Virtually Yours - Samsung Gear VR review

Virtual Reality caught my attention maybe a year back when early Google Cardboard prototypes were officially launched in India, I also noticed a steady rise in the content dedicated to 360 videos on YouTube, however other than the actual Do it Yourselves (DIY) type of cardboard VR boxes there was no actual headset that was available and going by the reviews of other VR devices that were getting launched with Mid-Range phones it did not generate any further curiosity for me personally.

I was also tracking launch of a media wear device by the name ‘Glyph’ manufactured by Avegant primarily for the privacy it had to offer, directly beaming video content on your eye retina to a size of up to 80 inches. I was impressed by the design that cleverly housed decent pair of earphones with the viewer, unfortunately this project took too long to come into existence and as of today it costs around $699, ‘Glyph’ headset does not confirm or claim to have VR capability but when you compare it to getting a free VR device with your flagship mobile phone it is definitely expensive for a standalone gadget.

The Nagging Wait
When I was still reviewing my thoughts to go for Galaxy S7 Edge, the free Gear VR headset offer looked like a sweet deal but it was not the baiting part while going through the purchase. So after receiving S7 Edge, Samsung had set a timeline of 45-60 days for shipping free Gear VR headset to customers who had pre-ordered their new flagship phones. I got my phone on 20th March and the offer to redeem Gear VR code went live on 5th April and from there the headset was delivered to me on 9th May, by this moment the initial excitement of trying Gear VR had faded away from my mind and my phone also encountered heating and screen flickering issue due to which It went in for repair and was given back to me on 19th May so finally it was time to experience the VR tech almost after 2 months of getting the new phone.

Initial Setup
Unboxing and configuring Gear VR is fairly easy as the hardware is entirely made out of plastic and the white color is sure to fade as it would attract smudges and stains over longer period of use. The foam layer strapped around the viewing area touching your head is comforting however it tends to absorb sweat which is not good. If you wear the gear VR headset with a sweaty forehead it would accumulate fog on your viewing lens so keep a micro fiber cloth handy. You get two Velcro straps inside the box, one horizontal and one vertical but the horizontal strap running behind your head should be enough to support the headset with mobile inserted in it. There are two knobs at the both the edges of the headset, one side of these knobs fits into the charging slot of your phone and has position A and B to accommodate Samsung Flagship phones based on their size.

I initially connected my Galaxy S7 Edge to position ‘B’ which was not so ideal for adjusting lens focus, however when you fit S7 Edge on position ‘A’ viewing becomes more comfortable and adjusting focus is easy however the screen door effect (SDE) is prominently visible. It would take very less time in getting accustomed to navigation via touch-pad on the right side of the headset which also has a slot to connect charger at the bottom and houses volume control, a button to go back. Adjusting focus is enabled via a rotary dial on the top middle section of the headset.

You also get a black glossy plastic panel to cover your mobile helpful in preventing any ambient light seeping into VR lenses. If you are not using Gear VR in harsh day time light conditions, this panel can be kept away to let the handset heat up a little less and the weight of this headset is felt on the nose initially however over regular period of use it would not bother you much.

The ‘WOW’ Moment
After following the initial set up guide I explored both Samsung and Oculus store which has a good library of apps to begin with (both paid and free), First thing I tried on the VR headset was the Oculus 360 photos app and I was already in awe and excited like a kid, swaying my head in different directions looking at immersive high resolution photos, next I downloaded Jurassic Park video app and a short Avengers promotion clip which impressed me a lot. I wanted to try the Oculus video app which has different 5 modes to view both online and offline videos. You can connect your Facebook account with the Oculus video app to view online 360 videos you have saved or popular and trending content on Facebook.

You can watch side by side (SBS) format 3D videos too on this VR player and there is a app by the name Milk VR which is available only for the US region on Samsung’s VR store and as a workaround you can download it by installing a free VPN client on your mobile to change your internet access region to US and once the Milk VR app is downloaded you would not need VPN service any further. This app has very good collection of the latest and trending videos which you can download too and the other popular app for searching good VR content is Jaunt VR.

