HTC Vive pre-orders start February 29th; CEO Wang says VR is more important than smartphones

HTC's VR headset, the HTC Vive, will be available for pre-orders starting on February 29th. According to HTC co-founder and CEO Cher Wang, the company is focusing on Virtual Reality and away from smartphones. According to Wang, HTC is now "more realistic." The newly revised developer kit was unveiled at CES and included the front-facing camera that can add a dose of reality to your virtual reality. The HTC Vive will go on sale in April, although pricing has yet to be announced.

HTC's smartphone offerings have not been selling lately, and the HTC One M9 was not competitive in the big flagship battle that manufacturers like HTC, Apple, Samsung, LG and others engage in every year. We still expect the HTC One M10 in 2016, but it increasingly seems that HTC's heart is no longer in the game. And that is sad considering the company's legacy in producing some of the most famous smartphones of the past. That includes the T-Mobile G1, the first Android powered handset. The Windows Mobile flavored HTC HD2 offered what was considered back then a massive 4.3-inch screen, and the Nexus One kept Androidmania going after the Motorola DROID started to fade.


Recent changes were made in the design of the HTC Vive headset to make it lighter, and to allow those wearing glasses to don the device comfortably. The release of the Vive's pre-order date comes after reservations started being accepted for the Oculus Rift VR headset, priced at $599. That device will ship in March.

If you're interested in our experience with the HTC Vive, check out our hands-on with the developer kit by clicking here.

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source: Telegraph