More and more we're seeing companies figure out just how versatile our smartphones can be when it comes to delivering a VR experience, and here at CES there's no shortage of people who want you to strap funny things to your face in the name of virtual reality.. With the right set of lenses and a lightweight container, virtual reality on our phones becomes nearly effortless to setup. While Google took the inexpensive design to an extreme with Cardboard, the folks at Pinć VR have opted to add a bit more functionality in their design. The basic setup focuses on a inexpensive setup to snap your phone into, with a design that is lightweight enough that you could use the collapsed setup as a case if you don't mind a little added bulk. When you open up the VR side of Pinć and slide the expanded contraption on your face, however, you step out of the real world an into a virtual office of your very own.
Pinć VR creates a multi-windows desktop experience for used to navigate through a combination of head gestures and a pair of IR sensors on your fingers. Turning your head in the virtual world lets you look at each of the desktops, complete with a keyboard that you can look down and interact with. The virtual desktop can be minimal and highly visual, or crammed with information that fills your visual field. You can open Skype and send someone a message, glance over at your Facebook wall, and sort through your email using a lot of the same gestures and commands you would use on your phone. Pinch to zoom, swipe to dismiss a notification, and even launching the camera to either peek at what's happening in the real world or grab a quick photo are all quite literally within an arms reach.
The folks responsible for Pinć are still very much in a prototyping stage right now, with an IndieGoGo campaign to help support as many different smartphone designs as possible, but the software is already very smooth. Navigating the Pinć VR world is smooth, and while the little finger accessories aren't quite ready for prime time yet the prototypes are already well on their way to being a complete thought. It's more than a little nerdy, and unlikely to be something you'd see someone just casually sitting in a park messing with, but it's the first of the virtual reality interfaces that directly encourages continuous use in a container that isn't heavy or awkward to wear.
