Now that Microsoft has finished seeding initial developers, the company is opening up availability for a first wave of commercial customers. Go to hololens.com and you can pick up as many as five of the AR visors, for a mere $3,000 each.
Along with the developer’s software, there’s a Commercial Suite that adds enterprise features like a kiosk mode, device management, an app store, and encryption. Pricing for that isn’t public; you have contact your Microsoft sales rep.
Three thousand dollars a pop may sound like a lot of money, but it really isn’t out of line for a dev platform. For one thing, a high price like that keeps the device out of the hands of casual users with more enthusiasm than development skills. (I’m looking at you, Google Glass.)
Speaking of casual users, Microsoft remains mum on general shipping plans, either to businesses or consumers. But bet on availability to the former far earlier than sales to the latter.