale movement sensors and two wireless controllers with haptic feedback and dual stage triggers.
A “Vive Phone Services” feature also allows users to receive and make calls, receive and send text messages and check calendar invites through the headset.
Initially, the HTC Vive is to be available in 24 countries: Taiwan, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland and Sweden, according to the companies.
SMARTWATCH
In addition to releasing its first VR headset, HTC is reportedly preparing to launch its first smartwatch next month.
“When HTC comes out with a smartwatch, the company will turn the industry on its head,” HTC chairwoman Cher Wang (王雪紅) said in a recent interview with tech news Web site CNET.
The smartwatch is said to have a round 360 pixels by 360 pixels display, and Android Wear as its operating system.
HTC’s latest smartphone, the HTC One M10, codenamed HTC Perfume, is also expected to hit the shelves on April 11 in London, according to media reports.
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