With Black Friday and Cyber Monday that just passed, there were ongoing sales regarding the sales of the hardware for Virtual Reality. These consist of the VR set, desktop computer as well as game console.
At this point in time, if you are interested to dabble in VR, there are a few avenues to explore.
You will obviously need to purchase some headsets to experience the mind-boggling scenes.
Below are some of the common hardware in the market right now.
- Occulus Rift
- HTC Vive
- Samsung Gear
- Sony Playstation VR
- Google Cardboard
- Others
Occulus Rift
Currently priced at USD 399 in Amazon, this is a substantial slash in price compared to beginning of the year.
Pro: Immersive experience
Con: Requires powerful PC with good graphic card. Has to be connected to PC.
HTC Vive
Pricing at USD 599.99 in Amazon, this is slightly more costly compared to Occulus.
Pro: Immersive experience
Con: Requires powerful PC with good graphic card. Has to be connected to PC.
Samsung Gear
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxtYbELTIz0
This head gear is priced lower than the above 2 devices at USD 125.88 in Amazon.
Pro: Immersive experience. Cheaper alternative compared to Occulus and HTC. Does not require powerful PC. Not required to be connected to bulky PC.
Con: Works with certain Samsung mobile phone models only. Battery life is dependent on mobile phone.
Sony Playstation VR
Currently priced at USD 268 in Amazon. This includes the Sony Playstation set as well as the head gear.
Pro: Immersive experience. An in-between alternative compared to Occulus, HTC and Samsung Gear.
Con: Dependent on Sony Playstation 4. Tethered to gaming console.
Google Cardboard
Pricing at USD 15 in the following website (https://vr.google.com/cardboard/).
Pro: The cheapest alternative.
Con: Requires a smartphone.
Summary
If you are new to Virtual Reality, I would suggest to start with Google Cardboard for the first hand experience.
If you are some degree of knowledge of VR, and you happened to have one of the Samsung compatible mobile phones, you can try exploring the Samsung Gear VR set.
On the other hand, if you are a gamer who like playing on the Playstation, Sony Playstation VR is a good catch.
If you are a hardcore gamer already with a high spec gaming PC, you can try purchasing either the Occulus Rift or HTC Vive. These will surely blow your mind away.
