Christmas 2015 Gift Guide: I Am Cardboard Virtual Reality Viewer

What do you get a gadget geek, when you cannot afford to spend more than Php1000? 

Simple: Give him/her this!

Cardboard? Well, yes and no.

I Am Cardboard (IAC) is no ordinary cardboard box. It's a virtual reality viewer (VR) that turns your iPhone or Android phone into your portal to the most amazing experience ever. So revolutionary, it's been called an "eye candy for the senses". So trippy, right?

When Dada first brought one home, the kids all crowded around him, and as they tested it out, they all looked funny peering into a cardboard box with their mouths open, kinda like this. Haha.

If you're wondering where to try one out, or better yet, get one, I Am Cardboard is currently sold at Digital Walker stores.

When it launched last Wednesday, journalists and tech enthusiasts at the launch event all dove into the hands-on demos that immersed them in outer space, concerts, underwater, and the ultimate home theater, to name a few. Think a 360-degree, multi-sensory VR experience, without having to spend a fortune.

The I Am Cardboard v2 kit is one of the first virtual reality viewers to hit the local shelves, and proudly stands apart in the global market for being the most mobile and affordable branded VR device. 

I Am Cardboard headsets are inspired by the Google Cardboard concept for ingenious and accessible VR. Cardboard was the runaway star of the 2014 Google I/O developer conference amidst rumours of a $200 Samsung-Oculus headset. Cardboard unlocked VR for next to nothing. Since then, Google and developers like I Am Cardboard have continued to grow and diversify the Cardboard ecosystem with no horizon in sight. Without a doubt, VR is the latest frontier of digital media: be it for gaming, art, education, or fully immersive photos and video.

In fact, one of the most practical applications now is for education, where students get to go on "field trips", via Google's field trip simulation software Expeditions, and a Cardboard. Another practical application? Campus tours! Check this out: http://www.youvisit.com/colleges

It’s clear VR is the future of how we will work, play, and communicate one day. The most compelling reason why I Am Cardboard ought to be your VR Viewer of choice though?

It all began when a Filipino innovator saw Google’s open-source template and took cutters to cardboard for his personal use. Soon enough, his design modifications and engineering brought him from home production to receiving Google’s own badge of approval. Yes, Pinoy ingenuity at its finest.

Today, IAC offers 6 product lines from basic cardboard, to cutting-edge polycarbonate with augmented reality (AR) capability. They also offer VR kits for consumers as well as 360-degree video, other VR applications and custom VR kits for clients.

The IAC v2 is Android and iPhone-compatible, and retails for PHP 900 at Digital Walker. It is easy to assemble, and so deceptively simple to use, you'd be amazed at how this simple box holds to the key to the future!

To see other I Am Cardboard models, visit www.iamcardboard.ph. For the list of Digital Walker branches, click HERE.

Here are some recommended Cardboard by Google Inc. Apps that you can load on your phone.

Games: 

Swivel Gun! VR Log Ride by Pixels of Eight
Radial-G: Infinity by Tammeka Ltd
VR Flappy for Cardboard by VRMob.co

360° Video & VR Cinema: 

The North Face: Jump by Jaunt Inc.
NYT VR by The New York Times Company
Vrse - Virtual Reality by Vrse VR Theater for Cardboard by Couch Games Software

Art & Panorama:

War of Words VR by Burrell Durrant Hifle
Cardboard Camera by Google Inc.
Orbulus by VRCraftworks Ltd

Others:

Titans of Space by DrashVR LLC
VR Roller Coaster by FIBRUM
Star Wars by Disney (Jakku Spy)
Sisters by Otherworld Interactive
Insidious VR by Focus Features