Rating: 4.5/5
Price: Free-$35.00
Pros: Great, affordable way for beginners to explore virtual reality. Many different models are available for purchase. More apps are becoming available for the device. Works on both Android and iPhones.
Cons: Some apps for it are not so great and will freeze a mobile device.
BlackEnterprise.com Review:Â
You will hear and read a lot about virtual reality in technology this year. Virtual reality is a computer-generated three-dimensional image or environment with which we interact. Facebook-owned Oculus VR is set to launch the Oculus headset and Sony, as well as other tech companies, are launching VR headsets soon. More VR content is being made since 360-degree video is becoming abundant–cameras such as the Nokia OXO can shoot high-definition 3D video. VR apps, displays, and content will all be at the forefront of tech coverage this year.
If you are just getting acquainted with virtual reality or want an affordable way to experience it, then you will want to know about Google Cardboard. Google sent Black Enterprise a number of Cardboard headsets to try out and we had a blast doing so in the office. Check out the video at the end of this article.
How It Works
Google Cardboard is made from a piece of cardboard cut into the shape, somewhat like a ViewMaster toy, and is comprised of two 45 mm focal length lenses, conductive lever, a hook and loop fastener (such as Velcro), a rubber band, and an optional near field communication (NFC) tag.
It works with a smartphone. Slide your phone into the Cardboard viewer with the screen facing the lenses. Open a Google Cardboard app on the phone and follow the setup instruction, put the viewer to your eyes. Depending on the app, you control by pushing the magnet on Google Cardboard or by turning your head—the specific app instructs you on what to do.
Once the kit is assembled, a smartphone is inserted in the back of the device and held in place by the selected fastening device. A Google Cardboard—compatible app splits the smartphone display image into two, one for each eye, while also applying barrel distortion to each image to counter pincushion distortion from the lenses; the result is a stereoscopic (“3D”) image with a wide field of view.
How to Get It
Google Cardboard is a device you can build using Google’s free, downloadable template and some additional items you can find at a hardware store or online. The template gets traced onto a piece of cardboard. Additional items needed are two 45 mm focal lenses, magnets, velcro and a rubber band. You can buy the magnets online for $1.03 and a pair of  lenses for $1.24.
Google has all of the instruction for assembling the device available in a PDF file. If you want to skip assembling your own, there are plenty of pre-made Google Cardboard headsets. Some of them are even made of sturdier, more expensive material than cardboard. Pre-made Google Cardboard headsets generally run about $20-$35), though these fancy viewers from Zeiss, are priced at $120-$129.
(Continued on next page)
Getting Apps for Google Cardboard
Once you have a viewer, you need to download Google Cardboard apps. The best app to begin with is Google’s Cardboard app. It provides a tutorial on how to use Google Cardboard and also has some sample apps that take you on virtual reality tours, including a walk through a jungle, a French museum, a futuristic world more. It’s a free app and really whets your appetite to download even more content for the device.
The Google Cardboard Experience
I got started with Google Cardboard by using it with the new Verizon Droid Turbo, a seriously slick Android phone with a gorgeous display. I download a couple of free Cardboard apps from Android Play, including Cosmic Roller Coaster–a stomach-churning, yet exciting ride through the Solar System; Lanterns for Google Cardboard, a zen-like traipse through a virtual world decorated with beautiful paper lanterns; and DinoTrek VR–which simulates an exploration through a world with dinosaurs.
Some apps worked better than others. For instance, the DinoTrek app was more akin to looking at a 3D movie through those red and green 3D glasses given out at a movie theatre. The app also froze my phone a few times.
By far, my most favorite app (and by the squeals of my co-workers who tried out Google Cardboard) is the Cosmic RollerCoaster. With Google Cardboard, you truly feel as though you are zooming along a rollercoaster throughout space. It is an immersive, beautifully-visual, and exciting experience.
There are other apps for Cardboard, including ones for children, apps that go along with movies (there is a really creepy app for the movie Insidious
, Â for example). There are even pornography apps, I am told. As with other apps, you usually get better quality for the ones that cost a few bucks.Many in the office asked me if Google Cardboard works with iOS. It does and there are apps in iTunes available.
For Developers and Entrepreneurs
Google Cardboard isn’t all about entertainment. It has very real value proposition for businesses and entrepreneurs. Many companies are starting to leverage 3D, VR content as part of their marketing strategies and into events. The New York Times recently causes a stir by sending its subscribers a pair of Google Cardboard to view NYT’s 3D content.
Fortunately, Google has made the API for Cardboard available to businesses and entrepreneurs who may want to create their own Google Cardboard app for their business and projects.
Great Way of Getting VR
Google Cardboard provides a fun, affordable, and very accessible way to experience VR and to incorporate VR content into a business. It’s a 4/5 out of 5 star-rated product for entertainment hardware and one we highly recommend trying out.