Microsoft is taking its augmented reality headset global.
On Thursday, the company announced that the HoloLens, what it calls “the world’s first self-contained holographic computer,” was available for preorder in Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK. It’s currently on-sale in the U.S. and Canada.
Access to the technology won’t be cheap: In Australia, the Development Edition costs A$4,369 and the Commercial Suite costs A$7,269, only from the Microsoft store. Both will ship in late November.
In Germany, France and Ireland, it will cost 3,299 Euro; in the UK, £2,719; and in New Zealand, NZ$7,829, according to The Verge.
Unlike virtual reality headsets such as the Oculus Rift, the HoloLens is intended to add to or enhance what you see in reality.
As Mashable pointed out in its hands-on with the Development Edition of the device, it’s built so as not to cut off the wearer from the outside world, right down to using a visor instead of goggles and downward-facing speakers rather than headphones.
Also unlike the Oculus Rift headset, it’s a self-contained computer and does not require a connection with an outside PC.
The HoloLens is still mostly intended for developers rather than consumers, but Microsoft announced in August the software powering the device would soon be able to run on Windows 10 PCs.
Source: Mashable
