After pre-orders opened for Acer"s and HP"s aptly-named Windows Mixed Reality Headset Developer Edition devices at Microsoft"s Build 2017 conference in May, sales finally went live yesterday. Unfortunately, many potential customers were upset, as the two head-mounted displays (HMDs) are only available in the United States.
In fact, if you check out the reviews for the products, you"ll see that everyone that gave it a one- or two-star review hasn"t even purchased one; instead, they just stopped in to complain about the availability. The five-star reviews are no better, as they"re just Americans showing the world why we"re hated.
But there"s one HMD that doesn"t get mentioned much, and it"s made by 3Glasses. The Blubur S1 (Type 2) Developer Kit is actually available globally from the Chinese company as a bundle, and it"s been available for months.
There are some differences between 3Glasses" HMD and the ones that are made by Acer and HP. For one thing, you"ll need a camera to track your movements, so there"s no inside-out tracking. That comes with the bundle, but it also ships with two motion controllers. These types of accessories will be available for other headsets later on this year.
You"ll also notice from the image that the Blubur S1 contains built-in headphones, which may prove to be beneficial in a virtual reality experience, rather than trying to fit earbuds in your ears with a headset on.
The normal price of 3Glasses" bundle - which includes the camera and two motion controllers - is $499; however, Geekbuying is offering it for $399 for the next few days, and it"s shipping now.