By:
On:

Mattel just announced the View-Master Viewer DLX, will accommodate a wider range of smartphones, have a headphone jack for better audio, adjustable focus, and a better latch. The new headset is expected to hit the market next fall, and will cost $40. Mattel also promised new virtual reality experiences. Read more about itRead More →

By:
On:

According to a rumor which first appeared at Android World, Samsung will throw in a $99 Gear VR headset for free for customers who pre-order the new Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge smartphones on February 21. The deal is expected to last for a couple of weeks. Read more at 9 toRead More →

By:
On:

In addition to working on updates of its popular Google Cardboard headset and development platform, the company is also working on a new, standalone headset that requires neither a smartphone nor a computer, the Wall Street Journal reports. Google has already seen significant success with 5 million of its phone-basedRead More →

By:
On:

The race for the next computing platform may be over, according to Goldman Sachs. Researcher Heather Bellini said that she expects virtual and augmented reality to become an $80 billion market by 2025, roughly the size of the desktop PC market today. In this video below, she discusses how the technology hasRead More →

By:
On:

Wevr has raised $25 million from investors such HTC Corp, Samsung Ventures and Evolution Media Partners to fund the launch of its Wevr Transport, a YouTube-like virtual reality platform that will help virtual reality creators to publish their work and find an audience. The platform will support Google Cardboard, Samsung GearRead More →

By:
On:

So you’re thinking of investing time or money in virtual reality technology, but are worried that it’s just a fad — or that you are investing in the wrong platform. To know for sure which way the virtual winds are blowing, you need to find out what the porn industryRead More →

By:
On:

Two years ago, Google gave away a free Google Cardboard kit to all 6,100 attendees at its I/O conference. This week, Valve founder Gave Newell announced that all 1,400 attendees at the sold-out Vision Summit 2016 will get free HTC Vive headsets — each worth several hundred dollars each. Ticket pricesRead More →

By:
On:

Second Life adult toy merchant Crystal Delights has opened its first retail outlet, in Port Townsend, Washington, and plans to expand into non-adult product lines and use Second Life to help market the non-adult products, company co-founder Andrew Schwartz told Hypergrid Business. “We do not use Second Life currently for market testing, but we still have plans to renewRead More →

By:
On:

Florida-based virtual reality company Magic Leap has just raised another $800 million, the largest “C” investment round in Internet history, bringing its total valuation to $4.5 billion. This is not the same company as Leap Motion, which tracks hand gestures, and does have products already on the market. On InworldRead More →

By:
On:

While most OpenSim hosting companies are cautiously optimistic about the new Gloebit currency, currently in beta testing on Hyperica and ZetaWorld grids, grid owners themselves are split on how they want to see payments evolve. Dreamland, Zetamex testing platform Dreamland Metaverse was one of the early testers of the GloebitRead More →

By:
On:

A fully-enclosed headset from China, available in both black and white, lightweight, but with a narrow field of view. It weighs 13.5 ounces, or 380 grams and the field of view is 80 degrees — narrower even than headsets made of cardboard. This is a decent low-priced headset, and could be a worthwhile trade-upRead More →

By:
On:

Gloebit needs your help. Getting as many people in to use the system will help the company catch and fix bugs and make the system easier for everyone to use. Plus, if you like it, you can ask your grid if they can add Gloebits to their supported currencies. InRead More →

By:
On:

By all indications, the hypergrid is hopping. As of mid-January, 68 percent of all active users, 75 percent of all public OpenSim grids, and 93 percent of all regions were on the hypergrid, and the number of hypergrid events and communities is exploding. The Kitely Market now delivers to moreRead More →

By:
On:

AltspaceVR, a virtual reality social platform previously only available for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, arrived in the Gear VR app store today. Users can choose from a handful of pre-built virtual scenes, where they can interact with other users, attend events, play multi-players games, or watching streaming videosRead More →

By:
On:

UK teens are ready to buy virtual reality technology, according to a new research report from Greenlight VR, with 71 percent saying that they’ll either buy it on their own or ask their parents to buy it for them. “Surprisingly, 25 percent will spend their own money,” the researchers said.Read More →

By:
On:

Sony Pictures has just released a Goosebumps virtual reality experience for Android and iOS devices, and is promoting it through a partnership with Merge VR. Merge VR, which makes an expensive, purple Google Cardboard-compatible headset, is promoting the app through its Merge Start platform and is also offering a $15Read More →

By:
On:

