Virtual reality is well on its way to becoming a commercial reality for consumers. None-the-less, the hardware choices currently available to consumers are somewhat bipolar. In the context of this article, bipolar refers to the price points and capabilities of available products.
At one end, call it the “hot” end of the product spectrum, a product such as the sophisticated headset offered by Oculus, can provide a high quality VR experience. The “cool” end of the product spectrum can be represented by the simple Google Cardboard. Up to now, this bipolarity has resulted in consumers having to make a choice. Pay the high price of a premium headset or live with the many deficiencies of one of the minimalistic product offerings. To address this issue, Homido is offering a product that is designed to be neither too hot nor too cold.
Similar to Cardboard, the user’s smartphone is inserted into the Homido headset as the image source. A clip at the front of the headset holds the smartphone securely in place. It is reported that insertion and removal of the smartphone is simple and easy. Smartphones from 4 to 5.5-inches are compatible with the holder.
Taking a step beyond Cardboard, the Homido product addresses the fact that many potential headset users are likely to wear glasses. The means that Homido uses to address this issue is to offer three sets of lenses having different focal lengths. One set is for normal vision, one for user’s that are near-sighted and one for user’s that are far-sighted. By selecting and including the appropriate lens set, users need not wear their glasses when wearing the Homido headset. The field of view of the optics is 100°.
There are other features in the Homido headset that provide capabilities beyond Cardboard and that make it more like a premium product. These are knobs that allow the user to adjust the depth of view and the interpupilary distance to their individual needs.
The plastic headset has a thick, interchangeable foam strip along the front as the face contact surface. The headset is held to the user’s head by an elastic band that wraps around the user’s head. It is reported that “for short periods, it is very comfortable to wear, though with a heavier phone like an iPhone 6 Plus, eventually you start to feel it in your face and neck.”
A video illustrating the use of the Homido headset can be found at the end of this article.
One inconvenient aspect of the Homido headset is the fact that it does not have a select/action button. These control functions are on the smartphone and not readily accessible when the smartphone is in the Homido headset. There is, however, a simple means to address this problem: link a wireless Bluetooth selfie/remote/gamepad controller to the smartphone. A variety of these devices for both IOS and Android smartphones are available on eBay and Amazon. An example of such a controller appears below and sells for about $5.
The Homido headset is available for purchase on the company web site for about $75. On the other hand, type “Homido headset” into a web browser and sources will be listed selling the product for as low as about $56.
Homido has established the Homido Center, an on-line catalogue listing of all the apps that are available and that are compatible with the company’s virtual reality headset. At this time, there are over 300 apps available for Android (at Google Play) and the iPhone (at the App store).
Does the Homido headset product offer a price/performance compromise that consumers will find neither too hot nor too cold but “just right?” Sales will tell and Meko will report. -Arthur Berman
Homido, [email protected], +33-0320-507019