The Oculus video app renders virtual environment exceedingly well and the experience of watching videos on a large virtual screen cannot be put down in words. If you prefer watching your favorite movies or shows lying down on the couch or bed select the void screen mode which has a travel mode option it keeps the screen always in front of you and also allows increasing or decreasing the size of screen to your comfort. You can actually hear the sound from the video playing change direction as you turn your head around. I have played Anshar War 2 and Smash Hit on Gear VR and both these games look awesome to deliver on a VR experience fit enough for a device of this category.

Most downloaded VR video files with 4K resolution would fill up your internal phone memory very fast so to move content on your SD card follow below steps:

• In your SD card root directory create folder by the name ‘Oculus’, you can also create folder ‘MilkVR’ in case you want to watch downloaded 3D VR content.
• Under Oculus folder create these subfolders – 360Photos, 360Videos, Movies
• If you want to watch regular 3D SBS (Side by Side format) video content, create another ‘3D’ subfolder under the Movies folder.

You can also visit my YouTube Playlist here, I keep adding interesting VR content on this regularly.

Current Pitfalls
When it comes to watching online streaming content you would need a high speed broadband connection to render 360 degree content seamlessly and I found my 8mbps connection struggling at times to buffer video content and this was also causing the mobile handset to heat up pretty fast, next surprise is absence of a native YouTube app on the Oculus or Samsung VR store which forces you to use inbuilt internet browser that delivers less than pleasing quality of video content while accessing web version of YouTube. Even if you happen to find interesting 360 degree videos for download you have to ensure that the video quality is no less than 4K resolution and anything below that is going to be pixelated.

Playing the free game ‘Smash Hit’ got me nauseatic in short time and I had to take the headset off to prevent any further disorientation. This is where users need to take necessary precaution and avoid wearing this if you feel any fatigue on your eyes or dizziness in your head. Do not wear the VR headset if you are tired or exhausted and most important of all do not forget to blink. The manual rightly advises to take frequent breaks and for me personally I ensure to take it off after 30-40 mins of use.

Is VR technology just a hype?
I remember our school days when we used to study planets in books, today VR technology can actually transport our kid’s right into space which can fuel their curiosity to a new level and achieve a heightened state of learning in an immersive environment where they can actually feel themselves flying around a planet, this potential extends to many other areas beyond learning and media (BTW do not allow kids below age 13 to use Gear VR), I saw two apps on the VR store that help you to deal with the fear of height and public speaking as they place you directly in a virtual world that has cause a mental block for you.

I also watched some videos on Chennai Floods and Nepal Earthquake shot in 360 degrees, it definitely elevates the emotional effect with the sight and sound of destruction and despair that feels so real and imagine a simulation of any natural calamity made available on VR, it could go a long way in training and teaching people what their first response should be in such conditions and how they can ensure their survival in difficult times. There are tourist destinations, places of religious importance in India which can be brought closer to people.

The success of VR technology again depends on consumer adaptation and the way it is put to use by sectors other than entertainment industry, 3D technology did not take off so well after the initial hype but it is not necessary VR would go that way too. Sony has announced arrival of PlayStation VR at this year’s E3 expo, the initial offerings for the console platform look very promising. We also hope other OEM players would come up with advanced portable VR gadgets which would not require the processing power of a PC or a Console and to augment VR capabilities work is also in progress to integrate smell and motion to deliver a life like experience.
When you think of televisions sold these days a lot of these high end models are equipped with 4K display, however mainstream broadcasting media has just graduated to HD and there is limited 4K content that you can watch directly on your television without streaming it from internet. VR experience requires 4K content by default and this is where the cranked up resolution and excellent quality of mobile display combined with pixels per inch (PPI) sharpness are put to good use.

My first personal entertainment device was a Videocon Walky series cassette player purchased in the mid 90’s. The joy of listening to your favorite music by blocking the world around you was something novel in those days when everything else like watching TV, going to movies etc. was done with the family, later in the age of smartphones our mobile screens and tablets became default choice to meet our entertainment needs on the move by merging a host of services that required separate gadgets earlier into one.

I see Gear VR as a decent entry level personal entertainment device to get a customer acquainted with VR technology and also offer an option to enjoy the content they like to watch without disturbing others, imagine the convenience it offers you to watch movies/shows during long flights/train journey. Wearing a Gear VR device in public is obviously going to attract weird and curious stares due to its bulky build, I prefer the design to evolve into something subtle like the LG VR headset.

