Version 2 - 2015 model What’s changed? From a does-this-advance-the-state-of-virtual-reality perspective, not a whole heck of a lot. It’s still just a chunk of cardboard with no fancy cameras, positional trackers, or even a headstrap to keep it on.
What it does have now is a bigger, thicker cardboard frame that’s far more durable, and holds phones up to six inches in size — with way larger lenses to compensate for the bigger screen. Oh, and it’s got a button made of cardboard too. No need for finnicky magnets or a metal washer.
How the heck does a cardboard button work? It’s pretty cool: You’re actually pressing down on a cardboard flap that’s linked to a conductive pad, which makes contact with your phone’s touchscreen when you press it down. The conductive material stretches all the way to your fingertip, so you’re basically completing the circuit the same way you would if you actually touched the screen.
You can put the new Cardboard away and protect its lenses when it’s not in use. The sides that cover your face can fold away to protect one side of the lenses, and the cardboard slip cover takes care of the other.
Oh, and there’s a QR code on the bottom of this unit, too, so that virtual reality experiences built with the Cardboard SDK can automatically adjust for the new optics.
Specifications
• Fits phone up to 6" screen size. Works with iPhones and Android devices. • 3-Step Assembly. Assembled in less than 10 seconds. Just slide, flip, secure and enjoy. • Securely packed in a protective sleeve. Easily fold to original state and slide in the protective sleeve when not in use. • Asymmetrical biconvex lenses. 37mm in Diameter with 50mm Focal Length. • New input method. Conductive Foam Button replaces the magnet switch of version 1. Works on both iOS and Android devices.
Version 1 and Version 2 Comparison:
Here are some thoughts:
More Prodcut Image:
Version 1
DIY Google virtual reality 3D glasses for smartphones
Everyone can experience virtual reality in a simple, fun, and inexpensive way
Simple DIY installation process - 1~2 minutes assembly
Black magnets to control the orignial google cardboard app (android only) - Helps navigate and select within the app without the need to use the touchscreen. **Not compatible with all phones**
Suitable for 4-5 inch screen cellphone
Supports LR format 3D videos besides the usual video format
Supports VR game or app
With Cardboard App, you can DIY a virtual reality glasses, like Oculus Rift VR glasses
2 Sizes:
Standard: 130 x 80 x 80mm
Jumbo: 150 x 100 x 80mm (Suitable for users who wear spectacles or with larger phones)
Apps Downloads
Android OS >> search "Cardboard" in Google Play (needs Android 4.1+) (Jellybean or higher)
IOS OS >> search "Cardboard" in App Store
Package Included
Pre-cut cardboard (3 parts)
Lens x2
Black ceramic magnets x2
Rubber band x2
Adhesive strips x2
NFC Sticker *Optional* Use it to automatically load cardboard app when you place phone into cardboard
Instructions not included as it's just below in the product description. Save the earth! :)
Fully compatible
Google Nexus 4 and 5
Sumsung Note 2/Note 3/Note 4
LG G3
Xiaomi Mi3, M4i
One Plus One
Motorola Moto X
Samsung Galaxy S4 and S5
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Partially compatible (Manetic input not working)
HTC One
Motorola Moto G
Magnetic input not working & headtracking rendering issues:
Samsung Galaxy S3
How to assemble your google cardboard:
**We have replaced the double sided tape with a rubber band for easy dismantling.** Simply wrap it round the google cardboard to keep everything in place, as such:
NFC tag: NFC is used to trigger the launch of the Cardboard Android app automatically. Now let’s try to use NFC tag to make an app automatically launch.
Install the "NFC tag writer" in our phone , we download the common version from Google play
Run the App, and enter into the home interface. Create a new NFC data set, then follow the steps to make the choices: New ->Launch Application ->Use installed packagename -> Cardboard. Click Next at last.
In the write options interface, you'd better not choose any option.
Tap the NFC tag with the back of your phone. When you heard the beep, NFC tag’s write is done.
