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HTC is showing off its One X9 at the 2016 edition of MWC in Barcelona, which is more about its looks than sheer outright performance. The Android phone isn’t exactly fresh off the lab as well, having been in existence in China since December.
However, the HTC One X9 could be ready for a market splash in more regions around the world post an outing in the Barcelona event, which unfortunately seems to exclude the US, as of now.
Among the regions where the One X9 is likely to hit markets include North Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the rest of Asia.
Coming to its looks, the One X9 does look gorgeous which owes it to what HTC refers to as the ‘metalmorphic’ design theme. That stands for the smooth curved metal finish while drawing on the natural beauty surrounding us.
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- Includes Deluxe Pack VR Accessories: VIVE Face Gasket 2.0, VIVE Deluxe Strap, VIVE Temple Clips, and VIVE MR Gasket.
- PC Gaming Headset: Bring captivating PC VR games to your all‑in‑one VR headset. Connect to your VR-ready PC and enjoy low-latency, high-fidelity, PC-VR gaming.¹
- Base Station-Free: No base stations needed with this standalone VR headset. Get next-level freedom with the HTC Vive XR Elite Virtual Reality headset with 4 wide field-of-view tracking cameras.
- Personalize Your Fit: Fine-tune your viewing experience with stepless IPD and diopter adjustments for the most natural and clearest VR experience.
- Immersive High-Resolution Graphics: The XR Elite boasts 3840 x 1920 combined resolution and 19 pixels per degree. Up to 110° field of view and 90Hz refresh rate in a remarkably compact form factor.
HTC’s One X9 also includes the front facing dual BoomSound speakers which should appeal to the music buffs among us. The rear of the device too deserves special mention, thanks to the brushed metal build but with a soft and glossy feel to it.
As for its specs, the One X9 is built around a MediaTek Helio X10 chip along with a 3 GB RAM.
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- FLEXIBLE PLAY AREA - Use VIVE seated, standing or in a space up to 11'5" x 11'5". SteamVR Tracking provides the most ideal experience possible, so play the way that works for you.
- FULLY IMMERSIVE - Realistic movement and actions from precise, 360-degree controller and headset tracking with realistic graphics, directional audio and HD haptic feedback in the virtual world
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- PLAY SAFER - The Chaperone system warns you when you reach the boundaries of your play area and the headset's front-facing camera gives you a glimpse of the real-world when you need it
- VIVE VIDEO - An immersive, cinematic VR video player for standard, 3D, 180 and 360 degree videos. Available free on VIVEPORT and Steam.
Onboard storage stands at 32 GB, it being further expandable to up to 2 TB via microSD cards. The One X9 also boasts of the Sensor Hub that ensures the device’s sensors remain active without draining the battery.
A 13-megapixel rear sensor with OIS should appeal the shutterbugs. The One X9 runs the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Pricing details aren’t available as yet though it seems to be mid-range stuff at best.
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- All-In-One VR Solution: The VIVE Focus series offers standalone and PC VR experiences. Harness the power of virtual reality with high-resolution displays, versatile tracking features, and immersive applications. Base station-free.
- PC VR Gaming Headset: Immerse yourself in low-latency VIVEPORT and SteamVR gameplay. DisplayPort mode delivers lossless, high-fidelity visuals straight from your PC.(1) Connect your PC directly to your Wi-Fi router using an Ethernet cable for PC VR streaming.
- Make Interactions Real: Connect in VRChat like never before. With built-in eye tracking and low-light hand tracking; plus face and body tracker support, movement in VR is intuitive and lifelike.(2)(3)
- Immersive 5k Headset Display: The immersive display puts you right at the heart of the action with a 5K resolution of 2448 x 2448 pixels per eye, up to 120° field of view, and 90 Hz refresh rate.
- Personalize Your Fit: Auto-IPD adjustment aligns the XR headset's lenses with the centers of your pupils, giving your eyes the clearest, most comfortable viewing experience.(4)
Meanwhile, HTC also took to the MWC event to announce the availability of its Vive virtual reality headset.
Priced quite reasonably at $799 – it was being pegged at a higher $1,000 plus range – while pre-orders for the headset start February 29. Deliveries slated to begin in April.
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- All-In-One VR Solution: The VIVE Focus series offers standalone and PC VR experiences. Harness the power of virtual reality with high-resolution displays, versatile tracking features, and immersive applications. Base station-free.
- PC VR Gaming Headset: Immerse yourself in low-latency VIVEPORT andSteamVR gameplay. DisplayPort mode delivers lossless, high-fidelity visuals straight from your PC.(1) Connect your PC directly to your Wi-Fi router using an Ethernet cable for PC VR streaming.
- Make Interactions Real: Connect in VRChat like never before. With built-in eye and low-light, hand tracking plus face and body tracker support, movement in VR is intuitive and lifelike.(2)(3)
- Immersive 5k Headset Display: The immersive display puts you right at the heart of the action with a 5K resolution of 2448 x 2448 pixels per eye, up to 120° field of view, and 90 Hz refresh rate.
- Personalize Your Fit: Auto-IPD adjustment aligns the XR headset's lenses with the centers of your pupils, giving your eyes the clearest, most comfortable viewing experience.(4)
HTC said they had made several enhancements to the headset which includes better smartphone feature integration. This will allow the user to get along with several of smartphone functionalities such as answering phone calls, viewing text messages or calendar reminders without having to remove the headset or stopping play.
The Vive connects to a PC via a cable with the minimum spec for compatibility with the headset being an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or an AMD Radeon R9 290 graphics card. HTC also stated there will be bundle offers comprising of PCs developed in association with PC and graphics card makers though those aren’t available just yet.
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- Visualize in 5K clarity-bring out the finer details with combined 4896 x 2448 resolution. 5K resolution may be subject to processing compatibility .Operating system : Windows 11 / Windows 10.
- See more of your environment-a wide 120 Degree field of view (FOV) expands the VR viewing experience. The increased angle better aligns with the human eyes, letting you see more naturally
- Experience seamless visuals-increase your visual comfort in graphics-intensive games and apps with a 120Hz refresh rate
- Enjoy VR with hours on end comfort-industry-defining balanced construction and adjustability provide a comfortable Fit for VR sessions of any length and purpose. The headset fits a wide range of head sizes and vision types, even glasses
- Find your sweet spot-minimize eye fatigue with the IPD adjustment dial. Interpupillary distance (ipd)-the distance measured in mm between the centers of eye pupils
The Vive headset which right now enjoys compatibility with Android and iOS includes a pair of wireless controllers, twin Vive base stations, a Vive Link Box, along with a pair of Vive ear buds as part of the bundle.
Two VR games – Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives and Fantastic Contraption too will be included in the deal but for a limited time.
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