This is very exciting because AR will soon be available to everyone, for a very low price - with the Aryzon (not crazy about the name) cardboard headset. 

It's Cardboard for AR
This might be the shortest piece I write because I really suggest you watch the video above. Basically, the Aryzon is Google Cardboard for augmented reality. As in yes, watch stuff appear in your actual reality. All you do is pop in your phone and dragons might appear on the couch next to you. So simple! 

Remember this piece I wrote on the Microsoft Hololens? It was amazing to watch as this guy was able to see and interact with his daughter remotely. Some early reviews are saying that this is like a $30 Hololens. 

Here's to hoping the content catches up soon! 

Background reading: 
Don't know what Google Cardboard is? Note: Cardboard is used sort of as a general phrase for their product - an affordable VR viewer, Some "Cardboards" are made of plastic like the one I have. This might confuse some people, because you know, this is like naming a dog, Cat. 
New here and don't know exactly what AR / VAR area?  Find out what the difference between augmented reality and virtual reality. 

Get your own Aryzon viewer: 
Fund them at Aryzon's KickStarter Campaign. 

I never thought I'd write about Pokemon, but I recently saw the Pokemon game for the first time. Though I am not a convert, I can see why people get into it. For those that don't know, there are characters and you roam around looking for things and fighting things (from my understanding). 

For fans, the Pokemon Go Plus device was released recently ($34.99) and allows for a cool AR experience where it looks like the little guys are all around you, instead of navigating in their Pokemon world. 

Ok so the truth comes out at the end of the post- I'm sharing this with the world because I'm probably going to get this for my significant other, a grown man who loves the game. If this person exists in your life, it might make a good birthday or Christmas gift. 

I recently watched a demo showcasing Microsoft Hololens where a father is able to play with his daughter remotely- it looks like she's there and they are interacting in real time. It has been the most practical and impressive use of AR technology I've seen. It was straight out of Star Wars but even cooler. 

In an increasingly global landscape where people are more transient than ever, it's people and specific human connection that we yearn for.

People all over the world and across various socio-economic statuses all have long distance relationships of the family, friends, work, or romantic sort. That makes nearly the entire world the possible user. Everyone wants something that is not within physical proximity, whether it be a person, place, or thing, and that is the power of this technology. 

The headset, which debuted just a few weeks ago, is pricer than the Oculus Rift; it costs 3,000 USD for the developer kit. More information on the buzz about it happened at Build 2016. 

Originally this post was supposed to be about Microsoft HoloLens but I thought I'd take a step back and explain more on the differences between Virtual Reality  and Augmented Reality. 

Virtural Realty (VR) is a computer generated simulation of an environment. It's not a real place, yet with the use of a headset, you feel as though you are there, with a 360 degree view of everything and ability to interact with objects or scenes (though can be limited). You can manipulate the world around you. 

Augmented Reality (AR) is a live view of a physical environment that has elements that are generated by a computer. For example, I was at the opening of the Globe Store in Greenbelt where you could set up AR viewing and when you opened your camera phone, you could look around the store but Star Wars characters would appear. Augmented reality is much closer to the real world, well, mostly because it incorporates the actual real world in it. Common usages right now are during sports games, in video games, etc. 

What's Better? / More Promising? / Really the Future? 
It depends. It's too early to tell, but from what I've seen via the HoloLens, AR will be more accepted and have more applicability and use cases in the more immediate future. VR, for the moment, is quite limited to gaming. 

Applications; 
Military, Sports, Adult Industry, Retail, Gaming, Education, Medical, Real Estate/Infrastructure