UK catalogue retailer Argos is offering a total of £100 off the Oculus Rift+Touch bundle on their eBay store.
The headset is £50 off in the listing, and then by entering the voucher code ‘PRESENTS’ in the checkout another £50 will be removed, bringing the price down to £299. The offer is only valid for collection from store — delivery is not available.
This is the best price we’ve ever seen for the Oculus Rift+Touch kit in the UK. If you knew someone with an Oculus headset you could get the Rift+Touch package for £314.10 on Black Friday, but if you didn’t the price was £349.
The offer doesn’t include the Marvel Powers United VR game which many other retailers are bundling, but that game is £29.99 so this is still the better deal.
Given that the Samsung Odyssey+ doesn’t ship to the UK, Windows MR headsets do not have the heavy discounts they have in the USA, and the HTC Vive is priced at £499, this represents one of the best deals we’ve seen in the UK for a PC VR headset.
Virtual reality (VR), together with augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) can be used in incredible new ways to modernise and revolutionise the workflow of a great many industries. We’ve seen it be picked up of course by the health and education industries, but also in automative industries where AR and MR visualisation offer a massive advantage in production.
Now, OPTIS are partnering with the Virtual Engineering Centre to bring the capabilities and possibilities to light for a variety of industries in the UK. Business clients can access the facilities at Daresbury, near Warrington and Central London, and use the digital technologies to test their products and processes in a digital environment.
Virtual prototypes save money on physical prototypes and allow designers and companies to view their creations in real time and quickly highlight any design issues. The Virtual Engineering Centre hope that this will bring together industry professionals and find new ways to increase productivity and keep the UK competitive in the global market when it comes to new technologies.
Fabrice Mekersi, Vice President EMEA of OPTIS, comments on the partnership, saying; “With OPTIS’ human vision and light simulation expertise coupled to the Centre’s facilities and skills, we can offer real benefits to our industrial partners and win them a competitive advantage in their Markets. As of now, UK businesses can explore how immersive virtual reality can be integrated into products and manufacturing processes, as OPTIS’ VR solutions make it possible to simulate every step of the industrial process from the very first prototype to final validation.”
Dr Charles Patchett, Technology Expert at Virtual Engineering Centre has also said; “Virtual reality is a sheer luck for industries to gain valuable manufacturing time, and to get a head start on future: this is the issue of our agreement.”
We can only hope that the new partnership will enable many businesses to see the benefits and potential gains to productivity that can be achieved by incorporating new technologies into their work flow. As VR is adapted more and more, you’ll read about it on VRFocus.
The biggest downfall of digital purchases for many customers – aside from the fear that the ability to download them may one day disappear – is the sheer uncertainty. Unlike retail stores you can’t take them back, and unlike physical software you can’t sell them on. Luckily, the Oculus Store seems to be taking a step in the right direction with a new Oculus Content Refund Policy.
Essentially, Oculus Rift and Gear VR users can now seek refunds for Oculus Store purchases, as long as the software was purchased in the last two weeks, and has been used for less than a total of two hours. This is similar to a refund policy Steam introduced after heavy criticism.
The only catch is that, currently, only users living in the United Kingdom can seek out refunds, much to the dismay of international customers.
Unfortunately, not everything is eligible for a refund, either. Movies, bundles, in-app-purchases and DLC will still not be eligible for refunds.
After requesting a refund you’ll lose access to any associated software, and it’ll take up to five days for your request to be reviewed and processed. Your original payment method will be credited, meaning Oculus Store credit will be returned, or debit/credit card funds will be returned, if you purchased with one of those methods directly.
We’re happy Oculus has taken this consumer-friendly move – hopefully we’ll see the service roll out worldwide soon. For all of the latest from Oculus, make sure to keep reading VRFocus.
Google will undoubtedly be remembered for its influence in virtual reality’s exposure whenever we look back on things in the future. The Google Cardboard platform has been an accessible and inexpensive option for skeptics and the Google Daydream is shaping up to be a worthy contender across from the Samsung Gear VR, which is healthy competition needed if the mobile VR industry is to thrive.
In the UK, Google is looking to initiate a different type of influence, one that will utilize the growing VR medium as a tool. Via Wired’s UK page, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai is set to announce an initiative that will expand its King’s Cross campus and bring VR to a million school children.
During his first visit to the UK as Google’s CEO, Pichai will be unveiling Google Expeditions to inspire teachers to incorporate virtual reality into their curriculum.
“Virtual reality can spark students’ imagination and help them learn about topics like how blood flows through the human body or the impact climate change is having on the Great Barrier Reef, in an engaging and immersive way,” says Pichai. In the video trailer for Expeditions, students were taken to locales like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. In addition to the VR focus on young students, Google will be improving its skills program The Digital Garage by adding 5 hours of training content focused on growing businesses.
“No matter where you live, no matter where you’re from, no matter what your job is – you deserve access to all the information, education and opportunity the web has to offer,” he says. “Our aim is to make sure that every individual and business in the UK has the support they need to make the most of online tools to innovate, compete and have fruitful careers in the digital age.”
The King’s Cross facility is Google’s new headquarters that started moving staff in around June this year. It houses many engineers that work on Google projects like Android and the 11-story building is a sight to see. There’s no telling what the new building they’re adding to the campus will involve, but one would hope virtual and augmented reality will get some sort of priority. We’ll update later as more information from Pichai’s visit is revealed.
