As I said this is the future. If we can already do VR using a cell phone, small glasses and much more simple devices are not that far away, soon everyone will have some VR device on them. It is called Gear VR from samsung and Oculus, using the Note 4.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/03/samsung-virtual-reality/

Yes first thought is WTF is that?! Seriously they stuck a phone inside a plastic and call it VR, lolololol. Apparently it works, the device has a shit ton of measuring devices and they say it is a better experience than Oculus dev kit 1 and on par with the crystal cove.

Gaf developers answering questions on it:

The Oculus PR talks about all the low-level improvements at the OS and driver level made to make low-latency VR work on Android. In my (admittedly limited) Android development experience those seem very important indeed for an application which depends on consistent, low latency performance (performance consistency for realtime applications isn’t vanilla Android’s strong suit). My question is, do these simply happen automatically when the device is in VR mode, or are there any new APIs for any of that?

I would imagine they only apply in VR Mode, but the custom kernel does a great job at hard scheduling. I’m pretty sensitive to latency and this is at least equal to DK2 (might even be better). Timewarping is rad, too, which can honestly make even a native 30 FPS application feel decent. Carmack is a genius. (And he even replied to me on a forum last week! Life achievement unlocked!)

…

Latency

Through some miracle (read: John Carmack), Oculus and Samsung have created a VR experience that feels even smoother than the DK2</b>. Latency is incredibly low. I don’t have the greatest grasp of the technology (so hopefully Oculus will start bragging in detail soon), but my understanding is that Gear VR’s advantage comes from a thing called “asynchronous time warp”

. This is a process by which the display is updated at 60 frames per second while adjusting the graphics based on head rotation, regardless of the performance of the actual game. In-game animations will still appear to run at the game’s rendering rate, so performance is still a priority, but there’s almost no latency when simply looking around, and a dropped frame won’t cause a nauseating lurch. It’s even possible to target 30fps for some games, letting the time warp keep the experience smooth while saving a ton of battery life. This feature makes a big, big difference.

So Carmack is a genius and found a way to make VR work on a phone. And Solid you were worried that the PS4 wouldn’t be able to handle VR, a PHONE can do it.

Not sure if I will get a note or if this will be a success but it sure is cool and it is just the beginning of worldwide VR domination.

Oh and it can do this too:

he most important software on Gear VR is video passthrough. By long-pressing the back button on the headset, the Note 4′s 16-megapixel rear camera shows a feed of the real world (albeit a slightly delayed one). While this can be used for augmented reality applications, it’s also sure to be a standard in all VR headsets going forward. Using a headset and want to sip your tasty beverage? Video passthrough. The dog’s barking and you’re wondering what’s up? Video passthrough.You want to do literally anything without having to remove the whole headset? Video passthrough. Seriously, this is a standard-setting situation. Expect it from the competition.

So cool! All VR devices need this.

AR is nice for every day activities and stuff and will have its place. But when you can virtually trick your body into believing you are in another place and time and experience wonders the normal world can't deliever it will transend small activities and become a major player in every form of entertainment there is. It will take a long while but the holodeck future is happening.

I've known about that Samsung device for a long time now, it's a head casing which you just put a phone in. Some have done this themselves with cardboard, I think google even offers that option. This is why months and months ago I was asking why VR had to be so expensive when any screen with accurate gyros could give you that experience.

Wii Street U or the Panorama videos do it. My tablet does it, most phones do it. I love the idea of VR but I don't love the idea of £500+ devices sold separately. IMO if a company is so confident of VR they should bundle it and make sure it's their focus. Also how is VR going to control without motion controllers? It's going to feel bloody restrictive if you can have a free natural moving viewpoint but rigid dual stick controls.

What about 3rd person games? How will they benefit?

And how have they, anyone really solved the problem of turning 180 without having you to turn your whole body around? You're going to have to have some decent software solutions because some games have nothing like Lego City and RE Revelations. You either exit the aiming/viewpoint and re-adjust or literally stand up and turn your whole body.

SupremeAC said:

AR has the advantage of not being usefull only to hermits and gamers, but also to people who enjoy being in the company of others.  I also think that it has a lot more potential for practical uses. ...

Having worked with the visually impaired something like this would radically change lives.

By either using exiting sensors or by placing even "3D" barcodes around a city you could give aural cues, or visual cuse to those who are only paritally blind (most are only partial).

Smart phones are already being used extensively in this area, but adding something like this, that keeps you hands free for your dog leash or cane would be great for the right type of impaired user.

gamingeek said:

I've known about that Samsung device for a long time now, it's a head casing which you just put a phone in. Some have done this themselves with cardboard, I think google even offers that option.

Yeah but this was the first time Oculus was mentioned as being a part of it. Google gave out a cardboard template at a dev conference kind of as a joke, you can find the template on the web.  By the end of the month, because of this announcement, I can garantee you'll be able to buy a 10,000 lot of plastic ski goggles on alibaba for $.70 each for import from China.

As much as I see this kind fo solution as being an affordable way to introduce the masses to VR, for gaming it would still require a third input, like a bluetooth controller.  Two items are complex enough for most people when it comes to tech, add a third thing, forget it.

Plus, VR is still a solution for a problem no-one has.

aspro said:

gamingeek said:

I've known about that Samsung device for a long time now, it's a head casing which you just put a phone in. Some have done this themselves with cardboard, I think google even offers that option.

Yeah but this was the first time Oculus was mentioned as being a part of it.

No, it wasn't, to me at least,  the very first story I read about the device mentioned Occulus.