Press release: A small team of virtual reality enthusiasts create the first Pluto virtual reality experience allowing viewers a first-hand look at the dwarf planet and entire solar system utilizing real images Vancouver, BC – ConVRter Technologies Inc. announced today that it has made a virtual reality version of the PlutoRead More →

By:
On:

Last Sunday we reported that Kitely Market‘s top-selling merchant, Ozwell Wayfarer, has made all this content exportable to other grids and has seen no evidence of bootlegging. I have long been reminding content creators that closed grids don’t provide any additional security for content, except for scripted or rigged content, becauseRead More →

By:
On:

Island Oasis, a three-year-old closed commercial grid, is turning on hypergrid connectivity today. The transition will be discussed at a Town Hall Meeting today. As part of the transition, the grid will also be hiring a part-time events coordinator. Island Oasis’ transition brings the total number of active OpenSim gridsRead More →

By:
On:

A treasure hunt involving 16 different grids begins today and ends March 1, with prizes ranging from virtual content, to small cash awards, T-shirts and MP3 players, to a $130 Fibrum virtual reality headset. Sponsors include TanGLe Grid, TanGLe Builders , Fix Meister, Selby Evans, Sunbeam Magic, Tmac Entertainment and Hypergrid Business. Participating grids include 2Open, Craft World, Dreamscape Grid, GreatRead More →

By:
On:

Today in the mail a manufacturer sent me a free review copy of the ViarBox Google Cardboard headset. If you’re in Europe, you can buy these at around $17 each with a headstrap and $15, which is roughly about what any of the brand-name Google Cardboards cost, or a littleRead More →

By:
On:

Apple CEO Tim Cook faced a question about virtual reality at the company’s first quarter earnings call on Tuesday, and was not particularly forthcoming about Apple’s plans. “In terms of virtual reality, no, I don’t think it’s a niche,” he said. “I think … it’s really cool and has some interestingRead More →

By:
On:

On an earnings call yesterday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was happy with the number of Oculus Rift pre-orders. “I don’t show much joy, but I am happy,” he told investors and analysts. Zuckerberg said that virtual reality has reached an important milestone with the shipping of the Samsung GearRead More →

By:
On:

Oculus was the most popular platform with video game developers, according to the latest GDC State of the Industry report. More than more than 2,000 attendees of the upcoming March Game Developers Conference were surveyed, and 19 percent said they were currently working on a game for the Oculus Rift, followedRead More →

By:
On:

Five million Google Cardboard-compatible headsets have been shipping, Google announced yesterday. The accompanying graphic shows a lot of headsets made out of cardboard, and two — the Mattel Viewmaster and the Goggle Tech C1-Glass — made out of plastic. Google didn’t provide any details about how they track these numbers, andRead More →

By:
On:

Following Lenovo’s bundling of its new K4 Note smartphone with an Ant VR virtual reality headset last week — a promotion that sold 10,000 sets in less than a second — iberry has launched its new Auxus Stunner smartphone as part of a bundle with the Auxus VR headset. The bundle isRead More →

By:
On:

Starbreeze will create a virtual reality arcade in Los Angeles later on this year to give the public access to premium  virtual reality experiences with their recently launched StarVR headset, the company announced in a press release. Called Project StarCade, it will feature OverKill‘s Walking Dead virtual reality experience, although the company isRead More →

By:
On:

This month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas cemented virtual reality’s place as the up-and-coming consumer technology for 2016 – a movement further endorsed by the industry’s major players Oculus, HTC and Sony’s release dates of new headsets and hardware. 2016 will also be an important year for the virtual reality industryRead More →

By:
On:

Avi-Labs, the OpenSim hosting company affiliated with Alexandro Pomposelli’s AviWorlds grid, has been slowly but steadily expanding its suite of services. Customers now include 4addiktion Grid, Baller Nation Grid, Sinful Grid, and Loff Virtual Worlds. “We are growing and I think it is time you consider placing us on your list,” said Pomposelli,Read More →

By:
On:

The UnicornVR headset is an inexpensive, lightweight virtual reality headset with a wide field of view, but is limited in the smartphones it fits. I tried the headset with a Samsung Note 4, a Note 3, the iPhone 5s, the LG G3, and the Samsung Xperia Z1. The Samsung Note 4 wasRead More →

By:
On:

DigiWorldz has donated unfinished code for the Mumble voice system to the OpenSim community, the grid announced this week. Mumble is an alternative to the proprietary Vivox voice system. Boston-based Vivox Inc. provides high-quality spacial voice to Second Life, the Elder Scrolls, Eve Online, Everquest and many other large multiplayerRead More →

