Details on the pair are a bit scant just yet, but the Acer version will cost $300, and the HP model will be $329. They’re up for preorder in the U.S. and Canada via the Microsoft Store, and they’ll ship “later this summer.”
The HP version looks remarkably similar to the Acer model (and the Lenovo one, for that matter). It appears to have the same flip-up visor design, headstrap design, and front-facing sensors.
It’s worth noting which OEMs are present from this announcement and which are missing. It’s certainly no surprise that the Acer dev kits are included–indeed, we already knew about them, and Microsoft has already publicly pledged to give some away–and we’ve known for some time that HP was working on a mixed reality HMD.
3Glasses already has a working prototype as well, though. Perhaps the fact that it’s not a major PC maker means Microsoft doesn’t trust that 3Glasses can produce its HMDs in volume, and thus it makes little sense to get devs hooked on that company’s product.
However, where are Asus, Dell, and Lenovo? Although we’ve been expecting HMDs from all three, the fact that we’ve seen and heard nothing substantive from any of them had us wondering if they’d abandoned the project. (It’s true that Lenovo showed an HMD at CES, but it was non-functioning.) However, a Microsoft rep inadvertently confirmed that Asus and Dell, at least, are building their own HMDs.
So why aren’t they included in the first crush of dev kits? That’s anyone’s guess, but if we take what Lenovo told us at CES–essentially, that they hadn’t even decided on which features to implement on the HMD–and assume that Dell and Asus are in the same boat, it’s likely that they’re just behind schedule. (That’s assuming they’re excited about Windows Mixed Reality; they may be dragging their feet and letting Acer–and now HP–bear the burden of gauging market interest and troubleshooting any problems.)
In any case, Acer and HP (and 3Glasses–don’t forget about 3Glasses) are now the standard bearers for Windows Mixed Reality headsets. Apparently, HP has HMDs ready to go (or almost ready to go), but for what it’s worth, Acer is building them like crazy; we’ve seen dozens and dozens of them all over the Build 2017 show floor.
Today at Microsoft Build, Microsoft also announced the Windows Mixed Reality motion controllers and a retail Acer HMD bundle that includes the motion controllers.
The post Mixed Reality HMD Dev Kits From HP, Acer: Preorder Now appeared first on Gigarefurb Refurbished Laptops News.
source https://news.gigarefurb.co.uk/mixed-reality-hmd-dev-kits-from-hp-acer-preorder-now/
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