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Samsung Gear VR Arrives For 'Innovators' In December Starting At $199
Oculus has announced that its first mobile virtual reality headset will be available next month for those looking to get in on the ground floor. The "Innovator Edition" will cost $199, but that doesn't include the Samsung Note 4 you'll need to make use of it.
The Note 4 is available from a variety of service providers with contract for approximately $300, according to a cursory search. This brings the grand total for Oculus' first mobile VR solution to about $500 (or $550 with a bundled bluetooth gamepad).
This is not the final retail version intended for the broadest consumer base. Rather this version is designed for developers and virtual reality enthusiasts. Based on our time with it, it's closer to a consumer model than the Oculus Rift DK2, though.
We had the chance to try the Gear VR extensively at Oculus Connect earlier this year. You can read up on impressions of the headset and Harmonix's music visualizer.
[Source: Oculus]
Our Take
If you already have a Note 4, the additional $200 is a reasonably priced step (and one I would be excited to take). However, as an iPhone user, this means $500 for the whole system. It's a bit too much to consider, especially when it either means switching to Android or spending even more money on a contract-free phone just for this purpose.
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