Freefly Mobile Virtual Reality Headset & Glide Wireless Bluetooth Controller

I ordered this item for kicks and giggles. It arrived on time, nicely boxed, and in good shape. It seems to be nice quality and comes with a carrying case. I had predownloaded some VR content but when I finished the set up of the device, it directed me to some FreeFly recommended vr content. One in particular caught my eye: VR Rollercoaster. "Oh goodie!" I thought. I downloaded the app and put the headset on and was going up and down hills and twists and loop de loops. It was amazing. For a moment. Then I passed a little man holding a sign that said, "Don't forget to look down!" When I did, it appeared as if I were at a great height and suddenly everything I ever ate in my entire life wanted out of my body. I quickly removed the headset and to my utter surprise I wasn't where I thought I was in the room. I was completely disoriented and I ran to the bathroom and held on to the sink. Copius vomit ensued. Suddenly, it was like my house had tilted or I was on a boat in a storm. I was holding on to the sink and gravity was no longer my friend and constant companion. It was pulling me away from the sink where my head was hung and otherwise occupied. I put a cold towel on my eyes and sat in complete darkness without moving a muscle. Waves of nausea and dizziness kept me out of commission for three days. I had to lie flat on my bed in cold darkness with my head pressed into the pillow to make sure it wouldn't move in the slightest. I tried to watch television during this time, but the logos that would scroll across the bottom of the screen on the Science channel started out as ripples and then turned to great waves of nausea. Your mileage may vary.

I ordered this just six days ago and it came today. Great headset. Nice wide field of view, well made, both my iPhone 4 and my Galaxy S6 fit fine. It came with a controller, which, unfortunately, had no instructions with it. It took a little bit of fiddling to figure out that you plug it into a USB cord to charge it (it didn't come with one, but my Galaxy S6 charger worked fine on it). Then you press the tiny start button in the middle and hold it down. It helps if you have a flashlight, since the labels of the buttons are in black -- on a black background. Then I had to go into my phone's settings, under Bluetooth, enable Bluetooth, wait for it to find the device, and select it. I tried it with the DebrisDefrag for Cardboard app (the first one I could find that needed the controller). To shoot things, I had to switch the little slider on the left to "game" and then press the X button to shoot down the space rocks. The explosions were very satisfying. Wearing it does get a little hot, since the leather is padding is tight against your face. It is EXTREMELY immersive. I also tried it with my favorite app -- the Go4DVR app from Goggle Tech, where you're walking around a space station. It really felt that you were there. I kept reaching out for things, and ducking under stuff. So why not five stars? No adjustment for distance between the two lenses, and the distance between the lenses and the phone. Most other mid-priced headsets have at least one of those, usually both. The Freefly guys say there's a reason for this, because of the extra-wide lenses they use or something like that, and they picked the distance that would work for most people. I do have funky vision and wear glasses sometimes, and I do appreciate it when I have the opportunity to adjust the lenses. With the Freefly, everything seemed a little out of focus to me, especially when there was text on the screen. I have a couple of other headsets -- a Goggle Tech C1-Glass, which is open sided, a couple of cardboard ones, and a Sunnypeak. The Sunnypeak would be the closest comparison in terms of price and form factor. The Freefly is much, much lighter than the Sunnypeak and is much more comfortable to wear. It also seemed a big sturdier and better designed in the way it was put together and how the phone fits into it. But the Sunnypeak has both kinds of lens adjustments, so everything is in focus. The Sunnypeak had a narrower field of view -- the Freefly screen took up pretty much your entire field of vision, thanks to those special lenses. And the Sunnypeak also didn't come with a controller, but the Freefly controller worked fine with it (since it actually works with the phone itself -- the headset is just a plastic holder.) If you don't have vision issues, of the two, I would definitely recommend the Freefly. If you do have vision issues -- well, you definitely can't wear your glasses with the Freefly (I just tried -- nope, nope, nope). Check the return policy before you buy it, or have a friend get it and try theirs, first. It's currently $85. I got mine with a promo code for about $60 (sorry, the promo already expired). The controller is sold separately for $10, so, the headset itself cost me about $50 -- and it is definitely worth the price. Especially compared to, say, the $37 Sunnypeak. And if not for the everything-slightly-out-of-focus thing, it would be worth the full $85 to me. Oh, and the Freely also comes with a nice padded carrying case. So that's another plus there.

Great for VR development due to the easy access to the screen without losing your alignment. Where it's lacking is the lack of adjust-ability. Many people I've attempted to show VR to using this headset have been largely disappointed due to their poor eyesight and inability to use glasses or make any adjustments. Also, after a year of use, the pads that hold the device in place are so deformed to the shape of my device in its case, that I can't use any other phone in it, not even my own phone with the case removed! I plan to get a different unit for demonstration purposes, but will probably still use this one for development. The FOV is great and the headset very comfortable. Fogging is bad until the lenses warm up, i usually just leave it on the desk with the display on for a short while before I bother putting it on. Once you do that, it'll stay clear under most conditions and I'm a guy who sweats very easily as soon as the air stops moving. The instructions actually recommending warming the lenses with a hair dryer to avoid fogging gave me a chuckle :) I probably would have felt better having paid $50 for it, but $75 wasn't bad at the time considering the use I've had from it. Wouldn't buy again at anything close to that rate though.

