What’s the state of Facebook’s virtual-reality technology? We’ll find out today in San Jose. Oculus, the social network’s VR subsidiary, kicks off its fourth annual developers conference today in the heart of Silicon Valley. But with the virtual-reality movement seemingly stuck in neutral, the company has more to prove than ever. The day one keynote …
Read More »
Virtual reality was one of the marquee tech trends of last year, but it’s gone a little stale. Facebook is trying to shake that up with its Oculus Connect developer conference Wednesday. Special guest CNET editor Scott Stein and I talk about what it’s going to take for virtual reality to be something anyone would want — and not just …
Read More »
“At every step along the way, the future is built by people who believe it can be better.” That’s the message that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, brought to the company’s fourth annual Oculus Connect virtual reality developer conference Wednesday. As in previous years, Zuckerberg took the stage to discuss the promise of what virtual reality can be and to show …
Read More »
The Oculus Rift, Facebook’s PC-based VR system, has great controllers but it lacks the stand-up camera sensors it needs to work in a full room like a holodeck, like its rival the HTC Vive. That sounds like it’s changing next year with a “Santa Cruz” Rift model that will leave those sensors behind. It was announced in a keynote Wednesday at the Oculus …
Read More »
Nokia is killing off further development of its mega-expensive VR Ozo camera as part of shift in focus to digital health tech, the company announced Tuesday. Blaming slower-than-expected growth in the VR market, Nokia said it would continue to focus on licensing opportunities and fulfilling its commitments to existing customers, but would otherwise redirect its efforts away from Ozo. It …
Read More »
Are you going to buy a virtual reality headset? Seriously. Are you? I’m not the only one who wants to know. The VR industry is having an awkward moment. Though headset makers have spent years and billions of dollars promising world-changing technology, relatively few of us have actually lined up to buy them. That sales problem is likely to be …
Read More »
Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that’s taken over our lives. Now playing: Watch this: Zuckerberg blasted for tone-deaf ‘magical’ VR tour of… 1:47 Enlarge Image They’re really suffering. Let’s high-five. screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET The streets behind him were flooded. Residents had likely lost everything they owned. So it was time for a high-five between …
Read More »
Starting this week, HP will begin shipping its virtual reality backpack. The OMEN X Desktop VR Backpack lets users bring the Omen X Compact Desktop along with them wherever they go. The Omen X Compact Desktop, which was a prototype last fall, will start shipping on Tuesday and is priced at $2,499.99. It features an integrated rechargeable battery and gives players the option to …
Read More »
Google Maps has long had a spot on my iPhone’s and iPad’s home screen. Apple Maps has not. With iOS 11, however, I have moved Apple Maps up, not to my primary home screen, but to my second home screen. The reason? The new VR goodies added to the Flyover feature. The Flyover feature isn’t new to iOS 11 but …
Read More »
For 2017, Google’s Daydream View is getting comfier — and the VR headset supports more phones than ever. But at $99, it also costs $20 more than the original. To sweeten the deal, Google’s throwing in a bundle of five free games through the end of the year, in the United States, which normally retail for around $40. The obvious …
Read More »
