The Announcement
The developer kit will be released in Q1 2016 and will cost $3000, placing it firmly in the enterprise hardware level the company has said they would be targeting with the initial release. The demo video can be found below, and boy is it impressive.
In addition to applying for a developer kit, Microsoft also offered the ability to demo the Hololens at a location near you. The full list of cities and dates can be found here
The Implications
Many believe the technology behind the Hololens to be the most advanced yet. The price announcement signals that Microsoft is clearly aiming to target enterprise customers, and the release date means that earlier versions will be in the hands of developers soon.
During a demo presentation, the Hololens impressed once again. An important thing to note however is that the demo wasn't being completely honest. In reality, the device's field of view is limited to about 40º as opposed to a a full field of view, as witnessed during the presentation. Additionally, fully opaque models in the room, black colors, and wide field of view are other things that are suggested by this presentation that are simply not true. This could be problematic as it sets unreasonable expectations in consumer's minds.
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