MWC 2015 – HTC Stretches Into Virtual Reality

HTC has revealed another string to its bow with the unveiling of a Virtual Reality (VR) headset at Mobile World Congress

The phone maker revealed the HTC Vive during its keynote speech earlier today alongside its new flagship smartphone, the HTC One M9, and first wearable, the HTC Grip.

Vive will use the Steam VR technology developed by legendary video games studio Valve, the creators of titles such as Half Life and Counter Strike, as it looks to transform the way users interact with the world around them.

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A developer version of the headset will be launched this Spring, with a consumer launch following by the end of 2015, HTC says.

“It’s rare that a company has an opportunity to forever transform the ways in which people interact with the world and communicate with each other but that is exactly what we plan to do with Valve,” said Cher Wang, chairwoman of HTC.

HTC is also introducing new wireless VR controllers that will help enrich the virtual environment. The new HTC VR Controllers come in a pair and are designed to be so versatile that they will work with a wide range of VR experiences.

“Our collaboration with HTC is driven by the companies’ shared desire to produce the most compelling and complete VR experience,” said Ken Birdwell of Valve. “Delivering content creators with the Vive Developer Edition is an incredibly important milestone in our efforts to achieve that goal.”

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