Google VR: Anything above 9.9 yuan is just a tax

If you ask me, do I have any special feeling after wearing VR glasses?

I will tell you without hesitation:

Nothing!!

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Last year, the concept of VR was very popular, and various companies launched a fierce competition around virtual reality (VR): Microsoft, Sony, Samsung, HTC, etc. have tried to occupy the market with their first products, and a large number of content creation teams have also set out to make far-sighted plans for the future. It seems that everyone feels that the future is in their own hands, but the future seems to be very far away. No one has seen the scene of teenagers addicted to VR devices running rampant on the streets. In the eyes of outsiders, deep players are just another group of "actors" playing with their own lives.

Today, let’s start with a product that is as simple as it can be: Google Cardboard, also known as Google cardboard VR glasses, and talk about what I, a person with a correct outlook on life, think about VR that is combined with mobile phones (of course, you can’t watch it while lying down).

Cheap goods are not good?

Whether you use Baidu or Google, the pictures you search out are almost the same as what I took:

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The most famous thing about Google Cardboard is its minimalist style, in other words: cheap! So cheap that you can even DIY a similar product with the scraps of express packages (here is the blueprint: http://pan.baidu.com/s/1sj58mFN). Online reviews also position it as a cheap and popular VR experience, but the editor thinks that if it is evaluated in this way, it is too unworthy of the miracle that Google Cardboard has sold 5 million units.

Just like Steve Jobs' 4.7 theory and HTC's four chins, big brands have some details that we don't notice but can touch people's hearts. In terms of hardware, there are two things about Google Cardboard that make me feel the brand's atmosphere: a rubber band and a button.

Ask your physics teacher why he uses rubber bands

Looking from the bottom, in addition to the instruction manual being simply and roughly integrated into the main body of the glasses, the cardboard also has a "cheap" wide rubber band!

Friends who don’t understand why I bring this up, I wonder if you have heard of this story: Two factories producing similar products are faced with the problem of empty boxes of sealed products for some reason. Company A is rich and powerful, so it hired an expert and installed a set of infrared X-ray scanning equipment worth millions. The boss reluctantly praised him: experts are experts. Company B is poor and under pressure to let the newcomer solve the problem. If he fails, he will leave. As a result, the newcomer brought a large fan used in barbecue shops - all the empty boxes were blown out of the assembly line, and the boss responded with a smile and a promotion and salary increase.

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VR glasses that are combined with mobile phones will also face this problem: how to make users not worry about the phone falling out of the glasses. We can use plastic shells to frame the phone like Samsung Gear VR or Baofeng Magic Mirror, which means that if you want to experience VR, you have to wait for an expensive assembly line to be built before you can try it. Maybe you will say that it is enough to keep up with the price, but it is often possible that when I spend a lot of money to buy peach blossoms and willows, I no longer love the beauty of natural scenery, but just want to find someone to light firecrackers under the tree together. The pretentiousness satisfies vanity rather than happiness. You have changed your mind!

Then we can learn from Google Cardboard, with a cover on the outside and a rubber band on the bottom to increase friction and prevent it from sliding out from the side. This is not a concept of burning money, but an itch comes, and I can reach out and scratch it.

This is not to say that the difference is obvious. After all, if the quality is not important, there will not be so many iPhones. However, the editor chose to stand with the poor people. When playing with a product, of course, we must start with the price-performance ratio!

The leader thought the button was broken.

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No matter how you complain about me, there is a button in the picture above. The subtlety of a thing can be reflected through comparison. In addition to the iconic device that covers half of the face, the VR products that everyone sees in various news pictures also have another noteworthy part: the handle.

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Apart from the mouse and keyboard system, the most stable experience may be provided by the game controller which has also been developed for many years. Its advantage is that it can provide a stable experience, and you can play wherever you point. However, just like the most expensive Baofeng Magic Mirror we have experienced before, the first problem faced by its built-in wireless controller is that it may not be able to connect, and the second problem is that it may not be comfortable to use.

