I saw this product at CES 2016, and it took a while for them to get me a review unit, but now that I have it, I and everyone else is going to see more of these in the near and possibly far future.
If you haven’t figured out what this is yet, it is a virtual reality holder for your smartphone. Perhaps you have heard of Google Cardboard, as it is essentially a cheap way to view some virtual reality action on an ordinary smartphone.
This particular ViewR 2.0 from Powis is definitely not cardboard, and you can customize it with this very awesome logo. I’ve been thinking about re-branding, but I don’t know, I’m liking the light blue and the font.
But let’s talk about the product itself. How this works is that you put your smartphone on the viewer and then use the velcro strap to keep it in place. This might take a little bit of work to make certain that it fits right, and then you can run some VR programs. By the way, you might have an issue with the button, as it is made to touch the screen when needed, so yes, it might need adjustment again.
So what do VR programs look like? Well, they split the screen in two, then they you look through the viewer you see 3D like an old-school View Master. I used it to play Lampr VR. If you aren’t familiar with that game, just download it on iOS or Android. It is a game where you are moving through a maze of plants playing a bug that is collecting some shiny stuff, and you have to move around your head to navigate. It made my wife dizzy, and this is an image of me playing it.
Oh, and get yourself a ViewR from Powis and play it. A simple viewer can be purchased for $29.99, and one with alligator skin can be bought for $39.99. That, or you could purchase an Oculus for $599 this March or the HTC Vive for $799. I think you can see where this is going, as there will be a demand for cheap VR in the future.
Leave a Reply