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MGM is somehow making a live-action movie about the View-Master
If you have fond memories of playing with a View-Master as a kid, Mattel is hoping to cash in on your nostalgia. The toy maker is teaming up with media company MGM to produce a live-action film based on the classic stereoscope toy. Details on the film are sparse -- there doesn't appear to be writers, directors or actors attached to the project at this time -- but it sure seems like studios are running out of ideas if they're reaching for the View-Master as their source material.
View-Master VR keeps one foot planted in the real world
Last year View-Master made the leap to virtual reality, packing a Google Cardboard experience into an affordable, kid-friendly headset. With the introduction of the View-Master Viewer DLX at this week's Toy Fair, the brand remains fully committed to VR, while still finding ways to incorporate its analog roots.
Mattel will launch a redesigned VR View-Master this fall
Mattel refreshed the View-Master for virtual reality last year with a version based on Google Cardboard, and this weekend it showed off an updated design at the New York Toy Fair. The View-Master Viewer DLX has better optical lenses, focal adjustment and, most importantly, a headphone connector. Gizmodo got some hands-on time with the device during the show, and also noticed a redesigned smartphone bracket that's ready to deal with more phones no matter what size or shape they are. It will also apparently see a price bump from $30 to $40, but the changes seem worth an extra $10 -- hopefully we'll be able to give its VR / AR capabilities another look before it goes on sale later this year.
Google's VR for students comes to more cities and countries
Google's virtual reality education efforts may have only just begun this fall, but they're about to grow in a big, big way. The search giant is expanding its Expeditions Pioneer Program to schools in 12 US cities (including Las Vegas, New Orleans and Portland) as well as three in Canada, Denmark and Singapore. Each school will get a kit with everything it needs to take students on VR field trips, including ASUS smartphones as well as either Google Cardboard or View-Master's device. The project is still far from ubiquitous, but it's big enough to make us a little jealous -- where were these kinds of virtual adventures when we were kids?
View-Master introduces kids to VR with space and wild animals
Mattel wants to make virtual reality kid-friendly. The company's been trying to bring its toys into the digital age for the last year or so. Barbie received a speech-recognition makeover; a plush Smart Toy learned how to talk; and earlier this year, the toymaker announced it would leverage Google's Cardboard technology to revamp its iconic View-Master. The new iteration of the viewer was expected to offer an introductory virtual reality experience at an affordable price. Now as the viewer makes its way to shelves this month, the company has unveiled the 360-degree experiences that are designed to be a child's first brush with virtual reality.
Daily Roundup: NASA engineer Annie Easley, a new View-Master and more!
Get caught up on today's news in the latest edition of the Daily Roundup. Learn about Annie Easley, an African-American woman who helped make early spaceflight possible, go hands-on with us as we take Mattel's View-Master for a spin and find out how the UK plans to test autonomous vehicles. All that and more can be found past the break.
A visual history of Mattel's View-Master
With a little help from Google, Mattel took its iconic View-Master into the 21st century. That said, this isn't the first time the stereoscopic sightseer has welcomed change. In fact, since being born in 1939, there have been many iterations of the View-Master and its popular content reels. This includes models that weren't designed to be toys, like a model that was used during World War II as a training tool.
Kids will love the 21st century View-Master (but it made me dizzy)
I may not be the best candidate for a virtual reality demo. My glasses always get in the way, and even straight 3D tends to make me dizzy. None-the-less, I had to try the new View-Master. Well, the new View-Master app, at least. Sadly, the plastic viewer itself is still very early in the production cycle, so there wasn't a version ready to accept a phone and do a proper demo. But I was able to slot a Nexus into a Google Cardboard set up (stamped with a red View-Master logo) and get an idea of the experience Mattel is planning for October.
Google and Mattel update View-Master for the VR generation
Remember View-Master? That hunk of plastic you held up to your face, stuck cardboard reels into and advanced through 3D images of landscapes, animals and cartoons with the satisfying pull on a lever. Well it's back and Mattel has Google to thank for helping drag the classic toy into the 21st century. The main piece is an update to the iconic red-bodied View-Master that looks a little bit like a Fisher-Price take on the Oculus Rift. The orange lever is still there, albeit in a more compact form, and the front is dominated by a black, branded piece of plastic. But rather than stationary slide, you insert a smartphone into the plastic body which, when paired with the View-Master app and a View-Master "experience reel," lets you experience 360-degree worlds, photosphere and educational "field trips." There will even be bonus content such as historical footage, photos and behind the scenes video that you can access by clicking on icons hovering around objects, people and landmarks in the virtual world.
What are Mattel and Google doing with View-Master?
