Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition available in March

Microsoft’s HoloLens Developer Edition will start shipping on March 30 for $3000.

Microsoft HoloLens Development edition ships on March 30 for $3000. (Microsoft)

Redmond based technology giant Microsoft has confirmed it will start shipping the developer version of its augmented reality headset -- the HoloLens for $3,000 on March 30.

That's around the same time Facebook's Oculus will begin shipping the consumer version of its Rift virtual-reality headset for $600. HoloLens differs from the Oculus Rift in that it makes the viewer see three-dimensional objects in the real world, rather than blocking out the real and replacing it with a 360-degree fictional universe.

The HoloLens operates on Windows 10 and unlike the Rift, requires no tethering to a separate computer.

It'll use a custom-built chip designed on an Intel platform. It'll let users record high-definition video that recreates a mix of holographs overlaid on the real world that can be shared with people without the device.

With inputs from AP