Google Cardboard - Quick first impressions

A quick review of my first five minutes with Google Cardboard.

I decided to buy a Google cardboard kit off eBay recently as a novelty extra for our daughters birthday. She enjoys roller coaster videos and I thought she might like watching them on this either in one of the Virtual reality apps, or the YouTube 360 video's.

Google cardboard, if you haven't heard of it is a viewer which lets you slot your phone into it and then access a VR world of specially designed apps and videos. It uses side by side video to create a notion of 3D and your phones gyroscopic sensors to track your head motion. 

You can experience a similar version if this by visiting YouTube's 360 Video channel on your smartphone and them moving your handset around to see the full video view, or on your PC by panning with your mouse. 

On first impressions after spending five minutes putting it together I'm really impressed. Ok the cardboard nature of the viewer makes it a bit basic however I'm sure that if its getting used regularly we will move up from the £3.50 basic one to one of the more comfortable and sturdy looking plastic ones that are about £15.00 

Our daughter watched the demo video and was really impressed. It was great as a bystander watching her looking around and seeing her reacting to what was being shown on screen. I've had a quick play with the menu's and the Google Earth viewer for a minute or two and thought it was great. I have downloaded a couple of VR games from the Playstore but haven't had a chance to try them yet.

I will be posting a more detailed review once i have had some time to fully play with the functions however even on first impressions i would urge anyone to spend a few pounds and buy a cardboard kit from eBay and try it themselves. You won't be disappointed.

Has anyone already been using Google Cardboard, if so what are you thoughts? Are there any killers apps or videos to try out with it?

Paying it forward. My favourite blogs

One of the things I wanted to do this year was given a mention to some of the blogs I've enjoyed over the last year or two. The ones that keep me entertained, informed or help motivate me to write or keep learning. They all publish high quality blog posts which I enjoy reading and give me something to strive for. As part of my positive mindset for this year I wanted to pay it forward and say thanks. It's a varied mix of writers and subject matter but hopefully you will enjoy them.

My social media success of last year was reconnecting with one of my friends from College and University. We hadn't seen each other for over 15 years but caught up last year on Facebook. Paul has always been a talented and creative guy. We met on a design course and I remember him drawing and making music then. 

Paul Feeney has his blog at  Sound and Fury: and can be found on twitter @UncleFeeney Paul is a writer with a keen interest in horror. His blog is mainly a mix of book and film reviews. 

Paul had his first short story The weight of the ocean published on Amazon last year. I think he has a few more works coming out this year and I look forward to seeing his career development. Check him out folks.

My second entry is a wrestling blog Snapmare Necks by Martin Smith @SmithyCFC1 on Twitter. For those that don't know Glasgow is at the centre of a resurgence in the UK professional wrestling scene. Insane Championship Wrestling is leading this boom, being featured on TV and in the press and holding sell out shows both here in Glasgow including the famous Barrowlands, and Edinburgh and now even touring across the UK. 

Written in an everyman style Martin manages to perfectly capture the humour, energy and emotions of these shows perfectly. His description of a thousand people exploding with excitement at the surprise appearance of Prince Fergal Devitt before he went to become Finn Balor in the WWE is a perfect example. As well as humour and action Martin's writing can be highly personal as he has written about his battle with depression and how wrestling has helped with this. Again I look forward to reading more of his work this year. 

My last blog is someone I first discovered on Twitter who shares similar interests to myself. We both work in technology, have an interest in food and love pistachio ice cream. Michelle Muirhead's Ananyah Blog is a great starting point to discover great restaurants in and around Glasgow. She also posts about food and beauty events and can be found on twitter  @ananyah Michelle recently posted a piece on her favourite Glasgow restaurants and that's certainly a good introduction to her blog. 

Lastly is a curve ball, this one isn't so much a blog but a YouTube channel. Nick Drossos is a Canadian Fitness and Self Defence instructor. He has a YouTube Channel which had hours of video's covering all aspects of self defence. He recently appeared on Canadian Breakfast TV giving self defence tips and ran a couple of social experiments on Knife Defence and Women's self defence, both of which are well worth watching if you watch noting else. His system is practical and down to earth without fancy and complex moves. Some of the video's do include swearing but he strives to make them realistic as possible rather than the more robotic and cynical traditional martial art/self defence videos. Look him up and make sure to check out those experiment playlists as they do contain great advice. 

So there you have it folks. A few of my favourite bits and pieces, have a look at all the ones mentioned, even if its not your usual cup of tea im sure you will find them enjoyable. Hopefully some of them will be added to your reading lists, they are the staple items on mine. 

To the writers I have mentioned, thanks for your blogs and the work you put into them. I'm still starting out on my blogging journey but I know how hard it can be for me, and cant imagine what it must be like for some of you who have such a high output. 

Let me know your thoughts on this post and the blogs mentioned. What blogs are on your essential reading list? What are your blogging tips?