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Samsung Launches Virtual Reality Headset For Galaxy Note 4
An anonymous reader writes Samsung has launched a virtual reality headset called Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition. It uses the new Galaxy Note 4 for a screen and technology from Oculus VR. The headset comes with four visual settings that simulate experiences such as sitting in a theater or being on stage. Despite partnering with Oculus, the Gear VR won't run Oculus apps, but Samsung says porting titles over shouldn't be too hard. From the article: "This is Oculus' first consumer product and, bizarrely, it's on a Samsung device. Oculus VR CTO John Carmack personally led the mobile software development team at Oculus, and the software interface is all built in collaboration with Samsung. It's basic: Point a reticle in the middle of the screen at what you want to select and tap the touchpad to select it. The options are sparse and base level, and the only content management that exists right now is a store of sorts. It looks like the Google Play store to an extent, except it's floating in space.
It's still 6-10 months before any facebook buyout related applications/tech should start to show up. So this is all still "startup trying to find its feet" exploration. We can't yet blame zuckerberg for any nonsense of this sort that occurs.
With that device in that contraption and strapped to my head?
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For one to call this 'nonsense' might be a tad unfair. This has some value. I personally want the equipment geared better for interactive gaming, but for non-gaming applications this could fit the bill fine (note they didn't even pretend to show a game, for good reason).
This may be related to the facebook acquisition. It might have been pre-deal influence by Facebook or the thing Facebook found out to make them buy Oculus. I could see facebook betting a bit more money on laying claim to a company that seems to be building a software ecosystem around them with more than one vendor. I wouldn't be surprised if Facebook approaches the likes of Asus, evga, Dell, Lenovo, et al to try to have them take ownership of the PC hardware piece to leave their focus on software enablement.
It's going to be a tough call if they can provide decent ROI on the 2 billion dollar acquisition. They'll need revenue from multiple fronts for something as invasive as this (VR won't be nearly as mainstream as the likes of Zynga games, it's just more of a burden than anything that has really lasted in the industry for the casual user).
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
Still not glasses friendly.
Why would you buy a VR headset that will be tied to a bunch of phones that will surely be unsupported soon. Samsung has a *terrible* track record here.
Looking forward to watching half of a movie before having to take a break from it for a recharge (the device powers the unit)
Is this AMOLED Pentile? Pentile is just so unpleasant. Please Samsung Please.
http://www.durovis.com/index.html I own one of these, and put my Samsung S3 into it. It's fun to play around with, as the 3D effect can be good, but it's not a perfected ready-for-prime-time product. Some of the apps are a real PITA to control, since you still have to tap on the screen with your finger sometimes. And there's no link to another video source- like a PC or console game machine. Having owned and used real high-end VR equipment over the years (including Mil Spec stuff), there's great potential (and fun) in VR, but getting it to the typical home user level is still a ways off. I think many people will buy a Rift device when it finally hits retails, and enjoy the "novelty", but will either return the things, or leave them to collect dust after getting over the initial novelty. The games and attendant accessories (i.e. practical controller) need to be in place, and at reasonable price points. I spent $30,000 on one setup, and it worked great, as the tracker could be used as a mouse emulator-- meaning it worked "off-the-shelf" with most FPS type games... but that $30K including the costs of the HMD, the tracker, and the joystick... and some games needed to have their keyboard layout remapped to work with the joystick buttons (not a big deal really)...