Happy New Year!! Review of the Gear VR Virtual Reality Goggles by Samsung and Oculus.

Deschutes River Trail - Bend, Oregon

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Yes, it's that time, the time to start walking off that pumpkin pie we have been eating since Thanksgiving. Normally, I love to ski but since my hubby just had back surgery ..that won't be happening for awhile.  Not only is he recovering but we also have to pay all of these doctor bills. Uuuggh.  In the meantime I will enjoy the simpler things in life like hiking, snowshoeing or cross country skiing I suppose!

Helenes Dreams - Helen Sanderson

So, I have to mention that the greatest gift this season is knowing that my husband is much better from having his microdisectomy operation. There is just a lot of misleading information on back surgery, so many stories that you really have no idea what to expect.  He was really nervous about doing it.  All I can say ..is that I am so  grateful for his recovery.  He can finally walk a real distance. For the last 9 months he has suffered with severe sciatica and could only walk a few steps before hunching over in great great pain.  I think about how lucky it is we had this option because natural methods of physical therapy, yoga, and massage just did not do the job for him.

Samsung Gear VR Virtual Reality Oculus Goggles

Ok, the other thing I am grateful for this Christmas is my new Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge cellphone.  I really am enjoying this upgrade from my Galaxy S5. I honestly would not be upgrading though if I could just have more real space to continue using the S5. But you know, the industry doesn't encourage long usage of your cell phones it seems. 

As part of the incentive package to upgrade my cell phone Best Buy threw in this Samsung Gear VR Headset...powered by Oculus.  Here is my review.

At first I was like WOW! I am just excited about this thing. I honestly could not wait to try it.  My first take? The set is nice. It looks well made and decent.  The idea is fantastic and adds a whole new dimension of cell phone use. I mean, what can a cell phone NOT do these days? Right?   So, I go ahead and I go through the set up process and install all of the necessary software downloads..etc.   The process is pretty simple and self explanatory.  There are lot's of you tube videos to check out.  But, easy enough.  Okay, so I try this thing on...and OMG!!! WoW!! How fun is this? VR is amazing and I can tell that I would be a junkie if this thing were just working just right.   Yes, I said it. It doesn't work just right.  Not yet.  This FREE thing was pretty much a savory taste of what is just to come my friends.  The visibility is very grainy and or pixelated. It never ever truly focus's just right.  It reminds me of looking through a very fine mesh screen.  It's blurry to a degree that your eyes get worn out after about ten minutes or so.  It can give you a headache.  I asked my husband and my 14 year old daughter to give it a try, and the consensus is the same.  We all agree it's amazing but BLURRY!  No amount of tinkering with the knobs works. 

Virtual reality is here though. I can already see that instead of just looking at an item ..you will now be able to shop by going into a store and turning the item upside down or to the right and left.  We are at that turning point.  You can experience movies and traveling at whole new level. It's awesome, but not perfect. 

I am thinking that the technology is completely here. The industry however will milk society each step of the way.  I would not recommend buying this set up yet.  I have no idea what the other options are as to quality of other headsets but, I am glad we did not really pay for this thing.  I am sure Samsung just wants to give you a "taste" of what's to come.

My recommendation: don't buy it. Not yet.  What's your sight worth? 

If you have something to share about this review then please leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you.

Cheers!