I'm tempted to try
this model as it's one of the few that will not only lists compatibility with an iPhone, but it also supports a 6" iPhone (i.e. iPhone 6 plus). There's the VR One, but that only supports an iPhone 6/6s.
Although, I'm not sure what sort of VR apps are available that are worthwhile.
Yeah, I've got an iPhone 5S - despite the SDE & what appears to be like 480p quality, it's pretty dang neat with the Viewmaster. It gives you a really good taste of what the Oculus will be like (and how much better it will be, quality-wise). I would suggest getting the VRSE app to start out with: (free)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vrse-virtual-reality/id959327054?mt=8
I recommend watching Daniel Askill's "Take Flight" video first, it's a nice short video that really showcases the neat things you can do (CGI, high-quality photography, and a unique experience taking off & going down). Frankly I'm amazed at how good some of the content is already. The app has a bunch of videos; "The Displaced" is an amazing short about the displaced children of conflict. They are clever in how they filmed it - they photographer hid from the shot & let the kids do the storytelling, so you can see it from their perspective, both story-wise & visually. It's more heartbreaking to watch in VR than just to look at pictures & read a story because you can look around & see exactly what kind of situation they're in.
The Viewmaster comes with a Space app that has a mini-game that is kind of neat (should work on all Cardboard-compatible devices since you can just play the demo - I
think), not so much for the minigame itself as much as it lets you watch space shuttle launch footage on a giant 2D screen floating in space. So it's like you're at the movies watching a big screen. Again, unfortunately my 5S is pretty pixely & not at all HD, but in context it looks great. I know there are some neat video players that put you in a movie theater & stuff, still playing with different apps. Reddit has a good Cardboard section with a great introduction here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleCard..._subscribers_extra_basic_cardboard_questions/
There are a bunch of video players available as well; I'm using Homido Player right now to watch stuff like Youtube VR videos. Horror games & movies are going to be amazing on this...I watched one that was short, low-res, and pixelated, and the end still made me jump haha. Look for "SBS" or "side by side" videos that have the screen split into left & right so you get the 3D effect. There appears to be multiple levels of VR:
1. Fullscreen VR, where it's basically a 360-degree photo or video, no viewer required. It's a fullscreen image that uses the phone's gyroscope so you can look around in a 3D sphere. Youtube has those; here's one where you're a little droid rolling around:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uG9vtckp1U
2. Fixed SBS, which has 2 images & merges them - not necessarily for pop-out 3D, but for a looking-in effect. This would be like for a movie trailer where the image is fixed, so no matter where you turn your head, you're always looking at it straight-on. Here's a trailer for Star Wars that somebody did this way (it goes dual screens on the iPhone's Youtube app when you turn it horizontal); it's squished into full-frame, but you get the idea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jruKwPpKIv0
3. 360 SBS, which is the same idea as merging a left & right image, except that you can also look around in a 3D sphere. A good example of this is the Viewmaster app "Destinations" (not sure if you need the included Viewmaster ring to "activate" the pictures or not); I'm sure there are free 360 SBS viewers & photos out there. But you can go to say London & look around from a fixed position, which is actually really immersive just for a photo because your head movements make it more real.
3a. 360 SBS with a 2D frame. Same idea as above, but they put pictures or movies into a giant picture frame or television set in front of you. The Viewmaster National Geographic app does this in one of the sections - it has a ring of photos that you can zoom in & look at. The Space app mentioned above does this in the minigame...it's similar to Fixed SBS, where you get a giant-screen TV in front of you, except you can also look around at the screen in a 360-degree sphere. So you can look behind you or to the side. Wheresas Fixed SBS makes you feel like you're watching say a 100" home theater projector, 360 SBS with a 2D frame makes you feel more like you're at the movie theater, because it lets you see just how "big" the virtual screen is. I can't wait to get the Oculus & watch some movies on it!
Some people online are working on lots of different 3D sets, like actual movie theaters or islands, which sounds really dumb until you try it. If I remember the space one right, you're sitting out in space next to earth and there's a giant IMAX-style video in front of you playing space shuttle launch footage, so it's kind of a cool backdrop. If the Oculus' resolution is high enough, then movies will look really good. The Star Wars trailer above looks neat but definitely doesn't look HD, although the space shuttle launch footage actually looks better, I think because (1) it's not HD (which sounds counter-intuitive, but actually looks good), (2) it's on a larger virtual screen, and (3) the screen is further away (instead of right in front of you). So it gets it more depth & a reference for size in 3D.
3b. 360 SBS with gaming, same as idea as watching a movie, but with some basic gaming capabilities. Basically a dot in the middle of your vision, which you tilt your head to aim. There's some stuff like space shooters & zombie shooters that are kind of fun. This aiming trick also works for activating menus & stuff. I haven't come across a game yet that lets you actually walk around in your room or use some kind of wireless controller, but I haven't dug into it too much.
Overall, the photo & video stuff work the best; the 3D CGI stuff works to an extent, but it feels detached even though you're in 3D space because of the issues of using a phone as a screen (SDE, lower res, motion blur, etc.). This is why I'm thinking about getting a Gear VR...more interactive stuff & better quality to play with for the next five months until the Oculus & Vive come out. Here is some good reading & links to cool apps & videos for Cardboard-compatible stuff:
http://www.gizmag.com/google-vr-best-content-guide/40140/
http://www.wareable.com/google/the-best-google-cardboard-apps
In short, I think it's a lot of fun. Everyone with a compatible smartphone & an interest in VR should pick up one of these styles of headsets to play with. My buddy got his Google Cardboard used off eBay for a couple bucks; a lot of them are in the $20 range, so they're pretty affordable:
https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/get-cardboard/
Definitely gives me a feel for where VR is going in the future. I can think of all kinds of awesome things you could use this for...gaming, movies, virtual tours, activities for people who are disabled where travel is difficult, an outlet for the elderly who are in nursing homes or homebound, remodeling & home design, all kinds of stuff. I'd love for Netflix to come out with a VR section so I could hook up my aging grandma to tours all over the world for entertainment. Lots of really neat possibilities.
One aspect I'm particularly interested in is vision therapy. One of my eyes is goofed up (convergence insufficiency syndrome), so I not only have to wear glasses, but also take vision therapy every few years to re-train my brain to focus correctly. I really have to work to focus on some of the 3D content in the Viewmaster because my regular glasses don't fit in the physical interface, which is great for vision training because it forces me to continually focus my eyes. I would love to have an app that would let me do that as needed! So lots of cool ways to apply this technology.
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