One of the “downsides” to the HTC Vive is that it isn’t wireless. This means that should you get too excited while you’re using the headset, you could get tangled up in the cables or worse, you might accidentally end up ripping it out of the computer which could damage it in the process. The good news is that soon you won’t have to worry about that.
HTC has recently announced the launch of the TPCAST accessory. This is an accessory made by a company called TPCAST who is part of the Vive X Accelerator program. What it does is that it gives the HTC Vive wireless capabilities, meaning that you won’t have to bother tethering your headset to your computer anymore.
Given that it is wireless there were some concerns regarding latency, but apparently there isn’t. According to Alvin W. Graylin, China Regional President of Vive at HTC, he told the folks at UploadVR that there was no “noticeable difference” compared to the wired version. Battery life is also rated at around 1.5 hours.
Unfortunately it seems that the device was so popular that the initial batch sold out within minutes, despite the fact that it comes with a rather hefty price tag of $220. A second batch is expected to be made available next month.
Filed in . Read more about HTC, HTC Vive and Virtual Reality (VR).