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Home / News / HTC just shocked the world with Vive, a hand-tracking VR headset, powered by Valve

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HTC just shocked the world with Vive, a hand-tracking VR headset, powered by Valve

Say whaaaaaaaaat

Esat Dedezade

After revealing the One M9 and the Grip fitness band, the Taiwanese tech giant blew our collective minds by revealing the Vive – an honest-to-goodness virtual reality headset created in collaboration with Valve.

That’s right. Valve. It came out of nowhere, and it’s safe to say that this is Big News. It’s also safe to assume that this is the SteamVR headset teased by Valve last week.

Unlike the Samsung Gear VR and other ‘shell’ headsets, the Vive is a proper VR affair and plugs straight into a PC for full-powered gaming goodness. Just like the current market leader, the Oculus Rift (granted, it’s still in development kit form).

And we haven’t even got to the best part yet – the Vive can actually support whole room environments. That means that you can walk around virtual objects in full, unrestricted 360 degrees 3D. And if that wasn’t enough, it’s also got hand tracking.

http://youtu.be/eTITJSSRUso

We have no clue at this early stage how any of this works, but if HTC and Valve can actually deliver, then there’s a chance that the Rift (and all other VR headsets) could be dead on arrival.

Better yet, HTC tells us that the Vive will be out later this year! We’re hoping to get a hands-on with the mysterious VR headset soon, and we cannot wait.

Well done HTC, you’ve started things off with a tremendous bang.

RELATED › HTC One M9 hands-on review

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About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.