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Google Cardboard now works on iOS
At the I/O developers conference this morning, Google announced that its low-cost VR headset, dubbed Cardboard, is now available for (official) use with the Apple operating system. The system has only been available for the Android OS since its debut at last year's I/O conference. Its associated app, however, has been downloaded more than a million times since then.
Google intros new Jump VR platform and improved Cardboard
Google brought virtual reality to the masses cheaply with Cardboard, a DIY headset announced at last year's I/O conference. Now, the search giant's building upon its 1 million VR viewers with an improved Cardboard headset that fits smartphone screens up to 6 inches. It also incorporates a new top-mounted button that replaces the finicky magnetic ring so that Cardboard works with any phone. And, in what's probably the most consumer-friendly move Google's made with the new and improved Cardboard, it takes just three steps to assemble. Clay Bavor, VP of Product, told I/O attendees that they'd be receiving these new DIY VR kits immediately after the keynote. And for interested VR developers, it's important to note the Cardboard SDK now works with iOS in addition to Android.
Browsing Twitter and Instagram in VR? Yup, it's a thing
I know, you bought yourself a VR rig and never want to take it off. It's the future, that's natural! And with something like the Gear VR's passthrough camera you don't even need to remove the headset to do menial "real-world" chores like going to the bathroom, grabbing another Mountain Dew out of the fridge or some Doritos out of the cupboard. But what if you wanted to check your Twitter feed or see how many new likes that Instagram photo of hitting your activity goal on your Apple Watch got while avoiding meatspace? Have no fear folks, because with a new app called Swerve you'll be able to do that without removing your Android VR system. The app puts Twitter into a 3D space and as VR Focus notes, you can peruse searches, mentions and hashtags too -- apparently all in a cloud-filled skybox. Perfect.
Google's 'Works with Cardboard' program is all about VR compatibility
Google wants all apps developed for its Cardboard VR headset to work properly with, well, any version of its device. That's tougher than it sounds, since the headset's open-source, and a lot of companies and individual users are tweaking it to their heart's content. To make it happen, Mountain View has launched the "Works with Google Cardboard" project, which gives headset makers the power to ensure their design plays nicely with apps made for the device. It doesn't matter if they use metal or plastic, cut the materials out using any dimension or adjust the optic, so long as they input all those details into the Cardboard website to get a QR code to attach to their creation.
How serious are you about virtual reality?
The absolute best/worst virtual reality stock photo we could find Are you prepared to dedicate a room in your house to virtual reality? Perhaps you're a little less crazy than me, but you're okay with a wire running across your living room to a headset? Or maybe both of those sound crazy to you, but a headset that can plug into your phone is okay? These are the emerging options for virtual reality: a medium finally coming into its own, that's poised to disrupt industries and hairdos the world over.
'Bejeweled' co-creator has a new studio devoted to 'social' VR
What do you do after co-founding a studio responsible for myriad massive successes? From Bejeweled, to Peggle, to the massively popular Plants vs. Zombies, former PopCap Games co-founder John Vechey left a wake of breakthrough gaming franchises. After 15 years, he took a brief break. And now, five months after his amicable departure from the studio, Vechey's taking his hit-making talent to a new medium: virtual reality. Today he announced Pluto VR, an augmented-and-virtual reality studio named after our solar system's most (loved) distant planet-like mass.
LG builds its own mobile VR headset for the G3
Korea's two largest companies are Samsung and LG, and while Samsung has been making a big splash in the VR world, LG has remained conspicuously silent. That's because the company has been working with Google to build a headset for the LG G3 that'll do a similar job to the Gear VR. The charmingly-named VR for G3 is a plastic headset that'll let you slide the phone into the hardware, with special holes cut for the smartphone's rear volume keys.
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?
Engadget Daily: Digital life after death, the deal with Google Cardboard and more!
Ever wondered what happens to your digital life when you die? If not, you should give it some thought. Today, we explain how to handle a loved one's online accounts, investigate Google's cardboard-built investment in virtual reality, and more. The best part? It's all just a click away.
Jack White brings VR performances to Google Cardboard
After a world record, an elaborate vinyl release and two box sets of classics from the Paramount vault, Jack White is trying his hand at VR. White's Third Man Records teamed up with Jaunt to create immersive versions of a few recent performances with the Third-D app. The software pairs with the just-updated Google Cardboard for 360-degree 3D live videos of "Freedom at 21" and "Ball and Biscuit" from The Bleacher Theater at Fenway Park as well as "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" from Red Rocks Amphitheatre. And there's Dolby Atmos audio thrown in for good measure. If you'll recall, Jaunt has been focused on delivering "cinematic VR footage" to both Cardboard and Oculus Rift for months, including live looks at Paul McCartney and more. Don't have Cardboard yet? If you're not looking to make your own, you can grab one from the likes of DODOcase and others for around $20-$25. The app itself is free though, and it's available now over at Google Play.
Google's road to virtual reality begins with Cardboard
When I first saw Google's Cardboard VR contraption earlier this year, I laughed. I thought to myself, "This is a joke, right?" How could this piece of cutout cardboard with a phone in it possibly work as a virtual reality headset? Compared to the Oculus Rift and Samsung's own smartphone-powered Gear VR, this Cardboard thing seemed more like a high school arts and crafts project than anything high-tech. I didn't take it seriously. I was wrong.
