Abacus Brands Interactive VR World Atlas Book - Explore and Discover Countries, Cultures, Landmarks and World Wonders in VR/AR

For $20 this is super cool. I’ve tried to talk my husband into exploring the world on his computer with streetview type things and with virtual tours. He’s never been interested. But since we’ve both played with this, he gets the idea more. The VR viewer is a little hokey because it’s effectively a cardboard box that uses your phone screen, and the download is rather huge. All in all, it’s really cool, especially for the price, and it’s a fun thing to share with my friends’ grandkids when they come visit.

The Abacus Brands Interactive VR World Atlas Book was a great selection for my four younger children. My seven-, nine-, and eleven-year-olds use the book to supplement our homeschool curriculum.The app took a lot of space on my phone. I hope the company considers reducing the space in the download soon.The viewfinder is in the back of the book. Suction cups hold your phone in place, but the child must still be careful, making sure the phone doesn't slip out.The book is entertaining and informative. We plan to review the information again as we study particular places and landforms in the world.

I acquired this VR World Atlas through Vine.I was interested in the product essentially as a STEM enthusiast with an interest in AR/VR.Unfortunately, the first attempt was not successful.The instructions I think are pretty clear, for both myself and my son.We were able to unpack and setup the seemingly pretty sturdy headset and insert my phone.Downloading the required app was pretty straightforward.But that's pretty much where it ended.The instructions refer to a blue dot on screen, to a back button near your feet, but we saw none of that.Upon further review, the instructions recommend an Android phone running Android 13 or higher.My Note 10 is only running Android 12, so I assume that's the issue.I did just upgrade my phone, so I am now running Android 14. I'll try again later and update my review.

My nine-year-old is really into learning about the world lately and fascinated by Atlases, so this was a must-order for me. For the most part, it’s enjoyable, though it does have a few frustrations.First, the app is huge. After the initial download and lengthy update upon launch, the total storage this app takes on my phone is 2.95 GB. To put that into context, that’s the fourth largest app on my phone, running closely behind Audible, Chrome, and Spotify, all of which store thousands of files on my phone. I wouldn’t expect that from an Atlas, even a VR one, and that storage need makes it impossible to install on my kids phones, since it will take up too much of their storage space. That also limits when they can use the app, since I have to be able to go without my phone for an extended time, not something that’s often feasible with my work.The book is good quality with large, colorful artwork and extensive details about areas around the world, from continents to regions and countries. The goggles are also made well, with the exception of the velcro tabs which aren’t strong enough for the thick cardboard, but they work well enough, even with my S22 Ultra in place, so that’s good for me. The suction cups meant to hold my phone in place don’t work all that well, though, so I have to be extra careful to hold the goggles in such a way that my phone doesn’t slip out. That’s fine, though, since the experience requires moving the goggles around a lot; holding the goggles at the front is the best way to maneuver, so my hands are at that point anyway. My kids tend to be less cautious, however, so watching them closely while they play will be necessary.Using the VR is relatively simple, fortunately. A lesson is started by pointing the goggles with the phone in place at the desired pages in the book and the app loads the user into the desired area. Moving the goggles around lets you view learning experiences that can be selected by holding the goggles in place until a blue dot appears. The dot acts as a pointer. Position it over the topic, hold it still for a couple of seconds while a blue wheel fills in (which ensures a topic isn’t selected accidentally when the dot glances across it), and the lesson launches. Exiting is as easy as looking down at the floor, which makes an “exit” button appear for the blue dot to choose.The app could get glitchy at times, necessitating shutting it down and reopening it, but it didn’t happen often and the ease-of-use and learning experience outweighed those occasional problem times.Overall, this is a four star product. Improving the app—both with glitches and storage, so my kids could use it independently—would earn it five, but unfortunately, it’s not there yet.

This VR viewer and Atlas are entertaining and educational. I was a bit skeptical when I found out that the VR viewer is just a cardboard case that holds your phone, but this setup does give you a virtual reality experience. The back half of the book is a pocket which holds the folded flat viewer; you just take it out and fold it into a viewing box that resembles other VR glasses, and insert your phone. There is a suction cup to hold your phone in place, this worked well with the case on my phone. Before using the VR viewer with the atlas, you have to download the app, which is well over 2gb. Once it’s installed and your phone is in the viewer, you simply look at a page in the book with the app open, and the VR will put you in a room with different facts about the area on that page that you can choose from. To do so, you turn to face the fact you want to learn about, and wait for a few seconds for it to load. Then a short video will play about it, with audio describing it. If you want to leave the room, you simply look straight down at the floor and an exit will appear, which you can choose by focusing on it for a moment.I got this to share with my granddaughter, and I think she will be very excited to use it. I just wish the app didn’t need so much memory space on my phone.