I wouldn't hold my breath for virtual reality, however augmented reality came out of nowhere and is looking like it's going to be very important. I saw that iphone app, Word Lens the other day, it's absolutely fantastic. It transforms your iphone into a magic looking-glass, I think the possibilities for technologies in that direction are endless. If/when we get good retina displays, this is what they're going to be used for, to change our view of reality, to add things to it that helps us in our lives.
Check what Steve Mann, which I refenced, did re augmented reality. Really cool, long ago. (His work with cameras and different exposures to handle dark/light picture parts has gotten analogies in modern cameras the last few years.)
