Virtual reality (we’ve been promised) is all kinds of cool. But what is it really like?

While tech geeks, insiders and a small section of consumers have already experienced VR on devices like the Occulus Rift or the Samsung Gear, I’ve always felt left out.

There’s a constant stream of news and talk shows and Youtube channel fuss about it, and you want to be excited, but someone telling you that ‘VR is amazing!’ whilst looking amazed is just not the same as seeing it for yourself.

So last week, I got my first VR headset: the Google Cardboard 2.0.

The Google Cardboard is a hollow box made of…cardboard. There are a couple of lenses in the eye holes, a gap for your nose and a slot in front where you can put your phone. Some of them come with velcro straps to hold everything together.

Unassuming is an understatement.

Google Cardboard 1.0. (The 2.0 version supports phones with upto 6 inch screens.)

Putting it together is hardly rocket science. My husband, Praveen, and I were able to do it in no time. So all that was left to do was download the Cardboard app, slide the cellphone in and wear it.

Then Google calmly proceeded to blow our minds.

VR is a brand new experience

Whether you’re seeing a large cerulean Earth from the eerie vastness of space, looking at someone playing with hyenas in the African flat lands, riding a roller coaster that has way too many loop-the-loops or viewing photographic street art in New York city, it’s curious to turn around and find that the scene is all around you.

It’s like nothing we’ve seen before.

But you’re going to like it. Oh, you’re going to like it a lot.

It’s transcendent and compelling in a way that videos can never be.

The level of immersion, the presence (what happens when virtual reality tricks your brain into believing that things are real) and the low latency (the time difference between head movement and VR perspective changes) is amazing. And the Cardboard isn’t even on the same level as other, obviously better devices like the Oculus Rift.

GoPro’s 360-degree video that works with the Cardboard

But it’s affordable, wireless, easy to stow in a bag, needs no power source (except a charged phone) and lets you experience VR wherever you are in the world.

What’s so great about a cheap VR headset?

Accessibility. It would have taken us months, maybe even a year to get our hands on some decent VR gear in India. And it wouldn’t have come cheap when it did.

As CNet puts it,

“First-hand experience remains virtual reality’s biggest hurdle… “The HTC Vive is a marvel of technical wizardry and game-design prowess, a union [of] clever ideas and impressive hardware. But it was locked behind closed doors as a tantalizingly brief demo, doled out to a select few at industry events. And unless you’ve ponied up a few hundred dollars on Oculus Rift or Samsung Gear VR prototypes, or have well-connected friends, the best virtual reality can offer is a constant stream of folks saying ‘It’s great, take my word for it’. That’s no way to sell a fundamentally different entertainment experience.”

Wired appropriately calls it VR’s gateway drug.

It’s been a week since we got the Cardboard, but we’ve already convinced a score of people that it’s worth buying. And none of them thought twice about the price tag.

VR content for Cardboard

After you’re done with Cardboard app, there are plenty of 360-degree videos you can check out on YouTube. When it comes to apps, Cosmic Roller Coaster, Orbulus, Titans of Space and Vrse from the Google Play Store have high quality content that’s worth seeing. There are also a multitude of options for iPhone users.

And there’s more afoot:

Tech entrepreneurs are vying to build the next Youtube for VR.

Google teamed up with GoPro to build Array: a rig holding upto 16 GoPros to create better stereoscopic 3D videos.

Game VR headsets are engaged in battle.

Google’s educational project Expeditions promises to ‘go places a school bus can’t’.

Huge possibilities loom in fields like entertainment and media, tourism, fashion, healthcare, engineering and more. Once VR becomes more and more prevalent, it’s going to change the way we interact, work, learn and play.

Hardware Limitations

While Google Cardboard is a borderline-genius VR hack, it still has some constraints because you’re using a folded piece of cardboard and the phone you own.

Photo: Gregor Fischer at Droidcon Berlin

Motion tracking sensors in proper VR headsets are supposed to give you a better experience that’s more immersive, with lower latency and image smearing. So if you have a strong case of motion-sickness, you might feel some nausea when you move around while using the Cardboard.

And there are small irritants that you’ll notice with extended use like the unease of holding it up all the time or the pressure on the bridge of your nose (the velcro straps don’t do a good job).

Your eye wear will often be in the way. If you’re not in a dark room, peripheral vision might be distracting as well. It’s not built for complex gaming and it’s definitely not built for comfort.

The Bottomline

Given all that, it’s still a great product. Cardboard was never meant to compete with high-end VR gear.

The make-for-everyone philosophy that drives it is a brilliant move on Google’s part to fill the gaping void for low-end alternatives. And it’s done a perfect job of making sure VR is within everyone’s reach.

Praveen and I are finally excited about VR, and we’re just as curious about how it’s going to shape everyday experiences as we are about larger-than-life applications that may come in the future.

Once we get used to better technology, no doubt the Cardboard may seem like an amateurish hack. But for now, it seems like we’re watching television in technicolor for the first time.