14 DAY TRIAL // HoloLens, which is by far the most innovative product that Microsoft unveiled in the last decade, is available for pre-order starting right now at a price of $3,000 (€2,750).
The developer kit of the device that brings holograms in our lives is a stand-alone device that does not require any computer or peripheral to work. Thus, pretty much everything you need is in the box, including a Clicker, a carrying case, charger and cable, microfiber cloth, nose pads, and an overhead strap.
Technical specifications
The device has impressive specs, and it all starts with the see-through holographic lenses that make it possible to actually see the holograms. Additionally, the device features automatic pupillary distance calibration, as well as two HD 16:9 light engines.
There are several sensors mounted on the HoloLens, including environment understanding cameras, four microphones, an ambient light sensor, and what the company calls an “Inertial Measurement Unit.”
As far as power goes, the HoloLens comes with a so-called Custom Microsoft Holographic Processing Unit HPU 1.0 with Intel 32-bit architecture and features 2 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. It’s extremely light at only 579 grams and boasts external speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack for headphones.
Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth and microUSB 2.0 are also offered. According to Microsoft’s figures, the battery can run for a maximum of 3 hours in continuous mode or for 2 weeks in standby.
Available apps
And last but not least, the device obviously runs Windows 10 with Windows Store for more apps, with Microsoft providing Skype and a few other programs to get you started. OneDrive, Maps, Remote Desktop, People, Movies & TV, Groove Music and Office apps are also being offered.
“Starting today, developers will have access to documentation, and to the developer community, that will help them create amazing experiences. Developers should go to dev.windows.com/holographic for guides and detailed tutorials,” Microsoft’s Alex Kipman said in an announcement today.
“Additional development tools that include Visual Studio projects and a HoloLens emulator will be released when HoloLens devices start shipping to customers on March 30. The emulator will allow developers to test holographic apps on their PC without a physical HoloLens and comes with a HoloLens development toolset - to help developers who haven’t yet received their devices get started right away.”
The HoloLens development kits will start shipping on March 30, and developers will get access to a significant collection of resources to start creating apps for the headset.
