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Google Cardboard VR Goggle Unofficial Toolkit US $15 (w/Code) + Delivery @ DODOcase

680
USA1

Never thought I would be this excited about a piece of cardboard! It's Google's current answer to the Oculus Rift. Google's Cardboard VR headset is an ingenious way to bring virtual reality to Android smartphones, and the masses.

You do NOT have to buy this kit. The design is freely available https://developers.google.com/cardboard/
You can collect the pieces separately and build it all yourself (good luck finding the lenses!). This unofficial kit just removes some of the leg work.

NEW 25% discount with code USA1. As per tdth99's comment.
Alternate code, BXDD7282, for 10% discount.
Shipping seems to vary $10US to $23US.
The NFC tag is optional, adds another $5US. I already have some tags from eBay, plan to use one of those.
Expected shipping is 6-8 weeks away.

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closed Comments

  • +36

    (O_O)

  • +1

    Expensive cardboard

    • +35

      You've never played magic the gathering?
      :P

    • Nah, expensive lenses. Try searching for some, they aren't cheap. This would be a pretty good deal even if it was just the lenses…

    • +1

      That's nothing, this piece of paper is worth 5 times that.

      • +15

        That's plastic.

  • +1

    Cheapest shipping option that came up for me was US$10…

  • +44

    Oculus Thrift!

    • +2

      This is f***ing awesome……

      • +4

        It's also copied from a reddit discussion yesterday ….

        • +2

          Quiet, Sane McKilljoy. If that is your real name.

        • +3

          Downvotes for pointing out it's not original?

          Here's someone from 11 days ago :

          http://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/comments/286j4v/if_i_…

          but you can actually track it back YEARS, for roughly the same idea.

          Seems as if updated stereoscopic viewers and the name go together in peoples' heads.

        • +1

          Wasn't me that down voted. I'm just here for the funnys!

        • +3

          Jesus, rest. If small quips in forums need to be referenced to original sources now then I'm done, put me out of my misery.

        • +1

          sane, medium_tight's comments were a quote from the very popular song "thrift shop" by Macklemore.

  • +1

    $10 shipping for me as well..

  • I'll wait for the Samsung version…. :/

    • +7

      Same but I'm worried it'll be covered in stickers.

      • I'll get me some of that faux cardboard

    • +6

      There are reports Samsung will be using Corning Gorilla Cardboard

      • +4

        White cardboard cost extra

  • As others have said, getting the lenses is the hard part.

    I have ordered a kit from Dodocase, and been offered a couple of 15% discount codes if anyone is interested. (Disclosure: I also get an additional discount if my code is used)

    • sure, let us know

    • What are the codes, mate?

    • Here's a code: C140623-FTQ93TR
      I think its one use only, so first in best dressed :-)

      I will try to get another one later…

    • I have a 10% off coupon if anyone is interested…PM me your email address.

  • +1

    Ordered. I liked this when I saw it on Google I/O and for $35 I'll give it a shot. Why not. Anyone else grabbing one? I'll let you guys know if any good.

  • +2

    Whatever you do don't get the cardboard wet. Instant damage. You wouldn't want to have a sweaty face. But honestly why would some one pay $19.95 for a piece of crafted cardboard?. Have you all gone insane?.

    • But you'll have the lenses and other components. Get more cardboard and you're good to go again.

    • Yep, the value is not in the cardboard (which you can easily make at home) but rather with the lenses, which are rare and a bit over-priced.

      The only known sources on Amazon sold out yesterday without hours, and eBay doesn't seem to have any reliable or affordable options yet. It's possible that other sources will be found, and I will probably still have a go at making my own out of foam (easier to work with) but I have ordered this kit regardless.

    • Cardboard is only small part of the equation:

      Here is what comes in your kit
      Pre-cut cardboard
      Lenses
      Magnet
      Velcro
      Rubberband
      Upgrade for optional NFC tag (not included in base kit)

      I put the NFC chip in the order and the whole lot is coming over for less than $35. Maybe you can buy these things separately for a couple of bucks less, but seriously? You really want to bother when this will be ready to construct for less than $35? Cheapest and most convenient way I've ever seen to get started experimenting with VR. Sure there will be copycats and better designs at some stage but this is very good for first timers.

      Hell, strapping this to my kid's faces in the car and letting them watch 3D movies (and not arguing) is worth the price of admission alone!

      • The idea is not really Google's, they are really just copying what is already out there (third party models have been available for iPhone for a while). It is cool that they are releasing the designs of how to build one though and the NFC thing is perhaps something new (I assume that NFC allows the phone to go to split screen mode automatically when its fitted in the glasses?)

        • -1

          its been around a lot longer than anything iCrap - the virtual boy was an awful attempt at the same thing, people have been doing it to any screen they can manage for the last couple of decades

      • +2

        You also get:

        Shame
        Embarrassment
        Regret

  • +6

    Wondering how long it'll be until ultra cheap versions appear on Hong Kong eBay sellers. It should cut Aussie shipping a bit.

    • +2

      Would seem perfectly sensible to knock them out in plastic for $10 (eBay price). Nothing here is particularly more complex than the Victorian originals, or indeed those viewers from the 1970s.

      I kind of wonder what the OculusVR lot are saying today. On the one hand their solution will be much better quality and have better support. On the other, if people realise how the thing can give you headaches it might help kill their very similar looking kit.

