MSI VR One backpack laughs in the face of your smartphone VR

Now THIS is mobile VR
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We've previously reported on MSI's VR backpack, then a concept that we weren't convinced would make it any further. Turns out it has, and the Taiwanese company has just shown off the finished product.

Why put VR on a backpack? One of the biggest drawbacks of the top-tier VR headsets - Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PSVR - is that they have to be powered by a beefy machine, keeping them tethered at all times. By putting that power on your back, you'd be able to take advantage of room-scaling technology without worrying about any pesky cables.

Read this: The best HTC Vive games you need to play

The new version of MSI's backpack, made specifically for the HTC Vive, has a slightly different design to the one we'd seen prior, and comes with a new name: MSI VR One.

It weighs 3.6kg and will be able to deliver about an hour and a half of VR fun powered by a Nvidia GTX 1 graphics card. There's also a HDMI port, a mini DisplayPort, Thunderbolt3, and plenty of vents to keep it cool.

MSI VR One backpack laughs in the face of your smartphone VR

Sure, you'll look a bit silly using it, but at least you'll also have your 'Crap Ghostbuster' outfit sorted for next Halloween.

MSI says it worked closely with HTC's Vive team to bring the backpack to life. It also brags that it's the "lightest and thinnest backpack PC system", although competition isn't huge.

HP and Alienware are among a handful of others to also announce similar products, but the VR backpack market is hardly a thriving one. Yet.

MSI VR One backpack laughs in the face of your smartphone VR




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Hugh Langley

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Now at Business Insider, Hugh originally joined Wareable from TechRadar where he’d been writing news, features, reviews and just about everything else you can think of for three years.

Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider.

Prior to Wareable, Hugh freelanced while studying, writing about bad indie bands and slightly better movies. He found his way into tech journalism at the beginning of the wearables boom, when everyone was talking about Google Glass and the Oculus Rift was merely a Kickstarter campaign - and has been fascinated ever since.

He’s particularly interested in VR and any fitness tech that will help him (eventually) get back into shape. Hugh has also written for T3, Wired, Total Film, Little White Lies and China Daily.


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