Ever eager to explore, from the comfort of an easy chair, I have been looking into augmented reality. AR is a combination of two worlds, the real and the virtual, and is something in-between.

It's not a new technology. Armchair American Football fans will be familiar with AR as the "first down line" that moves to take into account the yards lost and gained on the field of action; while fans of Terminator (1984) will recall the cyborg who conjures up data on top of its field of vision to provide information on individuals - before destroying them!

Some iPhone and Android smart phone users are already using AR to get directions to subway stops, just by looking through their devices and following the arrows; other apps have compass overlays that use the phone's GPS capabilities; or else Wikipedia information is layered over the image you spy through your mobile phone eye.

However, with the iPad 2 it looks as though AR's time has finally come and we are all about to become immersed in the reality-AR-virtual reality continuum.

Developers are rushing around as we speak, taking advantage of the Web camera in the device to build apps. For instance, the German company Metaio has been previewing some of its 3D developments that show a magazine's cover model coming to life when viewed through a tablet computer.

Gaming, always at the vanguard of tech revolutions, will go up a level as your environment is virtualized in three dimensions. In the zombie shooter game being worked on by Augmented Minds, this means you can walk around your home or office shooting zombies that materialize out of the woodwork. Some will say this is too close to life and maybe they have a point.

In another innovation, you can point your tablet at a building and see in real time all the Twitter messages that are being sent (if you can access Twitter, of course). On a more practical level, at least in China, point your tablet at a street sign in Mandarin and an overlay giving the English translation will point you in the right direction.

Total Immersion claimed the first AR application for the iPad 2 this month, called AR Magic Mirror. It makes use of the dual cameras so you can watch yourself and add accessories like glasses, or wacky hairstyles. This will have obvious ramifications for activities like shopping, where you can try on clothes, virtually, before buying.

The thinking is that now that we have a device that can do justice to AR, all the hype over the past two years surrounding the new media tool will be realized and then transferred down the line to mobile phones. What this brave future means is that everyone will be even more immersed in their phone lives and bright sparks everywhere will rack their brains for the as yet unrealized killer app that makes them billions.

For instance, you go to a party, wearing your AR shades, naturally; meet a girl you like the look of; voice recognition software tells you all about her, including her birth date and a predilection for surrealist painters; suggests you go over and say: "Happy birthday! There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction."

It won't be long, I predict, before we are all wearing iPads and smart phones like goggles, looking at the world through AR tinted spectacles. It's the next obvious step. Yes, it will look ridiculous to begin with, then it will seem cool and then everyone will feel naked without a pair. It will be total immersion.