Insignia™ - Virtual Reality Viewer

If you wanted a quick sample of a VR experience on either a IOS and android device this is the most affordable way. Using the select google cardboard App Store their is a small handful of games and apps you can try. As well as watching VR content offered by sites such as youtube. Don't expect anything mind blowing just standard VR, and with the lack of a head strap be ready to hold this up unless your creative enough to make your own strap.

The Insignia cardboard viewer works well with my iPhone. The padding on the forehead area and around the nose makes it comfortable to use. My mom doesn't get around as easily as she used to. Having this viewer has allowed us to "travel" to see some pretty spectacular sights.

I considered these when they were $9.99 just for the gimmick. They're cardboard, it's handheld with no way to strap to head, there's no way to control the media without removing the phone/device from the enclosure and the media offered is limited. However, I jumped on the deal when it was only $1! All that said, I think this is the perfect way to get an idea of a VR experience. This will not be an item you'll use much. Either you're blown away and you'll devote to a high end VR rig or you'll enjoy for a day or so and it'll sit on your shelf not to be used again. For the price, it could scratch an itch or decide for you if VR is your thing without utter buyer's remorse. YouTube has media to use with this and there are several apps one can download to try out VR. Not reflective of this product but most apps make you pay for HD media which is needed to really experience this platform of entertainment. Just FYI.

The cost of this item makes it great idea for an entry-level virtual reality accessory. This is an item that I could introduce to someone who was wanting to experience virtual reality for the first time, however the lack of straps to attach the device to the user's head ruins the experience because it keeps the user from being fully immersed in the virtual reality experience. I won't speak for the effects of virtual reality per se as it would be unfair to place any focus on that department; after all, this is a product review, and as such this review should focus on the product. To summarize this is a great product for a beginner in virtual reality, but the lack of straps leave much to be desired. In addition, there just isn't a lot of software out there in the virtual reality category unless one were to invest in the higher-end virtual reality premium device. I would only recommend this to a friend who wanted to try out virtual reality for the first time. Let me make that clear.

This was an impulse buy. I saw it on sale for about $3 so I said to myself “eh why not?” I’m not very tech savvy so after about an hour figuring this out it was totally worth it. The virtual reality was hilarious to me. At one point while still learning an animal in the tutorial startled me. I’ve never experienced the VR world and this was a great way to start. I gave it a 4 only because it can get a bit tiresome having to hold it with both hands the whole time, but that’s what the expensive ones are for I guess. Anyway if you want to just try the VR world then this is a great start for more than half off the Big Brand prices.

The lenses are a little blurry to me, its not that comfortable, no strap to hold it to your head, and it allows light to come in at the top and bottoms, but its a good item to try out VR games on your phone without forking over $100+ for a normal set of headgear. Cheap enough in fact that you can fix some of the problems yourself by low-tech methods and still be a tenth (or less!) of the cost of "standard" headgear. Hot gluing or taping some cloth can eliminate the areas where light seeps in, and a two foot long strip with Velcro could serve as a headband. Despite its inferior quality, its definitely worth the investment to try out the technology before committing to the higher price of full-fledged head gear.

If you just want a cheap and easy way to check out Google Cardboard or other apps for VR, you really can't ask for anything more (or less) than this. Surprisingly, the button interface actually works better than a few of the more expensive and sturdier versions I tried. It makes me want to get a more expensive VR set-up but none of the ones I have tried have done that well with the iPhone, this one has actually done the best.

We were very curious what VR looked like, this viewer was a very affordable way to check it out. With 20 friends and family for the Holidays everyone, young and old, had a great time learning what this new technology had to offer at a basic level. If you're just curious or want to see if you like it before purchasing an upgraded version, this is the way to go! It was very simple to use, held up nicely with all the passing around (we're still using it) and everyone had a lot of fun. For the young and old we started them in a swivel chair so they could get the full 360 experience without endangering anyone or the furniture. We passed it around for hours most taking multiple turns. For a test set or the occasional user, it's HIGHLY Recommended. Now that you've seen what it has to offer, you'll understand out what options you want to see in your upgraded version.