Speck news: Inexpensive VR accessory launched

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One of the pushes in technology this year includes the introduction of low-cost virtual reality accessories, and Speck has announced a small and portable peripheral that the company has launched for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6S.

According to Techno Buffalo, Speck has put out what is called a Pocket VR, an inexpensive and simple way of viewing virtual reality videos and 360 degree images on handsets. The accessory is very much like the Google Cardboard, a foldable goggle-type invention that allows the viewing of immersive content.

The Speck Pocket VR starts a small rectangular plastic that pops out to create a handheld viewer. The VR viewer has a slot where a smartphone can be installed and then another side where users can view subversive content. The gadget only allows casual virtual reality viewing, but is seen to be $30 cheaper than the Samsung Gear VR, which prior to Google Cardboard and Pocket VR was the most inexpensive way to experience subversive content.

Speck has announced that the handset VR viewer will come with a CandyShell Grip case, and will be available initially for the Samsung Galaxy S6, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6S. The Pocket VR was showcased in CES 2016.

Also released this week at CES were other more advanced virtual reality devices, that bring the VR experience to gamers and gadget users. The Facebook-backed Oculus Rift is now ready for pre-orders, with a price tag of $599, and is seen to initially ship out on March 28. The Rift comes with an Xbox controller, an Oculus remote for intuitive navigation, and two free virtual reality games- Lucky's Tale and EVE: Valkyrie.

Also revealed at CES was HTC Vive, the virtual reality headset by HTC and Valve, which is said to launch around March of this year. No details yet have been given on the price range that HTC Vive will fall under.