HTC Vive Ships in April, Pricier Than Facebook’s Oculus Rift

HTC announced shipping and price details of its highly anticipated Vive virtual reality headset during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona yesterday. In conjunction with Valve, HTC will begin shipping the VR headset in early April. At $799, Vive will be $200 more than its rival Oculus Rift. Pre-orders for the goggle-like headset, two wireless controllers, and two room scale movement sensors will begin on February 29 on HTC’s website. The pre-order bundle also comes with two games: “Fantastic Contraption” and “Job Simulator.”

The new consumer version Vive, powered by SteamVR, includes an updated head strap and will allow users to make/receive phone calls and text messages.

According to the Vive Blog, “By allowing you to receive and respond to both incoming and missed calls, get text messages and send quick replies and check upcoming calendar invites directly through the headset, it opens up a whole new world of possibilities for both consumers and businesses.”

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“Both the Vive and the Rift require a gaming PC — which will cost hundreds of dollars more — in order to work,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “Sometime in the first half of the year, Sony Corp. is supposed to release its PlayStation VR headset, which is powered by the popular PlayStation 4 gaming console instead of a PC.”

The headsets offered by HTC, Valve, Facebook and Sony “promise a more immersive and higher-resolution experience than the smartphone-powered options,” notes WSJ, “such as Samsung’s $99 Gear VR and the super-cheap Google Cardboard.”

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