Samsung has made both smart and a bad move by limiting compatibility of Gear VR to their flagship phone line up, however if you plan to buy one, owning Gear VR headset is a no-brainer as there are few offers in progress which customers can avail to get Gear VR at discounted rate and without any offers spending Rs 7,990 on this headset would require a second thought, If you are only going to use it for only for the novelty factor.

Alternate Link Building Avenues – A Panacea To The Current Chaos

Keeping pace with the recent Google updates, the most important challenge that lies ahead of all we digital marketers lies in finding continuously authoritative link building avenues. These avenues don't only need to be viable as a long term opportunity for building links but also very authoritative from the Search Engine perspective. Below are the few methods which can be used for building relevant links in the current scenario-

Flippa Auctions
Flippa is a marketplace where the domains are being auctioned and purchased 24*7. When one has a site which deals in cloud computing, the job is simple. All one has got to do is go to flippa and search for cloud computing. We get an extensive list of all the top ranking domains for sale. Eg: We searched for the keyword 'cloud computing' & these are few of the 87 results that flippa threw back –

 Based on the USPs of each of the domains (the USPs are provided), we can pick up the one which comes closest to our domain. For eg : - For a domain related to cloud computing, we can pick up something like cloud computing point. We analyze the backlinks to this domain using open site explorer. And with that, we have got our hands on to an extremely rich avenue of links which can definitely help a site.

Also we have scope to analyze the most Active Listings, New Listings, Just Sold Listings, Ending Soon Listings, Top Ranking websites & much more. Given below is a screenshot of the active listings which again provides us with a couple of potential domains.








  
Moodle CMS
Moodle is a software package for producing Internet-based courses and web sites. It is a global development project designed to support a social constructionist framework of education.

Moodle is provided freely as Open Source software. Basically this means Moodle is copyrighted, but you have additional freedom. You are allowed to copy, use and modify Moodle provided that you agree to: provide the source to others; not modify or remove the original license and copyrights, and apply this same license to any derivative work
We can use the same moodle for getting a backlink from .edu sites for domains.

Moodle is used by a variety of institutions and individuals including:

• Universities
• High schools
• Primary schools
• Government departments
• Healthcare organizations
• Military organizations
• Airlines
• Oil companies
• Homeschoolers
• Independent educators
• Special educators

In terms of community discussions, there is a lot going on Moodle. There are Forums, Events, Registered Sites & Connected Sites. The CMS gives a sureshot avenue of link using Registered Sites & Connected Sites option. However it also gives a chance to get backlink from .edu sites using Forums as most of the people active on these forums are from different international universities.

If there is a particular service which a site offers in a particular geographic region, we can get in touch with the university representative and have a backlink from a particular .edu site. For eg: If we have a domain which is an internet service provider in Canada, we can get in touch with a Canadian University representative and offer Internet Service for the university students. Such people always prefer discounts for the students since they are managing studies with work. That again is something which can be used to build on for a good pitch.

Surveys
Another potential avenue for linking building is survey. There's generally a two-step process to attracting links with surveys.

The first step is asking people to participate. If it's on a particularly interesting topic, we will reach out to bloggers, experts, and industry news sites to ask to spread the word both on their blog and on social media sites which will be a great way to attract the first wave of links. One can use a site like Monkey Survey to create the survey.

The second step is releasing the results.  These results can be released on the sites like  Survey Savvy

These are just a few techniques which can be used in the current mayhem that Google updates have been playing upon digital marketers. However our quest just cannot end here as Google always has & will focus on providing the best search to its users. Quality Link Finding & Link Building is an ongoing process which needs to be filtered from time to time keeping abreast with Google updates & changes in algorithms.

Author bio:
Aaditya Shah works as a Search Marketing professional at SMG Convonix. He loves every aspect of digital marketing especially content outreach & link building. Closely follows Google updates & algorithm changes & loves to continuously experiment with SEO to decode the mystery around web search. A complete foodie!! -his hobbies include playing Cricket & watching movies.  

Decoding The Content Outreach Mystery

As Google started diminishing the scope of link building via directories, articles & so many other avenues which were a big hit with digital marketing world, one of the avenues which became an overnight hero for link building was content outreach via guest posting. However most of the search marketer struggle with this aspect of link building because of the rejections or poor response they get from blog webmasters. 

