Pimax launches Kickstarter campaign for its ‘Pimax Portal’ metaverse entertainment system

In Virtual Reality News

November 17, 2022 – Pimax, a virtual reality (VR) hardware manufacturer and provider of ultra-wide field of view and high-resolution consumer VR devices, has this week announced that its pre-sale campaign on Kickstarter for the new ‘Pimax Portal’ metaverse entertainment system is now live.

On November 9, the company held Pimax Frontier 2022 where it unveiled its latest VR 3.0 device, the Pimax Portal. According to Pimax, the new device is already in production with first product shipments expected in January 2023. The company is hoping that the Portal will be able to compete with other portable gaming devices, such as the Nintendo Switch and Meta Quest 2.

Pimax stated that it has created the Portal to bring the “VR 3.0” experience to a mainstream audience at an affordable price point. The new device merges four separate devices into one package, and includes an innovative handheld gaming device, a VR 3.0 headset for mainstream audiences, a portable PC gaming system, and a living room entertainment center. The company is expecting its new 4-in-1 product will introduce more people to the world of virtual reality.

The Pimax Portal brings 4K resolution to handheld devices, and features a smooth 144Hz refresh rate. Plus, the device makes use of VR technology to provide Asynchronous Spacewarp (ASW) that lowers latency to less than 20ms, according to the company.

The Portal includes two interchangeable lenses, with one set of lenses offering 27 Pixels-Per-Degree (PPD) and a 100-degree Field of View (FoV), which makes it well suited for VR experiences. The second set offers 40 PPD and a 60-degree FoV to ensure that users can watch high-resolution movies while traveling or on the go.

In addition, the company has developed a special wide-field version headset called the ‘Portal Horizon’ that provides a 140-degree FoV. Finally, Pimax is also developing the ‘Portal Social Edition’ that includes eye-tracking and face-tracking, which will allow Portal to offer more natural social experiences.

The Portal PC gaming system can connect games to a larger screen and controllers from the company called the ‘Pimax XL.’ This aspect of the entertainment system provides a sleeve that users insert the Portal into with a large, bright 8.8-inch screen at 120hz refresh rate. With the brand-new Pimax Mini Station, a WiGig Streaming module allows for fast streaming and networking. Portal also supports 5G, Wi-Fi 6E and split rendering, which helps to solve issues of low picture quality, frame drops and latency often seen in cloud games. In addition, Pimax stated that the device also supports all cloud game platforms on the market.

Finally, the Dock for the Pimax Portal offers physical movement fitness games, large-screen mobile games and different multimedia modes. With 6DoF supported by its gamepad, the Dock enables gamers to freely play games and offers a revolution for interaction within the living room.

The device, which appears to feature a modular design, hinges around the Portal display, which can either be used as a handheld gaming system, or placed inside the system’s VR headset in a similar way that other insertable VR headsets (such as Google Daydream or Samsung Gear VR ) have worked. The controllers are designed to either clip onto the side of the display for handheld gaming, much in the same way that the Nintendo Switch works, or they can slot into VR controllers for use with the headset.

Backers on Kickstarter have multiple options available. Early bird pledgers can get just the Pimax Portal handheld device for USD $299 (standard pricing USD $399), or can opt for the Pimax Portal QLED option that costs USD $549. The cheapest bundle with a headset is the Portal View package, which costs USD $449 with early bird pricing (standard pricing USD $499) and comes with the Pimax Portal handheld device and the system’s View VR headset. There are more expensive bundles that also include the new Pimax Crystal headset. For all pricing tiers, please visit the Kickstarter page here.

Pimax stated that it will be showcasing its Pimax Portal metaverse entertainment system, as well as the new Pimax Crystal headset at multiple Roadshows around the world for the months of November and December. Although currently, all of the company’s roadshow events appear to only be in Europe at the time of publishing.

For more information on Pimax and its VR and gaming solutions, please visit the company’s website.

Image credit: Pimax