EMERGING TECH
EMERGING TECH
EMERGING TECH
With an enterprise focus, HTC brings standalone Vive Focus VR headset to US and Europe
HTC Corp. is bringing its Vive Focus standalone virtual reality headset to Europe and North America after launching the device exclusively in China last year.
The first significant standalone VR headset from the company is powered by a Snapdragon 835 mobile processor and accompanied with dual 1440-by-800-pixel screens delivering a 3K AMOLED experience with a 110-degree field of view.
While promising, the headset does have a particular limitation, shipping with a three-degrees-of-freedom controller, though HTC said a controller with a more desirable six degrees of freedom will be available in the coming months. Both measures refer to the freedom of movement of a rigid body in three-dimensional space, the higher number meaning a better experience for a user.
In a surprising twist, the headset is being pitched exclusively to enterprise users, with HTC calling it “an innovative standalone headset… ideal for businesses that want a truly mobile VR experience.”
To complement its enterprise push, HTC also announced a new software development kit for the Vive Wave VR platform, the open platform and toolset that enables VR content development and high-performance device optimization for third-party partners.
The SDK is said to enable interoperability among numerous mobile VR headsets and accessories, allowing content developers to “more efficiently develop, port and publish content while offering a much broader reach of potential customers across multiple VR headsets.”
“Vive Wave is a clear step forward in bringing together the highly fragmented mobile VR market and enables developers to create content for a common platform and storefront across multiple hardware vendors,” HTC said in a blog post today.
Finally, HTC also announced VIVE Sync, a new virtual reality collaboration and meeting application specifically tailored for enterprises. The service is described as an intuitive collaboration tool that allows internal teams to meet in a virtual shared space.
The emphasis on enterprise users comes with a price to match. While rival Oculus is set to launch its standalone Quest headset in the next spring at $399, the HTC Vive Focus starts at $599 for the developer edition while enterprises will have to hand over $750 for the privilege of owning one.
Images: HTC
Since you’re here …
… We’d like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content.
If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.