The logic of Google Cardboard is very simple, and it can realize few functions, but it is clever enough. Simply put, after pressing the button, the part of the button close to the screen will touch the screen, realizing a single click. In addition, it chooses to flip the phone for the return function. Just like the left and right buttons of a mouse, it is simple and efficient. Moreover, there is no revolutionary change in functions. As long as the viewing needs are met, there is no need to confuse people with some fancy things.

Generally speaking, there is no need to use any connecting wires to connect the handle to the mobile phone, and the interactive operations can be completed simply through some of the original functions of the mobile phone.

This detailed design is definitely showing off one's IQ. The editor just wants to say to other so-called big manufacturers: Look at them!

There are many similar minimalist products, such as Apple Pay and Gmail. Apple Pay is a card wallet, without any extra functions. Gmail is also a clearly classified mailbox without any messy content. This is more direct than the closed loop that brings high value and the product design that is reduced. Minimalist design brings a very high experience.

Cheap things are worth spending money on

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In general, from a hardware perspective, the biggest feeling I get from Google Cardboard is that I'm sure you'll throw it away after playing with it for a while.

But compared to other VR glasses that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, the cost of Google Cardboard is definitely worth buying - and is 9.9 free shipping on Taobao considered buying money? This is called cutting nails.

When you get tired of playing with it, you can also transform it like me and pretend it is anything you can imagine. Because it is cheap, you won’t feel bad about it no matter how much it is abused.

Is it fun?

After talking about the hardware, let’s talk about the software. The editor thinks that because the VR glasses applications combined with mobile phones are actually universal, when comparing the software level of various VR products, we cannot blindly compare the various application experience feelings, but should directly look at what content the initial interface provides and to what extent.

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Here, Google Cardboard displays a few things: museums, various models, Google Maps world attractions, kaleidoscopes, and an interface composed of a few simple icons. This attitude of trying it out is like a cold master always "saying that it is impossible to explain" when answering your questions, just waiting for you to explore the world from more applications.

(If you want to experience what it would look like when it rotates, you can download their app directly at google.com/cardboard, or check out the following movie promotion website: http://takemetotomorrowland.com/, which shows a similar rotation effect.)

Of course, the image quality of similar VR glasses is rarely high. The two we have experienced so far: Google Cardboard and Baofeng Magic Mirror, the experience they bring will definitely not exceed the existing games and applications. However, in terms of cost control, interaction methods, and product details, Google Cardboard has created a minimalist balance in a very subtle way, spreading the gospel of next-generation technology to more classes. Glasses that can open up the horizons of more people are the VR products we want "at the moment".

After saying so many nice things, I still have to slap myself in the face. Please, even if you are a minimalist, you have to be a little more careful. The cleaning lady in the company has asked me three times why I didn’t throw away this takeaway box!

The end of the story is the beauty Xi

In our eyes, great things are very valuable, and money is linked to style. However, because of the pursuit of style, we often ignore the most authentic things, the ingenuity that should impress you the most.

Only when you are well fed and warm can you think about sex. If you give an apple to someone who has never seen a mobile phone, he will definitely wonder why the apple cannot be eaten. The good thing about Google Cardboard is that it is more approachable and full of beautiful details for people like me. You can say it is a strategy of surrounding the city with the countryside, or you can say it is a lucky chance, but what I want to say is that such a work that allows users to open up a new world from a single point is something that can be proud of. As a toy for trying new things, this kind of product that you can't lose or be cheated at 9.98 is worth having.

The slogan of Google, the "biological father" of the product, is to respect knowledge, respect open source, and be born to change the world. It then transformed from a search engine into a black technology company that has made smart cars, VR devices, etc.

We also pay attention to the spirit of open source, but when combined with application scenarios, pain points, markets, sentiments and other factors, it is like a feverish copy. Take Baidu, which also started out as a search engine, but has now embarked on a road of "competing with good" and "doing harm with evil" to make money, and has completely failed to play the routine of others making a few new things to change the world. Google is no longer the Google of the past, but you, Baidu, are still the same Baidu.

If we get the same thing in our hands, the result might be: this thing looks like it can be worth very little money, won’t we lose a lot of money?

But precisely because people were blinded by money, they failed to see the value and beauty of the details of this simple product, and tried desperately to add dazzling things, thus missing out on this "pocket empire".