I received my Gear VR last night and want to post my unboxing and initial impressions. I've been a VR advocate for awhile now and was excited to finally get my hands on a virtual reality device.
A little about my history going into this.
I'm an avid gamer and was extremely excited about VR since the DK1, however I've never used any of the previous devices. Several times I have been tempted but decided to "wait for the next one with more upgrades" until I couldn't wait anymore and finally took the plunge.
BUILD QUALITY:This thing feels solid enough, however it somehow manages to feel cheap as well...almost like a toy. It could be my bias against shiny plastic though, I wish they went with matte rubberized finish. Another fear that I have is the USB connector seems a bit flimsy. I've had USB chargers bend in the past, so it makes me wonder if it will hold up with all the docking and removing.
Packaging was nice, I love the hard case and extra foam insert they give you. The one that came on the Gear VR didn't have a nose bridge pad which made a gap between my nose and device (my nose must not have a big enough bridge). The alternative foam had the padding in the nose area which helped immensely.
USE:SCREEN DOOR EFFECT. Everyone seems to play this down, maybe because they've been jaded by using the earlier devices which had super screen doors...not sure. This is my first VR device and I have to say, the screen door is very apparent. I can't imagine they would release it like this to consumers. Resolution needs to increase before they can market this.
I also had a hard time dialing this in to the point where it's clear and without haze. There always seems to be a a bit of haze around text and no matter what I do, turn the dial or lift and lower the goggle, the haze is still there...better...but still there. To give you all a point of reference, my PD for my eyes is 56 (pretty darn close together).
The experience is fairly good so over time you learn to forgive the screen door and haze, but I can't imagine this being consumer ready.
The best apps seem to be the ones which are computer generated. The movie theater is what I always go to when I want to show the capabilities, it's amazing. The Pacific Rim demo is pretty good too.
However, I'm not too impressed with the 360 videos. It doesn't seem like you are "really there" like everyone says. I still feel that it lacks a feeling of depth. It feels more like I am staring out of a bubble or clear globe of some sort. I still thing it has a ways to go.
Overall, I'm in-line with most the sentiments about this being a showcase product to show the POTENTIAL of VR to people. It's not super clear, it's almost immersive enough, but it's not quite ready for prime time yet. I don't think the current games are fun enough yet either. Overall, I can't do anything with this device at the moment other than watch movies and show people demos.
Here's a link to the unboxing video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFyCH4UWb-A
