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Google Cardboard Virtual Reality Viewers Go International

By
Leena Rao
Leena Rao
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By
Leena Rao
Leena Rao
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May 11, 2016, 12:25 PM ET
Inside Tokyo Game Show 2015
An attendee holds a Google Inc. Cardboard virtual reality headset at the Tokyo Game Show 2015 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. There will be record attendance at this year's show with 473 vendors, including more than half from abroad, as of Sept. 1, according to organizers. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Tomohiro Ohsumi — Bloomberg via Getty Images

Like Facebook and Samsung, Google is taking a big bet on virtual reality. The company established a virtual reality division within the company, and it has seen early progress of its virtual reality viewer for Android phones, Cardboard.

On Thursday, the Mountain View, Calif.-based corporation started selling Cardboard viewers in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

Google has used Cardboard, made literally from cardboard, as an inexpensive and easy way to popularize its virtual reality technology on Android phones.

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In October, the company partnered with the New York Times to send one million readers free Google Cardboard devices so they could watch New York Times-created virtual reality documentaries. In January, Google announced that it had shipped five million Cardboard viewers in the United States alone.

The company is clearly trying to replicate that success abroad. Cardboard will cost $20 CAD in Canada, £15 in the U.K., and €20 in France and Germany, according to Android Police. The search giant is also reportedly developing a new, standalone VR headset.

For more on Google, watch:

There’s a reason why Google, Facebook, Samsung, and others are placing their bets on VR. The market is estimated to reach $150 billion by 2020, according to Digi-Capital.

Facebook is already shipping its Oculus Rift VR device, which costs $600 and requires a souped-up personal computer to operate. Apple may also be joining the mix after hiring a leading academic in virtual reality earlier this year.

About the Author
By Leena Rao
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