LOS ANGELES — Palo Alto, CA-based HP (www.hp.com) has announced what it’s calling a “unified approach” and commercial solutions for virtual reality (VR), positioning itself as a partner for those businesses looking to reduce concept-to-production cycle times, improve training procedures and deliver fully immersive customer experiences. As part of its strategy, the company is unveiling a professional, wearable VR PC — the new HP Z VR Backpack.
The HP Z VR Backpack solution provides the freedom to move and maintain total immersion with high-octane visual performance and docking capabilities that transform it into a manageable, powerful desktop PC experience. The HP Z VR Backpack is a catalyst for more powerful VR experiences across many enterprises and businesses including: Commercial entertainment where new location-based entertainment centers are featuring virtual reality experiences as well as businesses, medical training, architectural building development and in product development.
The Backpack is light, with an ergonomic backpack design and hot swappable batteries to provide unrestricted freedom within an immersive experience. It has high-end processing power and the latest high-fidelity graphic solution to help prevent disruptive dropped frames so users can work in VR for as long as needed. The Intel Core i7 vPro processor provides the power to process applications quickly and includes the vPro chipset. According to the company, the HP Z VR Backpack is the first wearable VR PC in the market and includes the Nvidia Quadro P5200 with 16GB of video memory. Finally, its docking solution lets digital creators quickly transition back and forth between high-powered desktop for content design and wearable VR PC to validate creations.
“Virtual reality is changing the way people learn, communicate and create,” says Xavier Garcia, vice president and general manager, Z Workstations, HP Inc. “Making the most of this technology requires a collaborative relationship between customers and partners. As a leader in technology, HP is uniting powerful commercial VR solutions, including new products like the HP Z VR Backpack, with customer needs to empower VR experiences our customers can use today to reinvent the future.”
The HP Z VR Backpack is part of HP’s VR family of solutions, which also includes the HP ZBook 17 Mobile Workstation, the HP Z Desktop Workstations, the HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower, and the OMEN X Compact Desktop brings gamers an immersive experience. The factory-overclocked GPU from NVIDIA and versatile form factor means it can dock and undock quickly for gaming anywhere or can be used as a backpack for an untethered consumer VR gaming experience.
The HP Z VR Backpack is scheduled to be available in September, starting at $3,299.