Facebook may have bought Oculus Rift VR for $2 billion, but Google are really having the last laugh with their VR viewer that’s made out of cardboard. Yes, cardboard. And a smartphone. It’s clear that the idea was born out of someone’s snide remark at some meeting somewhere at Google HQ.

"Genius is nothing more nor less than childhood recaptured at will." Baudelaire

And it could have been left there. But it was a genius move to bring the idea to fruition, and really gives the two fingers to the folks at Facebook, who will retail their Oculus at $350. Cardboard, on the other hand, is free.

The ridiculous device is sure to set young kids and teenager’s imaginations alight. The instructions to construct the mask are online, and you can download the app for free. What this means is you get the app going on your phone, put your phone in your homemade device, complete with eye sockets, and then attach the low-tech device to your face. The app lets you look at popular Google services such as YouTube and Google Earth in a VR environment. I certainly wish I was able to build my own Virtual Reality headset when I was younger.

Image: © 2014 Google