Microsoft’s augmented reality glasses, dubbed HoloLens are now available to pre-order in parts of Europe, Australia and New Zealand as the trend for next-gen tech heats up.
The move follows Facebook’s latest developments with social VR via Oculus Rift and this weeks launch of Sony’s Playstation VR.
The first HoloLens headsets will ship in “late November” offering an alternative to virtual reality. Microsoft will offer what it calls mixed reality.
The company is launching HoloLens pre-orders in six of new countries, including Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK, where it will cost a massive £2,719. while the enterprise-ready “Commercial Suite” version costs £4,529.
The headset is packed with sensors and delivers to users a view of the real world overlaid with virtual objects in the form of hologram-like graphics.
In the US, where it has been available since March, applications for the headset have been developed by a range of commercial partners, including Nasa, Audi and the furniture retailer Lowe.
Microsoft says the first units will ship in late November — that way, you can wow your friends and family with some tabletop-projected Minecraft over Christmas.