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Smartphone NOT INCLUDED: Google plays with Mattel – plugs VR into retro toy
Plastic View-Master now works with, er, Cardboard
Toy manufacturer Mattel has inked an undisclosed deal with Google to turn its View-Master product into a "digital experience" for kids.
The retro stereoscopic toy has been rebooted for youngsters as an "immersive 360-degree" virtual reality plaything, apparently.
Mattel said it now works with Google's virtual reality headset Cardboard, which – as of late 2014 – had been shipped to 500,000 customers.
However, the toy won't be available until an unspecified date in the autumn, no doubt to bump up sales in the months before Christmas. It will reportedly come with a $30 price tag.
Mattel was keen to note that a smartphone was "not included". In other words, the View-Master only works with Google Cardboard if a customer has an Android mobe and the corresponding app installed.
Sick bucket at the ready, folks! ®
Biting the hand that feeds IT
