Google Cardboard Overview: VR On The Cheap

Imagine if you will, standing on the surface of the moon, overlooking a crater from your lunar rover, listening to mission control chatter. Or don’t. Instead of imagining it, just order a cheap Google Cardboard VR set instead, stick your phone in it, and start exploring the solar system, museums, tourist spots, coral reefs and much more. Let the Imagination Technologies GPU in your phone live up to its name and do your imagining for you.

Google Cardboard is hardly a new concept. It was unleashed on the unsuspecting geekosphere at Google I/O 2014, roughly 18 months ago. Since then, Google has tweaked the Cardboard reference design, but the concept hasn’t changed; Google Cardboard was envisioned as the cheapest Virtual Reality (VR) solution on the planet, and at this point, nothing else comes close in terms of pricing.

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Microsoft HoloLens Review - Bridging The Gap Between AR And VR

Microsoft has a long tradition of spicing up relatively dull product announcements with compelling tech demos, and the Windows 10 announcement was no exception. The software giant used the opportunity to create a fair amount of buzz about the HoloLens, a futuristic headset that offers a glimpse into the future of Augmented Reality (AR). However, Microsoft also has a tradition of spectacular hardware flops, which peaked under the Ballmer regime. Remember the Kin phone? Neither do I.

The introduction of HoloLens probably won’t be such a flop for a number of reasons. First of all, the HoloLens still has a long way to go before it becomes a commercially viable device - it could be about a few quarters, or a couple of years. Secondly, the concept behind it is sound, and builds on a few promising emerging industry trends, such as wearable tech and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets. The HoloLens is trying to be somewhat different by bundling a lot of functionality into a single device, but in this Microsoft HoloLens review we will take a look at what’s already out there and what is in the works.

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