VR is the hottest thing in tech, now here come the gadgets

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- If there was any doubt that the tech industry sees VR as the next big thing, this year's Computex trade show killed it.

Annually held in Taipei, the show is typically where mostly Asia-based manufacturers preview the PCs, tablets and phones that will be on store shelves about six months down the line. And by the looks of every booth, demo and press conference at the show, those shelves are going to be full of VR headsets and VR-related gear.

Clearly, there's a broad expectation in the tech industry that VR will soon be a part of our culture, soon to come to every living room and on every Christmas list.

But how realistic is that?

It's only been in the past 12 months that the steadily increasing fascination with VR has reached its current fever pitch, with headsets like the mobile-based Samsung Gear VR debuting in early 2015, and the higher-end Oculus VR becoming available in March this year.

For now, what's keeping VR away from mainstream hands is the lack of compelling apps. There's also the problem that the technology can produce fairly acceptable experiences, but like 3D movies, VR isn't for everyone -- some people who are sensitive to latency can feel quite woozy after a session.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

But if you were at Computex, you'd come away thinking VR was ready for prime time.

Chip giant Intel had VR headsets and games at its booth, while taking pains to point out that its new 10-core processor is ready for heavy applications like VR.

Graphics card maker Nvidia, too, took up several floors of exhibition space at the Hyatt Hotel, where it strapped headsets on visitors and took them through futuristic games.

Not to be outdone, Taiwanese vendors like Asus and Gigabyte had plenty of VR demos littering their booths, too. Asus also debuted its new mobile phone VR headset, aimed at taking on Samsung.

There was this skydiving demo at the Cooler Master booth:

A handful of companies are also trying new designs for the computers that power VR. HP, MSI and Zotac just announced they had managed to stuff PCs into a backpack form factor, in order to cut several cords needed.

But it won't be entirely mobile just yet. At the Zotac demo, a rep explained that it requires two visual sensors mounted on the ceiling to capture the player's arm movements.

With all the gear on display, it raises the question if VR is the big investment across the board that will change how we use tech, or if it'll ride out the year as a marketing gimmick before a more concrete direction takes form.

Everyone's jumping head first into VR -- but what if there's no water in the pool?

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