[2016-04-09] Lumiere Online Store Mixes Bitcoin With Virtual Reality

[jdebunt]

What are your thoughts on Bitcoin's role in virtual reality?

Bitcoin and virtual reality seem to be a very potent combination, and Lumiere Online Store is thinking along those lines precisely. There is a lot of focus on virtual reality right now, and many investors are looking to be part of the game. But at the same time, there is a lot of consumer interest too, and they want access to convenient payment methods, such as Bitcoin. As a result, Lumiere Online Store is now accepting digital currency payments, and they even offer remuneration for their VR shop beta testing.

http://bitcoinist.net/lumiere-online-store-mixes-bitcoin-virtual-reality/

[Virtually Reality]

I'm pleased to hear you've also decided to go down this route. At Virtually Reality Ltd, we've also decided to accept Bitcoin as payment method on both our online store and physical pop-up store opening in London'd Old Street Underground Station between April 4th - 10th. This poof of concept will fund the basis for us to move to a more permanent location.

We would also like to encourage an increasing number of physical retailers to follow our steps as it's important for Bitcoin users to have places to physically utilise their Bitcoin. Even in a tech forward city like London, I'm struggling to see this.

Are you experiencing something similar up in Chicago?

Also, while I've had a look at your online store and read you also have a physical shop in Chicago, I don't seem to find a website for it.

Could you kindly share the URL?

Thanks

[ANdr0id]

I'm pleased to hear you've also decided to go down this route. At Virtually Reality Ltd, we've also decided to accept Bitcoin as payment method on both our online store and physical pop-up store opening in London'd Old Street Underground Station between April 4th - 10th. This poof of concept will fund the basis for us to move to a more permanent location.

We would also like to encourage an increasing number of physical retailers to follow our steps as it's important for Bitcoin users to have places to physically utilise their Bitcoin. Even in a tech forward city like London, I'm struggling to see this.

Are you experiencing something similar up in Chicago?

Also, while I've had a look at your online store and read you also have a physical shop in Chicago, I don't seem to find a website for it.

Could you kindly share the URL?

Thanks

I ordered one pair of Glyph (which is not exactly VR, more like a home movie-theatre) from Lumiere and they gave me a free pair of Lumiere VR Cardboard.
Glyph is the most amazing gadget I bought in years. it perfectly replace the movie-theatre and it's even better. I purchased it from Lumiere because the official store shipped it in 10 weeks, not 5 days as Lumiere does.

Lumiere Cardboard on the other side is kinda bullshit. it looks a little better than Google Cardboard and other similar products but image quality is mediocre and a little bit uncomfortable.
Anyway, since it was for free, I can't complain at all.

I'm looking forward to dive in the VR World but I'm waiting for some serious VR headsets like HTC Vive or Oculus Rift to hit the market.

PS: They mentioned somewhere that they officially closed their physical store about 1 year ago and now it's exclusively online (l-os.com) 

[Virtually Reality]

Glyph is a great product indeed. Cardboard is a pretty rudimentary headset option but it's fun and cheap (in your case free) and it's an entry point into VR for those not willing to invest hundreds of dollars. Quality wise it will always be pretty basic although I've tried a number of actual smartphone headsets retailing at no more than $50 that produce a decent quality image and experience, yet not comparable to the Vive or Oculus Rift. I did try the Vive the other night actually and must admit it exceeded my expectations in terms of sensory experience; great piece of kit and looks slick.

It's a shame Lumiere has closed their physical location. We at Virtually Reality believe the physical store is highly important for multiple reasons. Firstly because as of today the large majority of the public still hasn't got a clue about what VR is and does, but also because some of the products can be price prohibiting for most people. I can't imagine someone who doesn't know much about VR just pressing the 'buy now' button online without having tried the product first. Worth also pointing out the cost doesn't end with the headset purchase. For VR to perform, a high spec PC with powerful graphic cards is required which can add an extra $1,500 to the cost.

While we will be selling headsets ourselves at some point, we are currently focusing on working with manufacturers producing complementing hardware to the headsets, including a number of virtualisers and haptic/feedback devices. If you're interested, feel free to have a look at our website at www.virtuallyreality.co