HTC Vive pre-orders open February 29

The most notable one of them all, shockingly enough, is the competitive virtual reality space – wherein they’ve impressed many folks with the HTC Vive.

HTC showcased the second generation developer kit, Vive Pre, at CES in Las Vegas, a signifcant aesthetic departure from the first version which was launched with much fanfare at last year’s Mobile World Congress.

Given that the HTC Vive won’t be released until later this year, and no price has yet to be announced, it’s hard to gauge its full capabilities, and whether it will be the platform to beat. This is particularly important, mainly because it works in conjunction with the virtual reality experience in mapping out our surrounding area. Today we stand on the precipice of a new era.

The new headset has a front-facing snapper that has been installed purposely to help those wearing the device to easily blend their physical and VR world.

While the headset is smaller than previous, the displays in the Vive Pre Headset have been improved and offer increased brightness and better picture quality. On the inside, interchangeable foam inserts and nose gaskets mean the Vive Pre fits comfortably and securely to the user.

“It’s basically the first professional-grade camera for virtual reality”. Suddenly, you’re scrambling to remove your VR headset and get back into actual reality. The new dual stage trigger makes interaction with objects smoother, and haptic feedback delivers vital feedback about your interactions with the virtual world. For power, the controllers now feature integrated rechargeable lithium polymer batteries with micro-USB charging that provides over four hours of runtime on a single charge, the company says. The headset is now more compact and features an updated strap design for greater stability and balance.

According to HTC VP Dan O’Brien, room-scale VR and Chaperone were conceived at around the same time.

Vive has been developed with game maker Valve, created to fully immerse its wearer in their virtual environment while playing games.

To give consumers an immersive experience HTC will allow developers to use the camera to bring elements of the real world into the game a user is playing by mapping the 3D space a user is in.