Here are a few tried & tested strategies which can be implemented to ensure a quicker breakthrough -

 Size of the mail used for pitching up the content to the blogger

My thoughts here would be conflicting with a lot of bloggers. Everyone is of the opinion the larger the content used for pitching up the content, better is the conversion rate.

I would definitely differ here-

Always the first mail that you send for your content outreach across should be clear, short & crisp. Once I see that the blog webmaster is showing an interest, I slowly start giving him a brief overview of how he & I both can benefit from a long term relationship. I try to understand what kind of content he needs, the work that he does in online as well as offline world, whether he has access to other domains, if he knows other people who blog in a particular niche. This way I start building up on a simple mail & eventually end up making more than one content live using minimal efforts, time & energy.

Often there is confusion whether our real identity or a dummy account should be used for content outreach. I have tried both & both are equally effective as long as you can make a connect with the webmaster via your email.

Also it is my observation that more people are likely to respond if you were to state that you are from a digital marketing company. This might be a small aspect but definitely helps. Given below is the sample mail that I used for one of my campaigns. I have kept it short & simple yet I managed to get a quick response.

 Do your homework before you pitch the content

Every blogger no matter how big an authoritative domain he owns is always on the hunt for the content to serve his audience. There are always specific points in the content, subject title & images that he is looking out for. The best way to know the preference of the blogger is to actually go through the previous content pieces he has been posting. This is one of the easiest ways to know what kind of modifications needs to be done in the content before it is send across to the webmaster.

 Have your content generated as per the guidelines of the blog webmaster

This is the best antidote to your backlog in content outreach. Get in touch with the blog webmaster, get to know what he actually wants to put forward in front of his audience. Get a kick ass content written from your content writer as per the recommendations. This way you are eliminating all the possible chances of your content being rejected.


 Become a tracker for Blog Carnivals

You just can't afford to miss out on blog carnivals if you want your content to go live regularly. This is the best place to build long term alliance with blog webmasters of different niches. There are numerous sites which offer info on the details of these carnivals. One of them is http://blogcarnival.com/bc/.

These are just a few steps that one can follow. Obviously there are a lot more approaches that can be tried & followed for success in content outreach.

The above pointers might seem to be very simple to follow & they actually are. Follow these rules & you will be bang-on as far your content outreach plan is concerned.

Author Bio:

Aaditya Shah works as a Search Marketing professional at SMGConvonix. He loves every aspect of digital marketing especially content outreach & link building. Closely follows Google updates & algorithm changes & loves to continuously experiment with SEO to decode the mystery around web search. A complete foodie!! -his hobbies include playing Cricket & watching movies.

 

Samsung Galaxy S4 Bugs

Galaxy S4 has rushed through "shipped" figures reaching 6 million in 15 days, and early adopters have started reporting bugs like overheating cases, battery drain and most common one is the camera bug that freezes the phone and causing phone to reboot.

If you can manage to use Better Battery Stats app to understand what are the processes/wakelocks causing actual battery drain on your S4, it is a good app to use, else if you prefer simple data on battery draining apps try Wakelock Detector

Excessive over heating needs attention and fixed on time with replacement if required, do not play around till your phone gets damaged.

Coming down to Camera Bug, try this option on your S4 going into Settings - More - Developer Options (Enable this section clicking on it 7 times) - Scroll down to Apps section - Limit background processes - Select "at most 4 processes"

Screenshots below

This is a kind of temporary solution that worked for me worth trying until Samsung comes up with a proper fix in any next firmware update.

BTW, Google announced availability of Samsung Galaxy S4 with stock android going on sale in US in June'13, really doubtful if Samsung would allow Google to put this handset on sale in India else it would be a great alternative to get rid of Touchwiz bloatware which has eaten up a lot of internal storage memory.

 

***Jun'13 Update:JDQ39.I9500XXUBMEA Firmware***

 

After upgrading my S4 with the above mentioned Jelly Bean 4.2.2 Firmware version, my phone has crashed twice. Once when I switched it off on low battery and powered it again for charging it frooze on boot animation screen and I had to perform a hard reset, 2nd time it happened due to a flash light app that got stuck and after rebooting same issue.

