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Discounted Oculus Rift Bundles Will Be Ready Next Week

February 10, 2016 By Jenna Lewis Leave a Comment

Is your PC ready?

Virtual reality is getting closer, and discounted Oculus Rift bundles will be ready next week for pre-order, to arrive along with the VR headset that should turn gaming on its head. For those who are not inclined to create their own systems, here are a few options that will be available for pre-order starting on February 16^th:

Asus G11CD: Intel Core i5-6400, nVidia GeForce GTX 970, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, 1TB hard drive + Oculus Rift VR – $949
Alienware X51 R3 (model 1): Intel Core i5-6400, nVidia GeForce GTX 970, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, 1TB hard drive + Oculus Rift VR – $999
Dell XPS 8900 SE: Intel Core i5-6400, nVidia GTX 970, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, 1TB hard drive + Oculus Rift VR – $999
Asus ROG G20CB (model 1): Intel Core i5-6400, nVidia GTX 970, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD + Oculus Rift VR – $1349
Alienware X51 R3 (model 2): Intel Core i5-6400, nVidia GeForce GTX 980, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD + Oculus Rift VR – $1499
Asus ROG G20CB (model 2): Intel Core i7-6700, nVidia GTX 980, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, 1TB hard drive + Oculus Rift VR – $1599
Alienware Area 51: Intel Core i7-5820K, nVidia GTX 980, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, 128GB SSD, 2TB hard drive + Oculus Rift VR – $2549

We’re just a few short weeks away from virtual reality, and most are getting ready to get their hands on Oculus Rift and start immersing themselves into another world. It’s new, exciting, and, hopefully, it will be as exceptional as it looks. This year will likely be virtual reality’s year. It’s expected that the futuristic tech will leave its mark, one to linger in the years to come.

However, while you’re ready to give the VR headset a test, is your PC? Along with the rather hefty price of $599 that you will have to cough up for Oculus Rift, the company has made sure to announce that you will also need a good enough system to support it. And perhaps virtual reality is not where you want to take the risk and skim on the money. If the PC’s strength falters, most high-end games might just become a nightmare for you, filled with bad frames and motion sickness.

So, perhaps a bigger investment would be worth it for those who want to try out EVE: Valkyrie, Elite: Dangerous, or other titles that will be strenuous on your system. One thing seems to be for sure, as it is for a good amount of games, a powerful graphics card could make the difference. Especially for Oculus Rift, whose main attraction will be the visual it can provide.

The minimum recommendations for Oculus Rift might just be an nVidia GTX 970 or its equivalent AMD 290, an Intel i5-4590 processor, and 8GB RAM. Given today’s gaming general requirements, this could be considered a decent PC just based off of those three factors, but it could certainly be better. And it probably should be, if you’re looking for a solid 90 fps (frames per second) to avoid motion sickness in more visually demanding games.

However, to make things easier, Oculus announced a few bundles which will take off the burden off users. A configuration made separately by a PC owner is always the best way to go, but not everyone has the required knowledge. It could save some money though, although not much, so it is recommended.

It’s to be noted that the aforementioned space epic EVE: Valkyrie will arrive bundled with the headset, along with Lucky’s Tale, which will work with much lower specs.

Image source: idownloadblog.com; staticworld.net

Google Is Getting Serious With VR

February 8, 2016 By Kelly Holzschlag Leave a Comment

Google is preparing a new VR headset

New rumors are showing that Google is getting serious with VR and might be developing a new headset entirely to immerse users into virtual reality.

Google Cardboard has sold around 5 million units
Google is preparing a second virtual reality device
It will have better lenses and sensors than the Cardboard
The device will reportedly still be powered by smartphones, but better performing than Cardboard and with a wider range of devices than Samsung Gear VR

Google Cardboard has been only the first step. Apparently, the tech giant is not done with virtual reality at all, even though the very affordable device has seen to great success. For something so simple, it has sold 5 million units since its launch date, and it’s expected to continue thriving in 2016. Cardboard could be the first step toward bigger headsets, such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive that are coming this year.

