Gadgetory

virtual reality is coming even if no one really cares right now I'm Bridget Carey this is your seat at update there's quite a bit of news lately about virtual reality and I think it's time we have an honest talk about the tech which is so often overhyped now the idea of putting on a headset to step into a virtual world sounds mega cool is what sci-fi dreams are made of but in actuality the technology isn't all that fantastic right now this is the Samsung gear VR now this cost a hundred dollars but you also you to put your smartphone inside of the front otherwise it just looks like a pair of really cool goggles now samsung says are coming out with a new version of this by november and it'll come with an app and you can watch vimeo and twitch videos so that it looks like you're watching these videos in a virtual theater with you and your friends sitting in seats and the screen ahead of you in the distance there are some top-of-the-line gaming machines that don't use a smartphone coming next year Facebook's oculus rift is coming in early 2016 and Sony's PlayStation VR is also coming next year and some early demos I can tell you it only takes a few minutes for people to start to feel dizzy when playing games maybe you can last for 30 minutes at best but even though we're in these early stages tech companies are still really eager to push virtuality as the next big advancement that we won't be able to imagine living without people don't even like going to 3d movies so I don't know 3d headsets are going to be essential but right now it is something that you can pop on for a minute for a quick experience and that's where google cardboard comes in so cheap head said to give you a taste of what's to come you can pick it up for around three bucks on ebay it's made of plastic lenses and velcro holds it together your phone just sits in the front and apps will split the screen in two so you can see in 3d the New York Times just launched a VR app so you can immerse yourself in 360 degree video photos from environments of their stories and everyone that still subscribes to a physical newspaper is going to get one of these cardboard headsets included with weekend delivery now to be ready for over a million people getting google cardboard youtube announced that its app for android is going to support virtual reality video there are a few YouTube vr videos made already like The Hunger Games experience which takes you through recreated movie scenes and if a video isn't made for VR it'll just look like you're watching it on a movie theater screen in the distance it's going to take some great VR content to get people to want to give it a try and then maybe people won't mind spending a little more on a better headset as long as it doesn't make them too dizzy we'll see how that plays out next year that's it for this tech news update and there's more cnet com from our studios in New York I'm Bridget Carey