Google Cardboard

I am absolutely in love with my Google Cardboard, which by now is pretty worn and tattered but is fortunately still useable.

It's clunky, it's ugly and at first assembling it as not as obvious as you would think. Having said that, it is easily the coolest gadget I have ever bought. Now that I have the Cardboard I try every new virtual reality app on the Apple Store and every now and then I find an app that dumbfounds me and has me completely immersed. There is some excellent content out there that enables storytelling that is so compelling and moving that you cannot leave from it unchanged. In particular I really like the VRSE content that can be viewed with any old Google Cardboard. My favourite so far has been VICE News VR: Millions March by Chris Milk and Spike Jonze. It's about the Dec 16 Ferguson protests and everyone should see it.

Still from Millions March

Smartphone technology and internet infrastructure has finally gotten to the point where a VR-enabled future seems within reach. And now that I can watch VR content on my smartphone without experiencing any lag and latency, I simply don't care about how ugly the Google Cardboard looks. And clearly neither do half a million other people.
But for the Google to experience VR growth after it has ridden the peak of the Gartner Hype Cycle, it will have to make significant changes to the feel and durability of the Google Cardboard.