Gadgets: New toys in town

A visitor tries out Samsung's Gear VR powered by Oculus during the Tokyo Game Show. Photo / Koji Ueda.

Chris Schulz gears up with some of the latest tech gadgets set to hit the market.

The battle for your wrists, your eyes -and now, with the coming launch of Virtual Reality headsets - your face, is set to dominate the gadget world for the rest of the year, and well into the next.

That's because tech giants Samsung and Apple are heading towards some major product clashes in the coming months.

The most heat appears to be on the race to launch fully formed smartwatches. Apple's iWatch is due out in early 2015, a direct competitor for Samsung's Gear S which is also due out soon.

Tomorrow, Samsung releases its hyped Galaxy Note 4, its flagship fourth generation tablet, combining high spec computing power with phone functions and a refurbished S-Pen. Its direct competitor is Apple's iPhone and iPad.

Added to the mix is the race to market for Virtual Reality headsets. Though Apple hasn't yet released details of its long rumoured VR product, Samsung's Gear VR is just months away from release.

The only thing missing from this race it seems, is hoverboards.

Tech and gadget fans, things are about to get very interesting indeed.

1. Gear VR

Release date:

Coming months

Cost:

$250 approx

After years of failed promises and false starts, it feels like virtual reality is finally coming into its own. The Oculus Rift debuted at Digital Nationz to rave reviews late last month, and now Samsung has joined the VR party with its Gear VR. The set-up combines the Samsung Note phone with a pair of oversized snowboarding goggles, headphones and its own Gamepad, and lets you loose in several virtual reality worlds. At Monday's launch event, punters tried out a jetpack game in which gamers could fly around a Lego-style city, landing on rooftops, jetting over roads and, occasionally, crashing into them. Then they watched a VR movie that made them feel like they were hanging out the side of a helicopter as it swooped over oceans. Disorientating, but wonderfully addictive and immersive.

2. Gear S

Release date:

Coming months

Cost:

$499 RRP

Most people ditched their watches around the same time they got their first smartphone. But Samsung's Gear S could help bring you back. Basically, the sleek, curved gadget is a phone that lives on your wrist. You can text, email or call using its 3G, Bluetooth and Wifi functions. It's also a useful piece of equipment for gym bunnies, tracking exercise through its built-in GPS and S Health apps. It syncs with your phone, so you can listen to all your music without having to store it. It can tell you how much sunscreen to wear today. Plus, it even tells the time - but you've already got your smartphone for that.

3. Galaxy Note 4

Release date:

Tomorrow

Cost:

$1149 RRP

Remember that summery day at the beach when you tried to read a text, only for the sun's rays to render your phone useless? Samsung promises its new Note 4's Quad HD Super AMOLED screen - yes, it's quite a mouthful - eliminates glare issues entirely. As well as improved graphics, a 16-megapixel camera and superfast battery charging, Samsung is talking the Note 4 up as a multi-media tool for creative types. "The amazing screen, camera and the S-Pen mean that people like Taika Waititi can capture things that inspire them," says marketing director Mike Cornwell. To that end, you can draw cartoons in the phone's sketch mode, a Smart Optical Image Stabiliser counters the shakes, and multiple microphones provide super-sweet audio recording. It's got a 120-degree selfie mode too. Ellen Degeneres is going to love that.

- TimeOut