Skip to main content

vTime, the social network for VR, now lets you hang out in your photographs

There’s a new social network in town, and this one brings you closer to your friends than ever. Introducing vTime, the first virtual-reality social network from Starship, which has now launched on Oculus Rift, and will allow you to hang out with your friends in an artificial environment. Users are also able to socialize with friends and families within their own photos — just upload a memory in photographic form and experience it with the entire group.

Updated on 6-12-2016: vTime adds early access support for Oculus Rift

vTime Now Lets Users Socialize Inside Their Photographic Memories

In the last several months, the VR social network has launched a number of updates, from allowing users to hang out in their own photos to bringing Google Cardboard users into the fold. The Oculus Rift, however, is the latest headset to join in on the fun.

Recommended Videos

“We’re thrilled to welcome Rift users into the fold, and to take advantage of the headset’s impressive specifications to deliver an even more immersive sociable network,” said vTime CEO Martin Kenwright. “We’re also looking forward to the forthcoming controller advances to make communicating in vTime even more natural.” Since its launch in December of last year, vTime has already been downloaded by hundreds of thousands of individuals across 195 countries. 

The social network itself allows users to create a bespoke and lifelike avatar, then walk right into any one of 12 “detailed virtual destinations” with one to three friends (also equipped with VR headsets, of course). Think of it as being dropped into a version of the Sims where you’re not just controlling characters from behind a computer screen, but within the play environment itself. You’ll be able to chat with other users in real-time, and thanks to vTime’s head-tracking and spatial audio, users will enjoy the “illusion of social presence.” Best of all, you can take selfies within the vTime environments. Welcome to socialization in the 21st century.

And when the network introduced its Picture Sharing function, users could do more than just walk into one of vTime’s curated virtual environments — rather, they were given the opportunity to create their own hangout spot from their favorite photographs.

“Being sociable isn’t just about chatting,” explained Kenwright. “It’s also about sharing your personal memories with others. So now, we’re letting you do just that; by giving you access to The Archive, and the freedom to upload your own images to the 360 Gallery. “

Users can upload their favorite photographs to a free personal cloud-storage area. Then, you can choose to share these photos in a 2D display via The Archive, described as “an atmospheric underground vault to showcase their pictures,” or actually have a conversation within the photograph itself by way of the 360 Gallery, which serves as something of a blank canvas ready to display 360-degree media.

But don’t worry — even if you don’t have a VR headset, you’ll be able to get in on the vTime action. Thanks to the vTime Magic Window, individuals can join the social network and interact with other users simply by way of a smartphone and headset with a built-in microphone. But of course, if you’re looking for the full experience, VR is recommended.

Starship hopes to have the social network fully available to all virtual-reality HMDs by the end of the year, so regardless of whether you have a PlayStationVR, an Oculus Rift, or an HTC Vive, you can join this next-level community.

Previously updated on 05-28-2016: vTime update allows users to socialize inside photographic memories

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
The GPU market might go from bad to worse as Nvidia reportedly increases prices
The RTX 5090 sitting on a pink background.

As if the GPU market wasn't enough of a nightmare lately, Nvidia might have just raised the prices of its best graphics cards. According to a new report, Nvidia is increasing the pricing of its RTX 50-series GPUs for its board partners and suppliers, which might affect how much they cost for consumers. Here's what you need to know.

First of all, we're not talking about a straight-up increase that, let's say, raises the MSRP (recommended list price) of the RTX 5090 from $2,000 to $2,500 (don't worry, that didn't happen, although good luck buying an RTX 5090 for less than $3,000). This is a behind the scenes kind of price increase, and as such, we have no way to verify whether it's true -- so take it with a pinch of salt. The report comes from Digitimes and was later shared by XDA Developers, and Nvidia itself has yet to comment on the matter, so we have to be patient. Even if it's true, we might never get an official confirmation.

Read more
Apple is going to make it easier to read on your Mac
Magnifier being used to read the Odyssey.

In honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Apple has announced a litany of new features designed to make its ecosystem more user-friendly. Among these are Accessibility Nutrition Labels in the App Store, Magnifier for Mac, Braille Access, and Accessibility Reader. There are also updates coming to Live listen, visionOS, Personal Voice, and others.

The Accessibility Nutrition Labels provide more detailed information about apps and games in the store, highlighting any accessibility features they offer. This will make it easier for users who need these features to identify games and apps that will assist them. A few of the accessibility features include VoiceOver, Voice Control, Larger Text, and more.

Read more
Looking for a $1,000 gaming laptop? Check out this Gigabyte G6 deal
The Gigabyte G6 gaming laptop on a white background.

Looking for the best gaming laptop deals that you can buy for $1,000? You may want to set your sights on the Gigabyte G6. Its configuration with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, which is originally sold for $1,200, is currently available from Best Buy with a $200 discount. We're not sure how much time is remaining on this offer though, so if you're interested, you're going to have to be quick with your purchase and proceed with the transaction right now.

Why you should buy the Gigabyte G6 gaming laptop

Read more