Exit the app and keep the state of NFC opened. Paste the NFC tag to Google Cardboard. When we are putting the phone into the viewer, NFC tag trigger the launch of the app automatically
Recommended Apps:
Snow Shaker Maker
This one's perfect for the run up to Christmas, and ideal for kids. It lets you, using Google Cardboard, turn your Android phone into a snow shaker and then add a new character each day during Advent. The app is free from Google Play, but as a charity project Brilliant Basics also sells the cardboard viewers on its website for £12, of which £5 will go to the Kid's Co Charity. Alternatively, you can download a free template.
Orbulus
Orbulus is a must-have VR smartphone app, allowing you to explore everywhere from the Sydney Opera House to Paris at night, San Francisco's Chinatown or even the inside of a washing machine. So, you'll get go to places Christopher Columbus himself would (possibly) be jealous of. Seriously, though, great graphics make this free app well worth the massive 216MB download (make sure you do so only over Wi-Fi unless you have unlimited mobile data).
Rollercoaster
Rollercoaster is a fantastic VR simulator, putting you in the scariest seat of all at the front of this terrifying ride as it twists and turns up, down, around and around, hurtling past city buildings and skyscrapers. You can look up, you can look side to side; don't look down. Turn around and you're not alone. (And she's screaming, too.)
Hang Gliding
Hang Gliding comes from the same developer as Rollercoaster, and it's arguably even more sickly. It's difficult to know what's more worrying: that pretty mountain rapidly apporoaching your face or whether that's sky or sea below you. People do this for fun?
Dive Deep
Dive Deep takes you down to the depths of the ocean where you can swim among fish, sharks and whales, all without donning a wetsuit and goggles or ruining your hair do. The graphics could be better, but Dive Deep is a great concept.
VR-JurassicLand
If your kids love dinosaurs then they'll love JurrasicLand (for which there is a free trial version or you can pay £1.86 for the full app). You get to sit in a Jurassic Park-style Jeep and, if you dare, go offroad to meet the dinosaurs. And while it might look as though that Giganotosaurus is about to step on your head, he's a big teddy bear really. (Well, he doesn't stand on your head anyway.) There are five dinosaurs to meet and apparently more to come, including T-Rex, Giganotosaurus, Apatosaurus, Euoplocephalus and Triceratops - of which I've heard of two (my nephew would be so disappointed in me), so a tour guide might be a good idea. Seriously, one of the largest carnivores is called a Giganotosaurus - isn't that the same kind of thing as a DoYouThinkHeSaurus?
Cartoon Village VR
Cartoon Village VR is a cute app that places you in a bright and colourful 3D cartoon environment. You move from scene to scene, taking a good look at every nook and cranny and having a general nose about. You can change the season and time of day, and tweak the camera mode and walking speed. Not a lot happens in this cartoon village, but the graphics are nice - the butterflies, insects and leaves that flutter around you are particularly cool.
Tuscany Dive
Tuscany Dive is a nice app from Oculus VR that lets you explore beautiful Tuscany. You need a powerful smartphone and it's irritating that you must touch the screen to begin or change the graphics (our phone is in a box), but it's worth the hassle. As with several VR apps we've tried, you must look down at your feet to begin the auto-walk. Obviously. Who needs to see where they're going these days? Well, in Tuscany you just might want to open your eyes.
VR Dance Club
VR Dance Club is cheesy-cool. It's just a bunch of skeletons dancing to terrible music (neither Daft Punk nor The Chemical Brothers). Some of them have hats. We like that. Let us play our own music and we'd like it even more.
VR-GunDefense
Many of the games available for Google Cardboard require a keyboard or joystick, but VR-GunDefense is one of the few that doesn't. It feels a bit like zombies shooting zombies, except you're not a zombie. The weird angle at which we had to hold our head to shoot them (the gun was in our right arm rather than shown as crosshairs on the screen) meant we probably looked like one, though. The best thing about VR-GunDefense is you'll die before you run out of bullets, which is handy because your gun is constantly firing.
VR Cinema for Cardboard
VR Cinema is an app of two halves: one that lets you watch any video stored on your phone on a cinematic screen; and one that does something weird with your camera and basically shows you the view through the lens if that lens was rubbish. You can't take photos, and the view is blurred and dark. We're not sure what to make of the camera functionality, but the video viewer could be pretty neat with the right movie.
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