Samsung to release new mixed reality glasses and Gear VR aid for the visually impaired at Mobile World Congress.

Samsung’s is set to release a set of mixed reality glasses at Mobile World Congress 2017 that appear to use Microsoft’s Windows Holographic Shell for PC and  while on the phone it would have a multi-window shell for Android.

On the right of the device is a  CPU, Wi-Fi chip, and projector, while the left incorporates a battery and speaker. Content is capable of being streamed over Wi-Fi Direct or peer-to-peer Wi-Fi.

"Monitorless addresses the fact that there isn't enough AR and VR content currently available and also enables users to play high-capacity PC games on a mobile device,"- Samsung

This could be the holy grail for all the "second-screen experience" talk during the recent years.

An application to consider would be it's functionality for Twitch streamers, allowing for chat control, multiple games, and social aspects.  

Monitorless is a remote-control VR/AR solution that enables consumers to use devices such as smartphones and PCs without a monitor. The solution consists of a special pair of glasses that resemble regular sunglasses. They are used to view content from other devices such as smartphones and PCs and can be used for both Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality functionality thanks to the electro chromic glass featured on the glasses.

Samsung has also developed a  visual aid application for Gear VR to help near-blind and visually-impaired read books and watch TV more easily.

This is part of a big push by Samsung at next weeks Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Cats And VR

Calling all developers for the Samsung Gear VR Killer App Contest

Samsung is searching for the next killer GearVR app and is incentivizing devs with an app challange. If your app has not been published for Samsung Gear VR yet, send them yourdemo/app experience created in the Oculus SDK with Unity or Web VR. It doesn’t have to be a complete app or experience. It doesn’t have to be a game also. Apps previously published to other platforms since this September are also eligible. Samsung is looking for diverse and amazing uses of Samsung Gear VR, and want to help promote them to the world.

Don't waste anytime cause the deadline is November 23 2016 and the prizes are pretty good.

VRLA Preview-WANDS for GearVR

Set in the late 19th-century  London, Wands  presents an  alternate  history  and  drops  gamers  into  a  virtual reality steampunk world where they can join a secret society of spell wielders who seek to prove their power and unlock hidden magical talents. I had recently heard about Wands and it was something I was looking forward to seeing during my time at VRLA. The NUX Studios team showcased the game at a super secret off site location and was on hand to answer my questions. 

There was some buzz about Wands going into the demo as several publications wrote that the trailer looked to good to be a GearVR game. Multiple users posted the trailer in the Gear VR sub reddit the day the trailer was released. Color me impressed; the demo was better than I expected. Not that I doubted the team but A GearVR PVP Wizard battling game could go either direction; pretty shitty or Harry Potter VRified. 

The game starts you of by allowing you to load your Wand for battle with whimsical sounding spells such as Devil's Spit. The game really does look fantastic and shows that Mobile VR is very capable of delivering high quality VR content. Though the game is launching for GearVR the possibility of seeing this on Google Daydream has me daydreaming.

I was offered a gamepad to use during the demo but refused because I like to see how games operate within the absolute confines of GearVR. I am glad I did, the Wands UI was perhaps one of the smoothest times I ever had with the touchpad. The quick changing from spells to teleporting was seamless and down right exciting. Wands offered me very fast paced twitch reaction gameplay as I battled one of the developers.  

One of the things that people use to put down mobile VR is that it does not offer a room scale experience like the HTC Vive. The level design of Wands has created an artificial room scale experience as nothing feels claustrophobic and I really felt like I was moving through a very large battle environment.  Most Mobile VR games currently have a on rails feel to them and though my playing position was mostly static i did feel fully immersed in the Wands level design. 

By including a spectator mode, global leaderboards, and seamless fast paced WiFi PVP combat, Wands could potentially be VR first true entry into the world of Esports.

I will have a full review of WANDS when it launches on GEARVR on August 18. For now check out the official NUX Studios website. http://www.nuxstudios.com/

Cats And VR