However, most users might want to get a taste of virtual reality before knowing if they’re ready to invest hundreds if not thousands of dollars into the better performing headsets. Enter Google Cardboard. It could be the beginning for most VR users, which is why experts estimate it will still be the best sold VR device for 2016. The good news isn’t making Google wait and just bask in their success though.

Apparently, the company has another virtual reality device in store for their users. And, it will be much closer to the Samsung Gear VR than the Google Cardboard. That means a much better performing hardware along with software working directly in the headset, not just the smartphone.

There are limitations to the Cardboard, beginning from the fact that it relies on a dedicated virtual reality app. Samsung is aiming to change that with their Gear VR, but even their device will have some unwanted limitations. While it will likely be much better, there are only a handful of smartphones compatible with the headset. Perhaps Google could be the one to fill in the gaps.

According to rumors, Google is working on an Android VR operating system that will surely make their upcoming headset compatible with many more models. Allegedly, the VR headset will have “better sensors, lenses, and a more solid plastic casing”, as opposed to cardboard. It could widen the range of devices available and users who will take that first step into virtual reality.

The news indirectly confirms Google’s growing interest in the market that goes beyond simple apps. However, it remains a rumor until a true confirmation from the company will come forth. Some suggest that the tech titan will unveil more at the Google I/O on May 18^th-20^th this year. Perhaps the new piece of tech will be showed to the public and developers might get a hint at its capabilities.

The virtual reality market is getting hotter by the month it seems, and the major platforms have not even been released yet.

Image source: siggraph.org

Apple’s Team Could Already Be Working On VR

February 1, 2016 By Jenna Lewis Leave a Comment

Apple might be looking toward virtual reality

It’s not been confirmed yet, but rumors have it that Apple’s team could already be working on VR and other augmented reality projects.

Rumors on Apple’s VR involvement started in March, 2015
Apple has been acquiring companies involved in virtual and augmented reality
The latest rumors were spurred by the purchasing of Flyby Media

It seems that virtual reality is a point of interest in many companies, but Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has curiously stayed out of it. Beyond acquisitions of VR-focused companies, such as Metaio, Faceshift, and Emotient, they stood away from a clear confirmation. Perhaps they are waiting for the market to bloom, leaving Facebook and Microsoft to plant the seeds.

However, most doubted that Apple would stay out of it completely. The rumors seemed to reach peak with the acquisition of Doug Bowman, an award-winning VR expert. And yet, there was no confirmation from the company. Now, Apple acquired Flyby Media, an augmented reality startup company, which has now thrown fuel on the fire. While this was thought to finally confirm rumors, it did not.

Speculations, however, are continuing to circulate about the possibility of Apple creating a headset for virtual and augmented reality. Even more, it’s said that there are “hundreds” of people of the staff already working it. The prototype has been building for “several months”. It could tackle on the augmented reality field that has not been excellently taken by Google Glass. Or, it could perhaps rival titans such as Microsoft’s HoloLens and Facebook’s Oculus Rift.

The news arrive in the wake of Apple Chief Executive, Tim Cook’s, statements on VR. In a brief comment, he stated that virtual reality is “cool”, has some “interesting applications”, but does not believe it will be a niche project as it matures.

Apple, however, has a variety of patents that tie the company to virtual reality, including transparency displays mobile mapping solutions, and iPhone-powered virtual displays. So, it is possible that they might indeed make a similar approach as Google’s Cardboard. At least, so it seemed for a little while. The new rumors suggest higher ambitions, ones to take on Oculus Rift.

Rumors of Apple’s involvement in the virtual and augmented reality market first started in March last year. They suggested that the company has been working for a device since at least 2015, starting with a small research team in the field. After numerous acquisitions and, reportedly, snatching a few employees from Microsoft and Lytro, there are now hundreds working on a future consumer-device.

The news is potentially exciting, as Apple has shown itself to have a knack for entering the market. While they come in a little late, they bring innovation on existing technology. It happened with the iPod, tablets, and, perhaps, it might happen with virtual reality. However, first true entries on the market have not launched just yet.

Depending on the success of virtual reality, it remains to be seen how many more companies will be designing their own VR or AR headset.

Image source: valuewalk.com

Discounted Oculus Rift Bundles Will Be Ready Next Week

Google Is Getting Serious With VR

Apple’s Team Could Already Be Working On VR

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