If you’ve been waiting to find out what Regan Arts, former HarperCollins’ executive Judith Regan’s new venture with Phaidon, is planning for its first release, the wait is over. The imprint will publish The Virtual Reality Beginners Guide and VR Smartphone Toolkit on October 28.
The Virtual Reality Beginners Guide is a 40 page book in a box that includes a cardboard viewer that must be assembled in combination with a smartphone to turn the whole thing into a VR headset viewer. It’s priced at $ 25.95.
The book/viewer toolkit is designed and coauthored by Patrick Buckley, founder of DODOcase, a company that makes smartphone accessories; TechCrunch writer Frederic Lardinois is the coauthor. The VR kit enables anyone with a mobile phone (it supports iPhone 6 and 6+) to build a cardboard VR headset, that when mounted with a mobile phone and two lens supplied by the kit, will provide visual access to “a constantly expanding trove of immersive 3-D virtual experiences,” according to a Regan Arts release.
The VR Beginners Guide can be used in conjunction with a number of VR apps that are downloaded to the mobile phone. A video demo showed how the kit lets the user make a virtual visit to places like Paris or the Taj Mahal, experience a roller coaster ride, or get on-field views of the Super Bowl. The cardboard headset is designed by Google and the book includes an interview with the Google Cardboard creative team.
Buckley called the publication of the book, “a turning point for VR technology. For millions, virtual reality is now accessible at a ridiculously low price.”
“Books are the oldest version of virtual reality. Virtual Reality Beginner’s Guide and the VR Smartphone Viewer Toolkit brings us beyond the book or screen, and past 3D by offering a fully immersive experience that is a game-changer,” said Regan. “Virtual reality is transformative and will remake the media, technology, and entertainment landscape—a theme that will resonate in all of our releases. This title is not just a book, it’s an experience.”
