So my prior phone was nearing its payoff point and so too
was the brides, her’s was a LG G3 and Sprint announced a buy one get one half
off S7 with the Gear VR on pre-order.
Being a fan of the SD card, this was a no brainer.
My phone arrived yesterday the 8th and we set it
up in the Oak Harbor Sprint store and since I was the first person to pick his
up, they wanted to check out the Gear VR too.
After a bit of playing around and taking some pictures, I got to take my
loot home. First impression I had was
how smooth, futuristic and sleek this slab of glass was, very sexy and curved
and it felt like silk in my hands. It
came with a little tool to push a button on the top that opened up an almost
invisible slot that pops out which holds an SD card and a SIM card.
The camera settings are pretty impressive, in the pro mode,
it even has RAW settings, 800 ISO, shutter from 1/24,000 of a second to 10
seconds, I’ll have to explore these more later.
I opted out of buying either of the two heavy duty cases
they had at the store, one was an Otterbox and the other was another heavy duty
model. I don’t think either would have
fit inside of the Gear VR and removing phones from these armored behemoths on a
regular basis would have caused more wear and tear than anything I could have
done. If I decide to opt for a case, I’ll
make sure it will fit inside of the Gear VR first. As for the screen protector, they get marks
and scratches on them which get magnified with the headset so no there too.
Okay, there is supposed to be a Gear game pack that comes
with it but I have yet to figure out how to get it. All of the stuff online is rather vague and
doesn’t mention what the games are. I’m
not worried yet, I’m still exploring the 360 videos and pictures, haven’t
touched a game yet (haven’t had time, cleaning the house and getting ready for
a baby soon to be arriving).
I did notice a bug this morning when I awoke, last night I
put the S7 on a Foneso charging pad and this morning, my alarm went off alright
but the phone was acting funny and the keys weren’t working so I restarted it
and when you restart, you have to manually enter your password or PIN if you
went that route. Here’s where I say the
fingerprint reader is amazing compared to the S5, no swiping, you just touch it
and it works, whatever part of that finger you scanned before. Anyhow, the keys were locking up, so I shut
down all of the way, let it sit for a couple of minutes and started it again
and the keys worked. I’m not sure if it’s
a problem with the phone but I think the pad might overcharge it and cause it
to heat up. Something to watch out for, also,
I noticed what reading white script at night, the white seems to pulsate, I’m
sure it’s a software bug but Samsung if you are reading, perhaps it’s something
you should check out.
I took the Gear VR to work today and let my coworkers take
it for a spin and all of them were impressed, mostly, they saw the 360 videos
which are unlike anything most of the world has ever experienced. It is like stepping into the future but the resolution
could be a bit better. Improvements I
would recommend are individual focusing per eye. I had surgery in the 90’s to correct my
vision and my eyes are a little farsighted and are slightly different so one
eye is always a little worse. But still
way cool, offering in the bundle is a great marketing ploy. Putting it out to the masses make people want
to see how well it works. Well,
tomorrow, I’m going to research more on how to get the free games that came with
the bundle deal. Overall, even with the
very minor glitches, I’m very happy with my little piece of the future and I
think most of you will be too.
