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Google’s cardboard VR headset is no joke
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IT sounds like a joke, but it works. Google Cardboard is essentially a piece of cardboard folded into a box that’s slightly shorter than a brick. You slip in an iPhone or Android phone that’s no larger than 6 inches diagonally. You run Google’s Cardboard app, and voila.
Models certified by Google are available for as low as US$15. Many companies are also giving them out for free; The New York Times sent one to its print subscribers in November, for instance. And you can build your own with cardboard, lenses, magnets, Velcro and a rubber band; find your own parts or buy kits for a few dollars on eBay.
With an Android phone, you can watch 360-degree videos of news events, rollercoaster rides and more on YouTube. You can find some by searching with the hashtag “360Video.” Hit the Cardboard icon on the lower right, insert the phone into the contraption and look through Cardboard’s lenses.
Turn your head around to see what’s behind you. Look up, look down, look to the side. The phone’s accelerometer senses where you head is, and the phone’s screen shows you the right perspective — in 3-D through Cardboard’s lenses.
The YouTube capability isn’t available on iPhones yet. But you can get other Cardboard apps through the iPhone or Android app store.
The Times’ NYT VR, for instance, has segments on travel, politics and war. Google’s Street View offers 360-degree views of Machu Picchu and other places you might have only dreamed of getting to.
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