Deep inside a nondescript building in Plantation, Florida, Magic Leap has built a gadget that is real, and cool, and can mix three-dimensional virtual images with reality better than any other augmented or mixed-reality headset—whatever you want to call it—that I’ve seen.
The big question now is: what will people do with this thing?
The company hopes developers and other creative types will start coming up with answers shortly. Because today Magic Leap will start selling its long-awaited first gadget, a pair of black, tinted, fly-eyed goggles called Magic Leap One.
It’s not for anyone. You’ll first have to register as a developer—the company hopes a community of developers will emerge to build apps for the headset, as they do for smartphones—and shell out $2,295 for it (for comparison, Microsoft’s HoloLens headset, also still aimed at developers, costs $3,000 or $5,000). You also have to be at least 18, and able to have it delivered to you in one of several US cities where it will be initially available, such as New York or Seattle. If none of these hurdles stops you, you’ll receive the headset, a wearable computer that connects to it, and a one-handed controller. A rechargeable battery gives the whole system enough juice to work for up to three hours at a time.
To read more, click here.