 

One thing to note is that this firmware version does not increase the internal storage size from 8.83 GB to beyond 9 GB, it only updates internal available memory to 8.90 GB. Camera bug issue seems to be fixed now and OS seems more responsive and fluid.

 

I noticed good standby battery back up with regular use on my phone though after the firmware upgrade, screen below.

 

 

 

 

 

Give your android device a windows mobile OS makeover

The new live tiles interface on Windows 8 desktop and mobile looks cool, with some interesting apps on Google play store you can provide your android phone/tablet a windows OS makeover, here's a look at few apps.

Launcher 8: This app provides WP8 style UI to your android home screen allowing enough customization features to workaround with, initially this app was not so stable, however the developer has worked actively on user feedback and keeps improving app functionality on regular basis.(Free download)

Messaging 7: Get WP7 Style Message pop up's with options to customize bubble color's along with emoticon support, this app is also under alpha phase and the developer is active on Google play working on App improvements, worth trying along with Metro Messaging Beta app, both free to download

Noozy: Noozy is a Zune style music player which looks elegant and smooth to operate, unfortunately it has being taken down from Google Play Store now, even without the windows theme factor this player is one of the best I have come across on android. 

You can listen to your music collection on the phone, it also features a video player. This app features a live music section which connects you to streaming audio content across various music categories, allows you to browse top artists, top tracks under charts section, also If you like listening to Podcasts you would not be disappointed.

Customization options based on windows tile theme is available in the app along with the sound enhancement options which you can try along with the equalizer feature. (Free app)

Windows 8 Ex Lumia Theme Pro: This one's a screen lock WP customization app, which requires go locker pre-installed for use. It comes with tile animation along with the clock display on the top, allowing you to set short cut to your favourite apps.(Paid app: INR 50)

Metrostation WP icon pack: There are few custom made WP themes based on UCCW launcher which are available on google play store, most of them are paid, you can download Metrostation WP Icon pack which works with ADW.Launcher or ADWLauncher EX. It has a massive library of close to 442 icons which can be customised for colour works well with contrasting scheme on wp tile. 

Another useful app that may work well with WP customization options listed above is Color Wallpaper, which is a simple wallpaper app that allows you to choose from various colour shades to set as home screen wallpaper which can be used along with Launcher8 app to improve tiles visbility. 

In case you happen to know some more windows customization apps which you have used on your android device, please share it in your comments to this article.

Turn your Android device into a full Gaming console

Check out this comprehensive video feature that details how you can convert your Android device into a full gaming console and enjoy the experience on your LCD/LED TV. I appreciate Android OS for such features that allow freedom of fiddling with the OS rather than the restricted environment in which Apple OS functions.

Android Tips:Manage your Android Battery

A common gripe of Android mobile users is poor battery life on which a lot has being written about and starting as Android novice user I managed to find some workarounds to improve my phone's battery back up effectively over the last year, I would like to share these tips which may help you as well.

Moving from Nokia N8 to Galaxy S2 and then Galaxy Note, my enthusiasm of migrating to Android was bogged down by battery issues, I gradually got along with this fact assuming maybe Android phones are supposed to last only with 1 day battery back up max. Read lot of posts on battery saving tips, tried almost all of them and downloaded many battery saving apps, task killers etc from Google Play store, eventually it did not help much and as a heavy 3G and Wi-Fi user I started thinking that I may have to just stop bothering about the battery issues.

There was a stage where I started losing my Galaxy S2 battery within 8 hour span, even with heavy data usage S2 battery used to last between 10-12 hours, Android OS has many background processes running which constantly use phone memory and battery power. Onscreen widgets help you to keep yourselves constantly connected with news/social networking updates that you like to have on your phone offering easy accessibility, add live wallpapers and plethora of themes and launchers available for Android that offer enough eye candy to pep up your phone home screen.

