HTC Offers Vive Financing, Expands Availability To 9 More Countries
HTC's announced a new monthly financing plan for the Vive system and said that it will sell the device in nine more regions this Spring.
Cost is the biggest factor preventing many people from adopting high-end VR. But for others, the problem isn't money so much as it's the fact that in many places, they simply cannot buy a Vive system. HTC's trying to solve both of those problems with these announcements.
In North America and China, the company is now offering financing options to let prospective Vive owners spread out the system's cost. North American customers can choose 6-month or 12-month 0% financing or 24-month financing at 7.99%. The financing plans split the purchase into monthly payments of $138, $66.58, and $40.13 per month, respectively, all of which are easier to stomach than a one-time payment of roughly $800.
Chinese customers get different financing terms to choose from, including a ¥2,296 per month 3-month term, a ¥1,148 per month six-month term, and a ¥574 per month 12-month term. All three options are offered at 0% financing. HTC said that select European retailers would soon offer similar financing programs but didn't offer a specific timeframe. Vive purchases can be financed through Vive.com in North America and JD.com in China.
HTC is also increasing the scope of the Vive's distribution channels. Starting today, the company will accept orders from customers in Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cypress, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The first shipments to these nine new regions will begin on March 1.
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Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years.
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hdmark tempting.... very tempting...Reply
the next generation of vive/rift wont be out for a few years most likely right? -
WFang I would say chances are good for next generation to come out sometime 2018... but that is pure speculation on my part.Reply -
jeremy2020 I'd expect it in 2018ish as well. I'd say 2017 holiday season, but I'm not sure they can get something put together by then.Reply -
kcarbotte Reply19356719 said:tempting.... very tempting...
the next generation of vive/rift wont be out for a few years most likely right?
Judging by what gabe said in a recent interview, "second" gen headsets could be here at the end of this year or next year.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/valve-newell-steamvr-hardware-software,33672.html
Vive won't have a new version for a while yet, but other VR HMDs are launching on the SteamVR platform in the future.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/lg-making-vr-hmd,33755.html -
zambutu Wait a second, you say financing available in North America and they give US dollar costs only..Reply -
kcarbotte Reply19358731 said:Wait a second, you say financing available in North America and they give US dollar costs only..
HTC provided US pricing only, but said it is available for North America.
You may have to contact HTC for local pricing.