Microsoft is about to take its $3000 augmented reality headsets on a North America tour and tickets are on offer right now. HoloLens is expected to pack its tour venues, so developers looking to watch this thing rock out close up will need to reserve their seats as soon as possible.
At each of the tour stops, a Microsoft anointed expert in the development arts of HoloLens will be on hands to evangelize the AR headsets and inspire developers to dream up new experiences for the platform.
"We're excited to offer developers the opportunity to get a first-hand demo of Microsoft HoloLens and meet a member of our development team to learn more about creating holographic experiences," says Microsoft. "Come build the holographic future with us."
Right now, Microsoft is focusing on building an infrastructure for HoloLens. The company plans to release it at some point in 2016, but the focus will rest on developers, still, and the enterprise.
Consumers are a huge part of Microsoft's HoloLens plans, but the current going rate won't be too consumer friendly out of the gates. Microsoft has set a price at $3000 a pop, which should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed Google's AR glasses, Glass.
Glass, for developers and early adopters, went for just shy of $2000 in its first run. Google, however, expressed a desire to bring the price tag down into the hundreds of dollars for a wider release, which hasn't happened yet.
So back to HoloLens. Microsoft hasn't tipped a lower price point for HoloLens, besides stating that consumers are in its plans for the headsets. Enterprise adoption should help bring the price down, but don't expect this fully wireless and independently powered headset to come cheap.
Here's where to go to reserve a seat, right here, and these are the dates and locations for Microsoft's HoloLens tour:
Seattle Oct 13 - 16
Toronto Oct 19 - 22
Salt Lake City Oct 20 - 22
Chicago Oct 26 - 29
San Francisco Oct 26 - 30
Los Angeles Nov 2 - 5
New York City Nov 2 - 5
Minneapolis Nov 9 - 11
Phoenix Nov 10 - 12
Atlanta Nov 17 - 19
Austin Nov 17 - 20
