The Pico Neo is a dumb VR headset with a smart controller
Glucose-tracking smart contact lens is comfortable enough to wear
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The Pico Neo is a dumb VR headset with a smart controller
This is a good idea, even if you probably shouldn't buy it.
We're still not sure what the future of VR looks like. Oculus, HTC and Valve are focusing on systems based around powerful gaming PCs. Sony will use its PlayStation 4 as a standardized base for PSVR. Samsung wants you to slot a flagship phone in front of your eyes. Chinese company Pico has a different idea. Its Pico Neo is an all-in-one system that offers an Oculus-like headset, but gets all of its computing power from a controller.
Inside that controller is a chip you'd find inside a flagship many smartphones: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC. That means you're getting a quad-core 2.2GHz CPU, an Adreno 530 GPU and a Hexagon 680 DSP. That's paired with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage (expandable by MicroSD).The headset itself has a pair of 1,200 x 1,080 panels (one for each eye), which matches the resolution of the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Those panels refresh at 90Hz; on pare with the Vive and Rift, but slower than PSVR, and 102-degree field of view -- less than the Vive and Rift, but more than PSVR. While specs don't tell you much about a device's quality, on paper the Neo matches up with its contemporaries.This all sounds pretty good so far. But then you look at the controller itself. It's... pretty simplistic, offering a SNES-like layout with a D-pad, four action buttons and a pair of shoulder bumpers. Pico has added a little more flexibility with the super successful backtouch feature from the Vita, and also movement sensors, but the decision to not include analog thumbsticks is strange given VR experiences are almost universally in three dimensions.There are analogs on the optional add-on TrackingKit and Beacon, which appear to be a straight clone of Sony's PlayStation Camera and Move controllers. It's not clear where you're supposed to stash the controller with the processing power inside while you're holding onto them.One advantage the Pico Neo has over the Vive, Oculus and PSVR is freedom of movement: with a 5000mAh battery inside, you can apparently get 3 hours of gaming or video playback untethered, after which you can use a Quick Charge 3.0 charger to top up.One disadvantage it has is compatibility. The Pico Neo is unlikely to see widespread support. It's based on Android 6.0, so you'd expect a reasonable amount of games can be played, but it's not clear if head tracking or controller support will require additional coding from developers. Pico says you can also just plug the headset into a PC to play more games, but support there also seems questionable -- and it kind of negates the main selling point of the Neo in the first place.The Neo Pico will launch this summer for 3,399 Yuan ($525) with controller and headset, or 1.899 Yuan ($295) if you just want the headset to use with a PC. We can't imagine many gamers are going to be dissuaded from their Rift, Vive and PSVR headsets by the proposition, but it's an interesting idea that we might see implemented by other companies soon.
In this article:
Glucose-tracking smart contact lens is comfortable enough to wear
It can monitor your blood sugar without causing vision trouble.
Darren Aronofsky-backed VR series 'Spheres' lands a 7-figure deal
It's the largest VR purchase yet at Sundance.
Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S9 on February 25th
The tech titan teases its 'reimagined camera' in its invite.
Android Messages adds Smart Replies for Project Fi users
But not for users with other carriers, surprisingly.
Udacity's 'flying car' engineering course starts next month
Hope you've saved up: Tuition costs $2400 total.
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DAILY ROUNDUPThe industry's most important news in your inbox, daily.SUBMITPlayStation VR Demo Station Takes Place Within A PSVR Headset
PSLS& & && & && & &New PlayStation VR Demo Station Takes Place Within a Giant PSVR HeadsetOctober 12, 2016Written by Tyler Treese One of the reasons why PlayStation VR is set to sell over
this year is due to Sony’s retail demos. Sony has scheduled over 500,000 separate demo stations, and this is one of the main reasons why pre-orders have been so high for PlayStation’s first foray into virtual reality. While most of the demo stations in the United States have taken place in Best Buy and Gamestop stores, UK gamers will be able to experience the most unique demo kiosk we’ve seen.London-based PlayStation fans (or anyone willing to travel this weekend) can visit King’s Cross to check out PlayStation VR demos that are being held within a giant PlayStation VR headset. That sounds a little too Inception-y to me, but it’s certainly a unique experience if nothing else. The kiosk will be up until Sunday, and then the ridiculous headset will likely go into storage (hey, you never know when you need a giant PSVR headset after all).More photos of the ridiculous (yet awesome looking) demo station can be found on PlayStation VR (check out our review of the headset ) launches tomorrow, October 13. It will launch alongside over 30 games (full list ), including ,
and . The headset itself will cost $400, while a bundle with the PlayStation Camera, two PlayStation Move controllers, and PlayStation VR Worlds will retail for $500.Let us know in the comments below if you’ll be picking up PlayStation VR this week!(Source: )PlayStationLifeStyle.net is a property of
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