Google has shipped more than 5 million units of its Cardboard headset that uses sensors and a smartphone to provide an introductory virtual reality experience.

Also Google is putting VR support directly into the Android OS itself.

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"Google will release the headset alongside new Android VR technology sometime in 2016. Bradshaw says it will use an existing smartphone that will fit into a slot on the plastic headset."

http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-planning-vr-headset-to-work-with-smartphones-report/

With such numbers of Google cardboard shipped numbers, do you think VR is getting a Quick start now?

I dont know why people are spending $25-30$ for cardboard with two eyepieces cut through.

Meh, I just hope VR takes off so it can advance the tech a lot more in the future.

Well, its the lenses, capacitive button or Magnet button, & Velcro the lenses & magnets are what really cost the money to make a google cardboard headset.

It's no quick start to VR, but it seems people are interested anyway.
http://www.cnet.com/products/google-cardboard/
It's about as good as trying red/blue glasses at home to see what 3D cinemas are all about.
Now I wonder if it will get more people to try a real headset or turn them off from he whole thing.

Maybe it's just me, but I think 5 million isn't that much for a device that cheap. I mean it was all over the place some time ago, it even came with some magazines around here for free and all. I thought they would have sold more by now.

Well its in my opinion better than the red/blue glasses type of 3D mainly because the 1) optics at which you are viewing the content is way better,less eye strain. And to top it off you can use the new VR for user interactive content that Red/Blue glasses just does not offer at the better clear and higher resolution that the new VR does.

2) VR in my opinion is getting a quick start due to being able to shift VR into consumer house holds with Smartphone technology based VR at a faster rate to grow VR adoption than trying the other way of high end HMD headsets that are more expensive. And this has the advantage of helping more Adoption of VR itself as a platform that will only further help especially in gaming.

VR platform Commonality traits:

in mobile VR and tethered VR

Both support.

*HD resolutions of content

*Both mobile & Tethered VR support Bluetooth game controller support

Wand & game pad.

*both mobile & tethered VR support Advanced Game engine's & Api's 

*both mobile & tethered VR support non gaming  Application software, medical field, robotics. etc

Aside from tethered having higher end hardware and more robust power supply stability of always being plugged into a system tied to power grid.

The commonality of both mobile & tethered far and away allow content to be viable across both platforms for over all VR headsets. Again from the exclusive front that will push the hardware will like always make the difference in quality of course.

But with many Headsets having access to these commonality traits among all New VR HMD headsets. I think it bodes well for VR adoption by consumers more than any other time that VR was being pushed into the market for consumer adoption from the past.

This time Around it has a very high chance to be successful due to I think those commonality traits and many consumers already having access to the most expensive VR component needed to make VR work and many consumers already have such hardware.

Remember that is just Google itself selling those cardboard VR headsets. There is many more companies making them aside from just google.

The fact that google is now making their own HMD headset to compete with Oculus Rift because of this 5 million sold , I think bodes well for VR and AR also.. Because of rear facing camera's being on every smartphone you can add AR to the HMD headset Also to boot.

Zdnet further expanded on this also.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-planning-vr-headset-to-work-with-smartphones-report/

Exactly, even OculusRift DK1 & 2 used Samsung Galaxy note 2, and 3 screens in the prototypes.

actually it's quite the opposite, if "only" 5 milion people spent a really small ammount of money on a semi-VR add-on, then immagine how much will be interested in 600$ devices (or 700€ if you prefer :v)