      • Most of the negative affects like headaches, nausea, dizziness, etc, that a few people experience are going away as the head tracking, low-persistence and other technologies get better. Many people who can't use the DK1 are fine on the DK2, for example.

        So people who like Google Cardboard, but get sick, will be buying a 'proper' VR headset.

  • Edit; missed the discount code when I first commented saying this wasn't a bargain. Nothing to see here. Move along.

  • All I could think about when I saw this was DIY fpv.

    HobbyKing Live - Quanum DIY FPV Goggle Build Video: http://youtu.be/svbiqp5YfzQ

    • Yes, I thought of that too. I've been trying to figure out a way of getting FPV video into a phone ever since….but apart from streaming via Wifi (and dealing with the resultant latency) it's very difficult.

      There are a couple of fundamental differences too:
      a) The Quanum system uses a single screen, a single image and a single lens. GCardboard uses a single screen, but with a split image (for 3D effect) and twin lenses.
      b) The Quanum system is a 'dumb' display. GCardboard uses the phone's sensors to change what's displayed on the screen.

      • Any type of processing is going to produce lag. For FPV this is a big no no and the reason it's all running on simple analog signals. I can see the value of getting the FPV footage onto a phone for a second screen. Saves the "Oh what does that look like" questions.

        FPV is the best toy available ATM. Forget the game consoles.

        • I have a cheap portable DVD player (with AV inputs) connected to the second my 2nd output from my video receiver. That way a few people can watch at the same time.

          My biggest reason for looking for alternatives is simply high resolution. That Quanum setup would be great, but the screen is apparently 480x250 or something, which would look pretty nasty after being magnified through a fresnel lens.

          It's nigh impossible to find small 720p screens for less than $500, but you can buy one in a phone, along with all the other high-tech stuff inside, for $200. That's totally ridiculous!

        • Of course it is possible.
          I just ordered a replacement 720p 4.5 inch screen from ebay, complete with outer glass and digitiser for under $40
          http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Full-Touch-Screen-Digitizer-with-…

        • Just thinking, any car GPS with reverse camera input will do. There might be more options out there for HD screens. I'll be happy with the HK ones to start with then look at something with 600 lines or more. I don't mine spending the coin on quality, just not sure what I want yet.

  • +1

    so what does this thing do?

    • +6

      Makes you look like a wierdo. :p

    • +1

      It's a cheap Virtual Reality headset that uses your phone as a screen.

    • +1

      Its a bracket to hold your phone a few inches away from your face. Then a couple of lenses to focus the picture so you see more than blur.

      In basic terms you can watch a movie no hands. The more advanced and main target is a video game where when you turn your head, the screen turns with you.

  • +2

    I was wondering which phones it works with

    For now, the list of fully supported phones includes the Google Nexus 4 and 5, the Moto X, Samsung Galaxy S4 and S5 and, oddly enough, the original Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

    http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/25/google-vr-cardboard/

    I wonder if there will be a version for the nexus7

    • +2

      I'm pretty sure its phones with a gyroscope, the original nexus does have one so that's why it would be included.

      My latest phone the Moto G does not….

      I guess the easiest way to check is if you can do those google sphere photos on your phone.

  • +1

    Those are cool. These things also exist
    http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__53706__Quanum_DIY…
    Made out of foam if you want something a bit more sturdy. Will require the individual lenses and some modification to function as VR

  • +1

    Sorry, what is the point of this? Wouldn't wearing this cardboard on your face be extremely uncomfortable?

    • +2

      Fun, experimentation, development

  • +3

    No hurry to get this now. I think the price will go downhill in a couple of weeks.

  • Go buy an Extra Large pizza and download the docs'
    Done

    • +5

      does the pizza come with lenses?

  • +1

    Great stuff, ordered.

  • +1

    Whats the point of this?

    • +1

      to provide a computing device with an adaptive stereoscopic display device that straps onto the users head, and simultaneously shows unique images updated for each eye.
      Once assembled, the device contains sensors such as GPS, gyroscope and accelerometers as well as a multi-core CPU, storage, WiFI and 3G connectivity.
      For less than $40

  • $10 shipping for me as well

  • +1

    There's also a whole bunch of stereo 3D stereo viewers available for iphone if anyone is in the other camp. Although its probably more exciting news that the Android stereo 3D development has been given a boost. Here's a very simply one below although there are several plastic models as well.

    http://3dvision-blog.com/6606-review-of-the-3dfier-viewer-st…

    Plastic model http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/28/sanwa-stereoscopic-iphone…

    I was also thinking you might be able to use the lenses from an old Viewmaster, but I just measured the Focal point from lens to the film plane and it seems to be about 50mm (not 40mm as required with Googles glasses, assuming Im measuring the correct thing). Mine is an old model from late 70's or early 80' so no way I would destroy it anyway.

  • +1

    This is the same as the Durovis Dive. If you have a 3D printer you can print the headset here, or buy the plastic version;

    http://www.durovis.com/opendive-howto.html

    I went to the local asian/export/import place and bought a set of loupe (jewellry making magnifiers)for $3, the lenses worked perfectly.

  • never mind lol

  • +1

    Don't need, but bought.

    +1

  • +6

    USA1 is another discount code you can use for 25% off :)

    • +2

      Wasn't sure whether to +ve or -ve your comment. I was doing so well resisting buying this, right up until your code, which worked perfectly. So thanks, I think. ;P used it and bought myself some cardboard and a rubber band.

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