Mobile World Congress
The late February sun of Barcelona welcomed thousands of technology companies and media representatives for the annual showcase of what’s hot in the world of mobility. Among the key trends discussed this year were virtual reality and augmented reality, as the technology passes through the novelty phase and into the established arsenal of marketing, productivity, and entertainment tools. If a company doesn’t have VR, it is missing a feature for customers to interact with, be sold, and impressed by.
Samsung Highlights Controls and Apps
Samsung were leading the way with a new Samsung Gear plus Controller combination on-sale to encourage greater interactivity with its VR headset. The Gear is compatible with Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, Note 5, and previous generation S6 models, while the touch-sensitive controller is pretty similar to those offered by other vendors. But, it was the software from Samsung labs and its partners that hints at some of the possibilities of VR.
Helping those with sight issues was Relúmĭno, assisting users to read books or watch TV with increased clarity thanks to the immersive nature of VR. It uses advanced image processing, including edge, contrast and text enhancement, and blind spot remapping to present clearer text or images, helping to improve the enjoyment of media for those with poor eyesight.
Offering a more emotive experience, traVRer provides 360-degree video to demonstrate a travel, holiday or entertainment experience, while VuildUs keeps things closer to home with by virtually decorating and furnishing a customer’s home to demonstrate their potential new look. These and other practical apps will give more users reasons to experiment with and enjoy VR.
