San Francisco, Oct 15 (IANS): HTC has launched a new entertainment and health focused VR headset 'Vive Flow' to take on Facebook's Oculus Quest 2.

Priced at $499, it will be available via company's online store, as well as retailers around the world. Pre-orders started on Thursday globally, and anyone pre-ordering will receive the official Vive Flow carry case.

"Meditation, gentle stretches, brain training, streaming our favourite shows or even meeting friends or co-workers in VR with Vive Sync can all be enhanced by a device light and compact enough to fit in our pocket. Vive Flow represents the next evolution of technology, as we take a more holistic view of how we can make life better," Cher Wang, Chairwoman and CEO of HTC said in a statement.

According to the company, Vive Flow is a compact, lightweight immersive glasses device that transports its wearers wherever they want or need to be anytime, anywhere.

The device comes with 3.2K resolution, a 75 Hz refresh rate, and a 100-degree field of view. It packs 3D spatial audio, although you can use it with external Bluetooth headphones as well

Under the hood, the device uses a Qualcomm XR1 chipset and comes with 64 GB of Internal Storage. Unlike the Focus, it lacks a slot for an expansion card.

One can connect the device to an Android smartphone wirelessly and use the phone as a combination remote/touchpad.

One can also use the smartphone as a virtual laser pointer with buttons for selecting items and calling up the home screen.