The next stage of Microsoft’s exciting HoloLens is finally here as Microsoft announced that they will start selling a Development Edition of the headset to developers in January of next year (2016). Breaking the ice and extending itself finally to 3rd party software developers, this will dramatically increase the amount of features and software it will support before it reaches the hands of consumers. This is important as no one is going to want to invest into something expensive that barely has any programs or games that work with it yet.
I would say that this of course highly depends on if developers are willing to dish out the dough to pick one up before this can be considered big news, but in the case of the HoloLens, companies will most likely be crawling over each other to be a part of it. Everything the HoloLens is, just so happens to represent everything we have been striving for in AR (augmented reality) and the development of holograms. That next big step that could easily change the way we game, work, learn and communicate.
Everytime I think of the HoloLens, I can’t shake the scene from Lost in Space (the movie remake, not the series) from my mind. The scene where Will Robinson’s mother is having a holographic phone conversation with Will’s teacher (until he hacks into the feed, turning her into an ape and a form of Rambo). The HoloLens will be the first time we will be able to do such a thing (and I am more than sure that includes turning people into alternate forms of primates).
The Development Edition isn’t going to be cheap ($3,000), most likely to make sure the units go out to companies and individual developers that actually intend on developing content for it, vs someone just trying to get a kick out of being the first to have their hands on it. Of course there is also R&D costs that most likely tally pretty high for this one.
I can just imagine the hours upon hours of entertainment this headset will provide to so many users, both consumer and commercial.
Click here for our initial announcement of the HoloLens including concept and working videos of the headset.
