You're not supposed to eat it.

I just saw a commercial for Halcyon on tv. Compatible with Gear VR http://halcyonvr.com/
No clue if it's any good, try it :)

Also compatible with trinus VR for running PC VR games.

How much does a phone cost?

I also have one of those and it's by far my favourite VR headset. Just because it's wireless. I also own a Oculus Rift, but those cables are killing me, so I don't use it anymore. The Gear VR however gets used every now and then. Make sure to get yourself Sideload VR. With that you get access to the Streaming theater. If you have a Geforce graphics card, you can stream all your games to your Gear VR and play them either in a big ass home theatre or just dive right in into VR mode. Last one is a bit tricky, but it works if you put some work into it.

Input lag can be an issue though, so be sure your devices are connected to a 5 GHz Wifi. For me it works absolutely flawless.

All in all, I am still convinced VR is a fad. But if you have yet to try it out, I would recommend Gear VR any day.

A phone does more than VR. Notice I said, JUST VR. If you already own a vr compatible phone then that's another option you have. You have to buy a PS4/Pro and then the PSVR if you want to play it. Not just one or the other. With the phone you only pay for the phone. It's not like the majority of buyers are buying samsung phones for VR...

LOl

Low barrier of entry, readily available, easy plug n play, surprised there's not more alternatives to it.

This is why $900 PC HMDs are DOA. "bbu bbuut it only took me 30 minutes to set up! U only need a gtx 1060! Everyone has 3 available Usb ports! $200 Oculus Touch enhances the experience!"

I finally gave the Gear VR a somewhat of a fair shake, and I'm pretty impressed with its functionality.  You first need to have the Oculus app installed on your device, and then you need to set up an account.  Some free VR materal can be accessed via the app, and you can purchase some as well (which I have yet to do).  You can also access VR material over the internet with the built-in browser as well as access files from your device.  I'd prefer to download files to my cell phone and access them from there so good for me.

Watching 2D movies simulated a theatrical experience as if the picture was "in your face" sitting rather close to the movie screen itself.  The caveat is that while you feel that you are getting that theatrical experience, the picture quality is no where near as clear as a movie screen or a 1080p home theater setup.  The image appears to be grainy in comparison.  Maybe there is a way to increase pixel count or smooth out the image which leads to a potential design flaw.

The manual warns that your device can and will rise in temperature which will limit its funtionality.  Yes, my cell phone felt rather warm to the touch after about 15 or 20 minutes of use while a message would consistant pop up warning me of such.  in fact, there was a time when I saw the option of 1080p.  I cannot recall the context, but when trying to access the 1080p option, I was warned that the option wasn't available due to the temperature of my device.

The VR experience was rather nice.  You can look around, above, and below while interacting with the virtual environment with touch controls on the side of the VR headset.  Just make sure there is plently of room around you so you have a fair amount of freedom to safely maneuver in a 360 degree motion.

I've always wanted to experience VR, but wasn't willing to fork out the cash to do so.  But the Gear VR was free to me, and it was worth playing around with like any other distraction.  So that's cool in and of itself, but I've already sunk money in other hobbies I have little time for.  I'm keeping it for now so we'll see where this goes.

they have been throwing these in for free for a year now, i got two when my wife and i got new phones last february.