With a View-Master topped teaser (which you can see after the break), Google and Mattel invoked one of our favorite childhood memories -- and frequent inspiration for low-budget virtual reality shenanigans. The two are planning an "exclusive announcement and product debut" ahead of the New York Toy Fair next week, but other than the View-Master theme there's little to go on. Mattel's Fisher-Price division tried a View-Master comeback for the digital age in 2012, although all trace of it is gone now. We'll have to wait until next Friday to see for ourselves what they're planning, but we invite your wildest speculation until then. So what are you thinking -- a plastic pair of branded Mattel VR goggles based on the Cardboard project, or maybe a Hot Wheel based on something else Google has been working on? ... href='https://www.wedgies.com/question/54d50a247978490e00000193'>What will Mattel & Google announce next week?
Create and share your own 3D video with Poppy
Nostalgia reigns, as the "iPhone as 3D camera" Poppy pops up on Kickstarter. The Poppy, first reported on Engadget, turns your iPhone 5 into a camera that can capture, view and share photos and video in 3D. The box alone triggers memories of Woody Woodpecker, Mickey Mouse and a variety of cartoons on round cardboard mounts that held seven stereoscopic 3-D pairs of tiny color photographs on film, because it looks very much like your old View-Master toy. The Poppy modernizes the concept by adding a slot for your iPhone 5 to capture two stereographic images using mirrors. The Poppy's lenses unite two video streams into one 3D video experience. You can create your own masterpieces or view 3D content created by someone else, including YouTube videos. According to Engadget's Myriam Joire, who actually tested a prototype, "The front part of the casing rotates 180 degrees to line up the optics with the iPhone's camera, enabling capture mode. Poppy exposes the phone's volume buttons and includes thumb cutouts to access the screen while you're holding it. The device comes with a matching app that makes it easier to view and capture content using the handset's volume buttons." While it's not a pocket device, the "Poppy is the first product that lets the iPhone capture, view and share the world as it is actually experienced -- in 3D," according to co-creator, Ethan Lowry. For less than US$60, you can join the Kickstarter campaign and receive a Poppy of your very own. After the first day of pledges, Poppy has already raised almost 40 percent of its $40,000 goal. While interest in stereographic photography has waned over the years, there are still some very active stereo photography enthusiasts. The National Stereoscopic Association lists 60 organizations world-wide that meet regularly. Contrary to popular opinion, these folks don't just deal with old products. The members are a treasure trove of information on shooting 3D with current products also. The folks from the Stereo New England group alerted me to the Hasbro My3D when it first came out and gave me many tips for shooting in 3D and for cleaning my Dad's 3D slides. Perhaps I can persuade the Poppy developers to add a stereo slide viewing attachment to their new product...
Poppy turns iPhone into View-Master-like 3D display and camera (video)
Remember the View-Master? We've already seen goggles from Hasbro and Sanwa that transform the iPhone into a 3D viewer, but Poppy plans to spice things up by adding 3D photo and video capture to the mix. The device, which contains no electronics, is about the size of medium pair of binoculars and features a slot which accepts an iPhone 5. It's launching on Kickstarter today for $49, along with a matching app. We got the chance to take a prototype for a spin and it worked like a charm. Check out the gallery and campaign link below, then read on after the break. %Gallery-192349%
Fisher Price and Spatial View bring View-Master into the 21st century
It might not be quite as satisfying as pulling down that orange arm and watching as the one three-dimensional image is replaced with another slightly washed-out pic with rounded corners, but Fisher Price is ushering its beloved View-Master brand into the 21st century. Later this quarter the company will be launching ViewMasterDigital3D.com, a content shop that will sell packages of stereoscopic images for $1.99. While you will be able to view those photos on any 3D-capable device -- like say that new LG TV you just picked up -- there will also be branded iPhone and laptop accessories from Spatial View who partnered with Fisher Price on this project. Check out the complete PR after the break.
Hasbro's My3D to turn iPhones into glorified ViewMasters starting Sunday
It's about time the ViewMaster got an upgrade. What's that? It's not a ViewMaster? Well, you could have fooled us, but either way, the thing's finally going on sale exclusively at Target April 3rd, and everywhere else starting in June. As you might have already heard, Hasbro's intro into the crowded 3D arena, simply titled My3D, does take a card from the old ViewMaster deck, but instead of enlisting cardboard discs, this thing uses your iPhone or iPod touch to bring you 3D entertainment. If your kid's not already hooked on 3D, the $35 viewer could be a decent starter -- then again, for $35 you could take yourself out to a nice lunch, give the rug rat a cardboard box, and call it a day. Full PR after the break.
DIYer concocts homegrown View-Master, relies on HTC Magic and Google Street View (video)
It's been far, far too long since we broke out the View-Master from the admittedly dusty toy chest, but now we're guessing it'll be at least a score before we get the urge again. Why, you ask? The View-Master 2009. These homegrown virtual reality goggles are surprisingly impressive despite their ragged look, and by utilizing some form of cardboard enclosure, an HTC Magic and Google Street View, the designer was able to mimic that "immersive" environment we've grown to know and never forget. Don't believe us? Have a look at the vid just past the break, and hang in there 'til the end if you're scouting a how-to guide.
