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Review Cardboard
Turn your Phone into a 3D ViewMaster
Author: Jay Feldman
Date: 01 Apr 2017, tested on ASUS Nexus 7 (2013)
Interesting functionality, modern design, completely free
Functions slowly, lags here and there
Cardboard for Android is both cool and silly. It essentially turns your phone into a 3D ViewMsaster. The catch is, you gotta build it yourself.
Cardboard is seemingly another one of those cool Google experiments, just because. Get a box or piece of cardboard, fold it up to make a pair of goggles, insert your phone and then hold it up to your face like a ViewMaster. The app has a very cool opening animation that walks you through the steps of construction. Only thing is, the video makes it look like there’s some sort of official kit; ironically, I Googled it for more details and nothing was found!Talk about tease!
The app has a bunch of viewable gimmicks, the coolest of which being 3D You Tube, Google Earth Fly Anywhere, Exhibits, Street View Paris in traffic and even a view of Earth. Is any of it really necessary? No but they’re fun to look at. The 3D illusion happens by placing 2 identical images side by side on your screen. Hold the phone close to your face and when you cross your eyes, the identical images combine into one. The illusion is pretty effective but making the box looks like a pain. I just held my tablet to my face and crossed my eyes and the effect worked well enough.
Cardboard would make a cool school project or crafty sorta activity. Kids will love it. It’s innovative and fun. Not sure what good this will be, but it's fun for an experimental timekiller.
Final ratings
Usefulness 6/10
Usability 8/10
Originality 9/10
Design 6/10