Here's Nissan’s Answer to Tesla’s Powerwall Home Storage Unit — Tech Roundup

Although shares of Tesla Motors (TSLA) - Get Report have struggled lately, down 15% in the past month, much excitement has been generated about the company. Understandably, investors are excited about the cars, but Tesla's Gigafactory and Powerwall units are other pieces to the bullish puzzle. 

Tesla began shipping its Powerwall units earlier this month, but it doesn't look like it will be the only one creating mountable rechargeable storage units for consumers' homes, as Nissanunveiled its own answer: xStorage.

The whole point of a residential battery is so that consumers can charge it during non-peak electricity rates and use that energy during peak hours. For example, charging the system during the day when usage rates are lower and using that power in the morning or evening when electricity is in higher demand. 

Preferably, this system would be charged via solar power, meaning fossil fuels aren't used at all for the system. Consumers who generally aren't consuming as much power in the middle of the day, can then use their stored up power when they get home from work, since its solar panels are less effective in the evening. 

For Nissan, the company plans to use old EV batteries in its units, as a way of recycling and not creating more waste than it needs to. The company plans to launch in Europe for now, with a unit costing roughly 4,000 euros (about $4,500) including installation. Pre-orders will begin in September. 

Shares of Tesla closed at $208.96 Wednesday, up 0.1%. 

The PC market continues to struggle, as shipments ground to its lowest levels in five years, according to Canalys. The data showed that 101 million units were shipped in the first quarter of 2016, a whopping 13% year-over-year decline from the previous year. 

Apple (AAPL) - Get Report led the way, followed by Lenovo, HP (HP) - Get Report , Dell and Samsung. Each of the companies saw a decline in year-over-year shipments, with none of them being able to edge out their competitors for a better position from the same period a year ago. 

However, 2-in-1 notebooks did grow, seeing a 13% gain. Overall though, the picture is grim for PC makers. Several of these companies -- most notably Apple and Samsung -- don't rely as much on PCs and tablets as they do on smartphones. 

But even this segment is hitting a point of slower growth. Or should we say, non-existent? Shipments in the first quarter of 334.9 million were up marginally from the 334.3 million in the prior year. Apple shares have been hit hard since it reported earnings in late-April, with a big reason being that iPhone sales declined 16.3% from the prior year. 

As a result, year-over-year revenues declined for the first time in 13 years. This can be somewhat misleading though, considering how strong the iPhone 6 did one year ago, while consumers wait for the new iPhone 7 to be released later this year. 

Still, the slowing sales of both smartphones, tablets and PC has to be somewhat alarming I would think, especially for investors in the chipmakers. Still, one would think that over time, shipments will begin to rebound (at least for tablets and smartphones) as the world continues to connect and rely more on their devices. 

Shares of Apple closed at $92.51 Wednesday, down 1%. 

Virtual Reality continues its stellar growth. While many consumers may not be all that familiar with the technology just yet - it's still pretty much in its infancy - it is quickly blasting its way onto the center stage. 

There were a lot of question marks surrounding VR and whether it was a fly-by-night phenomenon or a sustainable, long-term trend in technology. That question was pretty much answered when Facebook (FB) - Get Report snapped up Oculus, the leader in VR, for about $2 billion in 2014.

Countless products have popped up, from the more expensive Oculus' Rift headset, to Virtuix's Omni device that allow for a fully immersive VR experience, to the Samsung headset which is just $100. 

Specifically with the Samsung Gear VR, more than 1 million people have used the device in just the past month, despite only being available for six months now. That's pretty impressive so far, and its low price certainly makes it easier for more consumers to be involved. 

Oculus, which pushes content through to the Gear VR, has said that the spike in usage will likely allow for more developers to get involved in VR experiences, making for increased and better content going forward. 

It's impossible to tell where VR is headed or how much of an impact it will have going forward. But if Facebook's multi-billion dollar bet is right, this should just be the beginning. 

Facebook shares closed at $119.52 Wednesday, down 0.8%.

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This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.