Anyone have Samsung Gear VR or something similar?

My oldest son is turning 13 next month...I cannot believe I will have a teenager, I swear it was just last week I was holding him in my lap giving him a bottle. The way he acts sometimes, it probably was last week. Anyway, I digress. The number one thing on his wish list is a scooter/pit bike/ATV. I posted a thread here a while ago asking about the Chinese scooters. I've looked into it, but really my biggest fear is putting him on two wheels. I have my own personal fear of two wheels, so not sure how good I feel about him doing it, even if it is within the confines of the sidewalks in our golf cart community.

Like any pre-teen/early teen, he loves his phone (and his tablet). So my wife and I thought that maybe something like the Gear VR would be a good idea, but I'm a technological caveman. If I'm right, the Gear VR is only compatible with newer Samsung phones. His phone is a Samsung, but it's not state of the art. I think it's called the Amp, or something like that. It's new, we just got it a few weeks ago, but it was a $25 special on Crickets' website.

When I did a Google search for VR type headsets, I saw the Google store has something called Google cardboard....please tell me that's a joke. It literally looks like cardboard with eye holes cut out.

Not sure we're going to go the VR route, but worth looking into. Anyone know anything about these? Are they something a teen would like? Can I get a good one without having to get a $500 phone?

I have experienced only the Google Cardboard line. It's not a joke, it's a platform for phone-based VR. It has a fairly limited interaction model - one button. There are cardboard viewers to be had at various levels of quality, including actual cardboard. I have a Viewmaster viewer right now, after going through several that were made out of cardboard. Since Google Cardboard was developed as a standard, there are a number of viewers to be had. If you do find yourself buying a Cardboard viewer, read reviews, as quality can vary wildly.

Google is in the middle of evolving this forward into Google Daydream, bringing better viewers, VR optimized phones, and a special controller for more involved interactions.

Google cardboard is a real thing. For the most part, the VR stuff is just a holder for the phone. The limited things I've seen in VR look on the screen like you're looking through binoculars, so the headsets keep the phone at the right distance to overlap the images. Maybe stereoscopic it's the word I'm looking for.

The phone is more important than the holder, it would seem. If the phone is capable of showing and interacting with 360 degree videos it s should be fine. It's hard for me to describe in a way that makes sense, but 360 video is interactive in that you can change the camera angle at will while you're watching it either with your finger, or by moving the device around. The headsets just keep the distance right so it doesn't appear that you're looking through tubes to see it.

My LG came with a rollercoaster video that you might be able to find on YouTube to try out.

Remember when 3D tvs came back a few years ago? Same idea really, the same stuff from the 80s with a new price tag and some new bells and whistles.

What do you want to do with VR? Watch a VR 'experience'? Interactive stuff? 3d gaming?

Cardboard isn't a joke. It is just cardboard with 2 lenses in it. But that's basically all the phone VR setups are only some use plastic that looks a little fancier than cardboard.

I've used a ton of different VR setups and I can honestly say, no matter what you want to do with VR, wait a year or two. Stuff is evolving quickly, and all of the current gen stuff still feels like prototypes and much of the software feels like novelty or gimmicks that wear off quickly.

Klayfish wrote: I've looked into it, but really my biggest fear is putting him on two wheels. I have my own personal fear of two wheels, so not sure how good I feel about him doing it, even if it is within the confines of the sidewalks in our golf cart community.

He can ride a bicycle, right? Shouldn't be much different from a safety standpoint.

I really don't know much about the VR world, like I said I'm a techno caveman. I certainly understand what the concept is, but don't really fully understand what's available for it in the world of cell phones. Given how much he likes gaming, and even watching YouTube videos, I'm assuming he'd like VR.

This is my son's phone. I have no idea if it's VR capable or not, but I'm guessing not??? Cheap a$$ phone

ProDarwin,
Yes, he can ride a bicycle and does it a lot. Without going down that rabbit hole, I know what you're saying but just don't see it as the same safety wise. Remember what I do for a living. The number of motorized two wheeled injuries/fatalities I've seen vs. the number on bicycle isn't even a comparison.

The "requirements" for VR are extremely fuzzy. Technically, if it runs Android 4.1+, its compatible (check). But it takes a lot more than that to have good performance. I'm not sure how that phone stacks up - I'm not really a mobile device guru.

The WVGA resolution is an issue. For VR, the phone display is essentially divided in half to provide a screen for each eye. You'll end up with a pretty pixelated display and possibly bad screen door effect with a low end display.

I have a Nexus 5X that I've used for VR stuff. It appears to have much better specs. I can't imagine entertaining myself for more than 15 minutes.

I recently picked up a Gear VR for giggles and it is pretty cool. It interfaces with the Samsung phones nicely and the user interface if fairly intuitive; the track pad and buttons are up at your right temple and works very well. I haven;t played with it too much, pretty much just watching some VR content and streaming my computer to it like a headset.

I don't believe it is compatible with your son's phone however.

Probably a stupid question, but can you use an iphone 6 for VR?

einy wrote: Probably a stupid question, but can you use an iphone 6 for VR?

Yes, just a matter of having a universal headset.

I have a Gear VR. Got it free with my phone, as a Father's Day promotion deal from Verizon.

I only played around with it for about an hour. From what I can tell, it's pretty neat, but I got the impression that any of the fun looking apps aren't free.

You can take your own photos for VR using the cardboard camera app.

VR: At the worker station, waiting for the cars to stage at the autocross.