gear vr photo set (19) After over months of rumours and an official unveiling at IFA 2014 just 3 months ago, Samsung’s Note 4 based VR Headset Gear VR is now finally available to buy.

Gear VR Has Arrived

Samsung has officially announced that as of today, Monday 8th Dec 2014, their first VR Headset – Gear VR ‘Innovator Edition’ – will be available to buy. The device will initially be available via mobile carrier partner AT&T and through Samsung’s dedicated online retail channel Samsung.com. The price of the headset, as confirmed at SDC 2014, will be $199. That of course is without the mandatory Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phone which powers Gear VR. Samsung’s wireless bluetooth gamepad (pictured below) is also available as a bundled accessory, bringing the package price up to $249. As we covered recently, the new Samsung Note 4 mobile phone can now be obtained on contract via the following carriers:

The Gear VR is built exclusively around the powerful phablet, connecting to the headset via USB when clipped into place at the front of the VR Headset. The Gear VR itself includes Oculus engineered IMUs, capable of head-tracking with 3 degrees of freedom. Utilising the high resolution, low persistence 1440p OLED panel in the Note 4, visuals are displayed at 60Hz with a claimed motion-to-photon latency of under 20ms – a much higher resolution than Oculus’ latest developer kit DK”, which sports a 1080p OLED panel.

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gear vr photo set (11)Samsung’s first foray into virtual reality, Gear VR was developed in conjunction with Oculus VR, with the project being lead by CTO John Carmack. Carmack recently spoke candidly about his year developing the device alongside Samsung at the first ‘Oculus Connect’ conference in September. In the talk, he shares details of some remarkable technical breakthroughs on a quest to squeeze compelling VR from a device powered by mobile technology.

From the official Samsung press release, it seems clear this ‘Innovator Edition’ is aimed squarely at developers and enthusiasts:

“With Gear VR Innovator Edition, Samsung is putting the device in the hands of creators to craft amazing experiences, as we define this new mobile category together,” said Justin Denison, vice president, Product Strategy and Marketing, Samsung Telecommunications America. “This is a great opportunity for the enthusiast community, developers and Samsung to get feedback and continue to innovate in this exciting new space.”

The below images are taken from an unboxing and review article which we’ll be publishing soon:

See Also: John Carmack’s Brilliant Oculus Connect Keynote Goes ‘off Message from the Standard PR Plan’

Software Available at Launch

All of the following apps are available to grab today, all of which are purchasable exclusively through the Oculus Home content portal:

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Gear VR, Hardware and Specs

Optical Lens

96˚ Field of View

Sensor

Accelerator, Gyrometer, Magnetic, Proximity

Motion to Photon Latency

< 20ms

Focal Adjustment

Covers Nearsighted / Farsighted Eyes

Interpupillary Distance Coverage

55 ~ 71 mm

Physical User Interface

Touch Pad, Back Button, Volume Key

Connection

microUSB 1.1 connection to the Galaxy Note 4

Dimension (Headset)

198(W) x 116(L) x 90(H)mm

Contents

Available through Oculus Store

microSD Card(16GB) in-box: A collection of 360-degree videos and 3D movie trailers from major studios will be pre-loaded.

Much More Gear VR Coverage to Come

This is just the beginning of Road to VR’s Gear VR launch coverage. Stay tuned as we bombard you with unboxings, reviews and feedback from the Road to VR collective throughout the rest of the day.

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Based in the UK, Paul has been immersed in interactive entertainment for the best part of 27 years and has followed advances in gaming with a passionate fervour. His obsession with graphical fidelity over the years has had him branded a ‘graphics whore’ (which he views as the highest compliment) more than once and he holds a particular candle for the dream of the ultimate immersive gaming experience. Having followed and been disappointed by the original VR explosion of the 90s, he then founded RiftVR.com to follow the new and exciting prospect of the rebirth of VR in products like the Oculus Rift. Paul joined forces with Ben to help build the new Road to VR in preparation for what he sees as VR’s coming of age over the next few years.
  • goncalo

    finally i can buy, but it is strange in this this post say they have six degrees of movment, have position tracking or not?

    • Paul James

      Sorry no, corrected. Not quite sure what I was thinking there.