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HTC Vive has finally brought its financing scheme to the UK, allowing would-be VR fans to get their hands on a Vive headset for under 35-per-month plus shipping, making it cheaper than a top-end smartphone contract.
The contract, which lasts 24 months, offers 9.9 per cent APR representative financing (from Divido Financial Services in association with Shawbrook Bank Ltd) for a total monthly cost of 34.84 plus shipping, and customers also get two free bits of content thrown in as well – Richie’s Plank Experience and Everest VR. They also get one month’s free access to HTC’s Viveport subscription, where they can pick five monthly selections from HTC’s curated collection of VR titles.
Of course, much like any phone contract, paying for a Vive through finance does, inevitably, work out more expensive than simply buying it upfront. Admittedly, while 759 is a lot to shell out in one go, the total repayable sum on finance ends up amounting to 836.19 over the course of two years, which is 77 more than the base price.
Nevertheless, the contract model certainly hasn’t stopped the mobile phone industry, and it should, theoretically, make the headset more affordable for a wider variety of customers. HTC says applying for Vive financing is similar to applying for a new credit card, so those with poor credit histories may struggle to get their application approved.
To apply for the financing option, simply select ‘financing’ from the billing page on checkout. The application takes around five minutes to complete, says HTC, and customers should have a decision online is under 30 seconds. Consumers can find more information on Vive’s website.
MCV recently spoke to HTC’s EMEA virtual reality program manager Graham Breen about Vive’s first year on the marketas well as what the future holds for Year Two of virtual reality.