By:
On:

Jessica Lyon, the head of the Firestorm Viewer project, is now recommending the rival Alchemy viewer for OpenSim users. “Alchemy may be the most compatible viewer to OpenSim right now,” she said, thanks to the efforts of viewer developer Cinder Roxley. Lyon was speaking at a taping of the InWorldRead More →

By:
On:

Lenovo sold more than 10,000 virtual reality headsets as part of K4 Note bundles in 0.9 seconds in India this week. Unlike other similar promotions, which typically feature simple cardboard virtual reality sets, the K4 Note came bundled with a white Ant VR headset. From local media reports, it seems toRead More →

By:
On:

Samsung, the maker of the Gear VR virtual-reality headset, is opening a New York studio to produce new immersive experiences, CNET reported. Samsung announced the news at the Sundance film festival in Park City, Utah, where virtual reality is emerging as a prominent theme. “One of the biggest trends and themes forRead More →

By:
On:

Customers will be able to try out Oculus Rift headsets before buying them at retail stores in April, reports Road to VR. There’s no word on which retail partners Oculus will be working with just yet, but in the U.S. one suspect is Best Buy, the country’s largest consumer electronicsRead More →

By:
On:

Planner 5D, an application that allows home owners, builders, architects and real estate renovators to design homes in 3D, now has virtual reality support for Google Cardboard headsets. The app can be downloaded for free for iOS devices and Android smartphones, but some features require in-app purchases. The application already hasRead More →

By:
On:

Virtual reality equipment maker Virtuix hosted the first ever multiplayer virtual reality game tournament at CES in Las Vegas. Four gamers played on Omni multi-directional treadmills that formed the Omni Arena, with HTC Vive headsets strapped on and with each player armed with a replica gun. “We feel that active virtual reality is theRead More →

By:
On:

CNET founder Halsey Minor will launch a virtual reality network that will stream live 360-degree video to Samsung Gear VR and Oculus headsets within the next few months. Minor told Hypergrid Business that the new company, Reality Lab, was an opportunity for him to get back into the content industry and toRead More →

By:
On:

Press release: More than 200 Million Virtual Reality Head-Mounted Displays to be Sold by 2020, According to Tractica Fueled by Gaming, Virtual Reality Adoption Will Also Drive Sales of 52 Million Accessory Devices during the Next 5 Years BOULDER, Colo. — While virtual reality is not a new technology in conceptRead More →

By:
On:

The world’s leading virtual reality treadmill, the Virtuix Omni, has begun shipping the devices to its Kickstarter backers last month, saw around $15 million worth of interest from individual investors through SeedInvest, and won at Top Pick Award from Tom’s Hardware at the CES show in Las Vegas (see video below). The companyRead More →

By:
On:

The total land area of the public OpenSim grids rose slightly this month, and there were nearly 10,000 new registered users, but active user numbers dropped slightly over the holidays. OpenSim now has a record-high of 71,557 standard region equivalents, a record high of 503,152 registered users, and 32,200 activeRead More →

By:
On:

OpenSim is taking off. Active users grew more than twice as fast in 2015 than in any other previous year. Based on Kitely Market stats, exportable, hypergrid content grew faster last year — five times faster — than non-exportables. And virtual reality is set to explode. With more than 16 millionRead More →

By:
On:

Merchants continued to expand the number of exportable items listed on the Kitely Market this month, showing an increasing tolerance for selling to the broader metaverse. Meanwhile, the number of items limited to just being used on the Kitely grid shrank for the second month in a row. There areRead More →

By:
On:

Google Inc, has appointed Clay Bavor as the new boss of its virtual reality team, according to the company’s spokesman Joshua Cruz, in a move seen as the company’s further dive into virtual reality after huge successes with the Google Cardboard. “We can confirm Clay’s new role on the VRRead More →

By:
On:

The large number of smartphone users in Asia will spur sales of mobile-based virtual reality devices in the region this year, according to SuperData Research in a report released this month. Globally, three out of four early adopters will use smartphones to try virtual reality, according to the report. A totalRead More →

By:
On:

WakingApp‘s ENTiTi VR is a cloud-based design tool that allows even those without any coding skills to create 360-degree immersive content using a variety of content types. There is also a correspondent viewer for experiencing the content online either on a personal computers or on headsets.  The ENTiTi Creator application isRead More →