Google’s Cardboard has inspired a whole wave of manufacturers to make VR headsets that rely on your phone, and someone local is getting in on that.
You might have heard that virtual reality is on the return, and given how much we write about the field, it shouldn’t surprise you that this is likely to be the next big area where entertainment changes things.
It’s not just about video games, because VR will change movies and education, and while it’s still basically in its infancy and hardware is being ironed out, you can actually turn your phone into a makeshift virtual reality headset.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to find a Google Cardboard headset, which is Google’s answer to easy VR that takes a strip of cardboard, a few lenses, and brings some magnets together to let you control your phone while it’s strapped to your head and showing two screens side by side to trick you into seeing stereo.
Your phone uses the accelerometer inside it to let you move about, picking up on your head movements to move about the 3D space.
But Google’s Cardboard isn’t always easy to find, with the web the best place to find the cheap literally cardboard headsets.
However, there’s good news if you’re trying to get a Cardboard headset locally and prefer something made from something a little more solid, like plastic.
Kaiser Baas has announced that it is releasing the “VR-X”, which is quite literally a plastic Google Cardboard headset designed for both the iPhone and Android devices with screens sized between 4 and 6 inches.
Borrowing the template of the Cardboard headset from Google, Kaiser Baas’ VR-X allows you to slide in your phone in the headset bracket and then put the headset on, using an adjustable head strap (which is something Google Cardboard actually lacks).
Worth noting is that no apps come with the Kaiser Baas VR-X, as the headset is made to just handle all VR apps that run from the Apple App Store (iOS) Google Play Store (Android), as well as any VR movies that work in apps made for devices.
We also feel obligated to note that at 340 grams, the Kaiser Baas headset isn’t light, especially when you need to factor in the weight of a phone, but it’s not much heavier than the headset Samsung makes for its own S6 and S7 phones, and given that the Kaiser Baas option is $49 across Australia, it’s cheap enough for anyone to get into.