If you also happen to download lot of apps out of curiosity to try them or for any specific requirement, they contribute further to the list of battery munching apps which would exhaust your phone battery charge at a higher rate, downloading battery saver or task killer apps would not help in the long run. Android apps with poor API (Application programming Interface) settings are major of battery draining issues, here are some basic steps that you can follow with the phone first:


1) Network Settings - Avoid keeping your phone on 3G/Wi-Fi mode while not using data, In my opinion it does not make much difference on voice calls with 3G network and while you are on the move being on the 2G network is your best bet to save battery drain resulting out of poor coverage in many places, try switching your phone to flight mode during night time.

2) Screen Time-Out and Brightness - Maintain 10%-20% screen brightness for regular indoor use, with a screen time out duration of 30 seconds, you can increase brightness while watching movies, games etc.

3) Manage phone profile: You would get basic option in most Android mobiles to manage phone profile settings however it takes lot of manual effort to customize and switch between these phone profiles every time, however there are apps both paid and free to help you manage these settings, let's take a look at few of them.

Notable Apps

1) Setting Profiles (Paid and Free version): If you are looking to manage only your phone's profile settings, this app would be sufficient to offer ample customization options to configure temporary or automatic settings for managing sound, network, wi-fi, bluetooth, backlight or automate specific tasks.

Google Play link

2) Tasker(Paid): Tasker is one stop solution to manage actions and events on your phone beyond the profile setting and would require extensive input from the user which may feel like rocket science to begin with however it's like writing a visual script to manage your phone they way would think of it as a real smartphone.

Google Play Link

3) Onavo Extended (Free): This App helps you compress data usage while using your mobile internet service, which in turn helps you remain within the limits your data plan, What it actually does by compressing media and images goes almost unnoticed in your quality of browsing, you get to see report of how much data you have saved in form of Twitter/Facebook post count, email data usage stats etc.

Google Play Link

4) BetterBatteryStats(Paid): This app is a must have to save on android phone battery that would take some time for users to understand the real cause if your phone is getting discharged quiet quick, from the time you unplug your phone from charging, you can check 3 sections on this app.

a) Partial Wakelocks: Display's a list of service/app that has being running in minutes and seconds and the event count, any abnormally high listing on this report needs attention to that specific service or app that you may not be using very regularly.

b) Kernel Wakelock: Display's list of events again in minutes and seconds along with the count, however if you find any abnormal activity here, you can google the event name and you would find probable solutions on various android forums informing you how to deal with that particular process.

For example: After ICS version of Android was released for Samsung Galaxy Note in India, I noticed two events "fuel_alerted" and "l2_hsic" were preventing my phone by going into a deep sleep state and having a high background run count in my Kernel Wakelock list, Solution that worked for me was to switch the phone on Airplane Mode, switch it off and remove the battery for few seconds and re-start the phone again with Airplane Mode on return to your network profile again, problem solved.

However this takes some searching with Trial and Error to fix battery draining issues that Google is not directly responsible for as phone manufacturers tweak Android OS versions with a taste of their proprietary interface UI (example: Samsung's Touchwiz)

c) Other: When you choose the option other from BetterBatteryStats app, you need to see to it that your phone's awake and screen on ratio should be closer to each other rather than a big percentage gap between both of them which indicates that your phone is sweating it's processing and battery power even when the phone screen is off and you are doing nothing with it, and this is where both Kernel and Partial Wakelock screens would help you find the real culprit.

I would also mention few details around Bloatware that comes with Android mobile phones and differs with each manufacturer. These are apps and related files associated with events that do not cause any harm if you happen to disable or totally uninstall them. Rooted devices have easy fix with Apps that can be downloaded from Google Store that automatically uninstall all these apps from your phone, however if you do not want to risk voiding warranty on your phone with Rooting, ICS now offers option to this the easy way as well.

Go to Settings --> Apps and click on the "All" tab which would show a list of applications and processes that you can disable and here's a link to a guide of apps and processes safe to be stopped or uninstalled mostly common to Samsung Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note.

You can check the adjoining screenshot which shows my Note still left with 19% charge after a close to 16 hour usage, on which I pushed my phone usage extensively by using Wi-Fi/3G browsing, playing games for almost 2 hours, making few calls and all this without any battery saver app or task killer. Some times I am able to reach 20 hour mark with reasonable 3G/Wi-Fi, voice calls and no gaming on the phone.

Please leave your comments if you also happen to know additional ways of improving battery life on Android phones, I'll give a try to few of them myself and quote those solutions left by you.