So about 2 years ago I decided that my next phone was going to be the Galaxy Note 4, primarily because they were showing off the ability for it to plug into a brand new device called the Gear VR.
Unfortunately, the Gear VR Innovator Edition was never available in South Africa, at least not as far as I'm aware, so I pretty much gave up hope on it, until they announced a new version that was no longer the Innovator Edition but the real actual thing, and it was being sold at Takealot. To my dismay I learned that new version wouldn't support the Note 4 at all, and would instead work on the newer handsets, including the (in my opinion) inferior Note 5.
So I pretty much forgot about it again until my girlfriend linked me to a special on Takealot. It was for a newer and cheaper version of the Gear that I never heard of, and after a bit of searching I found a lot of people claiming that the new device worked without any modding or hacking with the Note 4.
They also reported that the Note 4 tends to overheat and that it can not charge through the Gear VR at all, but considering the fact that the Vive, which is what I really want, would cost me well over R20 000 (including a new graphics card), I decided that R999 was worth the risk and decided to order it.
So the first thing you do when you get the device is install the Oculus software, which took me a VERY long time with my current pathetic internet connection, but that's a whole different story.
The Note 4 fits inside the Gear VR, but it's a tight squeeze, enough so that I'm often worried I'm going to break something. However once it's in it doesn't look like it wants to pop out or anything, so it all seems fine.
Once it's installed, inserting the phone into the Gear VR automatically launches Oculus Home, from which you can launch any apps that were downloaded from the Oculus store.
I first tried the VR Introduction which is installed by default but is basically just streaming a video, which my formerly mentioned shitty internet can barely handle, and then it crashed. So I try other Samsung app, which allows you to view pictures and videos. I barely open the app, when I'm suddenly transported into the void with a warning telling me that my device is overheating and that I should probably let it cool down first. Great.
So I use the time while it's cooling down to download a few apps that I think look interesting. So far I have nothing proper that I can use to demonstrate it to anyone else, except for a vomit inducing roller coaster ride (called Rilix VR) that goes way too fast for my phone to keep up.
I got a game called Land's End which is a neat little adventure game, though a bit too simplistic I think. Also got a game called Smash Hit which was the first game that I found absolutely amazing to be in.
It still wasn't really something I would use to introduce my family to VR though. That I only found later after downloading a demo for an "experience" called Ocean Rift.
It doesn't look like much in video, but it was the first thing that I installed that really made me feel like I was there. And almost immediately after starting it I told my girlfriend to have a look.
"Woah... this is amaaaazing" was her first words. The sense of wonder in her voice was quite something. "Wait why is the screen black now". Oh I guess it's overheating again. *sigh*. Just ignore it.
I've tried several games and experiences now. And I have to say the more I play with it the more I love the idea of VR. I want a Vive now more than ever, but I don't think I'll ever be able to afford one realistically, until the prices go way down.
For now I hope I can fix the overheating issue on my phone in some way. I'm doing most of my playing right in front of the air conditioner now, which does help a little bit, but it's hardly the perfect solution.
If anyone is interested, I'll make a post later about my experience with RiftCat, a program that lets you run PC VR games through GearVR / Cardboard.
Originally Posted by MetalSoup
So about 2 years ago I decided that my next phone was going to be the Galaxy Note 4, primarily because they were showing off the ability for it to plug into a brand new device called the Gear VR.