This headset is awesome, the best upgrade moving up from a cardboard version. The FOV is super nice, it’s comfortable, and the build quality is really good. The app is also really nice to help properly center the phone. The mount is universal which makes this headset very attractive to more users. I’m using it with my Galaxy Note II. Pros: Build Quality Comfort Ease of use Compatibility with Google Cardboard Cons: Remote functions for launch apps inside the freefly app My only issue is that the remote doesn’t highlight and allow you to select any apps in the freefly app. The only thing it does is page up and down. The control works fine in supported games for joystick movement etc. If they can make the controller able to highlight and select apps in the freefly app it would be perfect. Works perfect when on my android home screen being able to move from one app to another and launch it by pressing X. Tips: If you scan the QR code for the google cardboard settings and it says connection error just open up a different code scanning app, scan the qr code then click the link it shows. It should ask what to open with, I just chose chrome and it automatically set the viewer in the cardboard app. I think this is a cardboard app issue since it did the same thing with a custom settings qr code I made with the cardboard qr generator. Although it worked fine when scanning the qr code on my actual eightones cardboard headset. When you run the freefly app and place it into the mount when it tells you to and don’t see the “next” button in the lower right corner just press in that area. On my Note II for whatever reason it doesn’t show the “next” button sometimes.

I recently purchased the View Master virtual reality headset but wanted something else with a head strap and also be able to charge my device while in the headset. I thought this was going to be the one. It is hard to figure out what is really reviewed well by people by reading reviews on Amazon of these becuase it seems like so many of the reviews are from people who say they received the item for free in exchange for an honest review. Well, I don't tend to believe those reviews so finding a good headset based on reviews is pretty tough. The good about the headset is it is comfortable, you can charge your phone while in the headset and seems to be built well. The bad, the image is blurry. It's not the low quality image we get from our devices I am taking about, it is actually blurry. So blurry reading any text is pretty much impossible. I do wear contacts but also tried them without and both ways are blurry. My viewmaster is very clear when I use it in comparison. I really wished this headset worked out but I am unable to use it like this. I also tried 2 different QR codes with no luck. It is unfortunate because I don't really know another headset decently priced with a head strap that is decently priced. If the View Master offered these 2 features I would not be looking at anything else at this time. The picture looks great and clear in it and the price is right basically for what these are, plastic with lenses. I recommend the View Master to anyone who just wants to check out VR and not spend a lot of money. Use it maybe in 20 minute spurts. As you need to hold it up to your head. Another thing that was bad with the Freefly headset is the lenses get foggy quickly and you need keep taking them off your eyes to clear up. Whether it stops the longer you keep them on I don't know because I was not able to keep them on longer enough to see. This one is defiently going back though.

UPDATE: 8/31/16 CAME BACK TO GIVE IT 1 STAR It has now been nearly a year after I left my review, and I've come back to give it less stars and voice my complaints. Note that problems started being noticed just a few more short months after ownership. After a while, the small foam pads that keep the phone in place start to act like memory foam, and are no longer firm. This causes the phone to fall/drop out. The way the product locks the phone in, is to lock it in manually from the left and right sides to put pressure against both sides of the phone and lock/hold it in place with the foam padding, however this contributed to one day my lcd screen popping out from the force of this. The fog at one point became unbearable as I could never use the headset without it fogging up unless I had a fan faced towards me while using it. Other customers are right about the flimsy plastic lock on the closure of the headset. While mine has not broken yet, I am sure it will one day, as it feels pretty fragile, and not handled carefully, it will break off. Don't waste your money on this. It damaged my phone, and now I will soon be needing a new phone. CONS: 1. Their alignment app for android on google play says that my phone is not compatible with the app. I have to use their ios alignment guide which is located directly on their website. This is a common sense con. Yesterday their site was down for maintenance and I was unable to align my phone. I used the sites recommended phone compatibility app prior to my purchase, and it scanned my phone as compatible. NOTE TO FREEFLY VR: I use a Huawei Ascend Mate II (2) please add it to the list so I can download the app, and I will remove this con from my review. 2. No manual lens adjustment. 3. There are multiple plastic pieces that are for adjusting the strap. I have an average medium sized head that fits 7" caps. The two main plastic pieces touch the ear area and are intensely uncomfortable to the point where they hurt. If it wasn't for my large over head earphones I use, it would be the biggest issue I have with the product. 4. Alignment guide isn't the best, and I can still end up with a slight to medium blur. Maybe it's cause I'm stuck using the ios alignment through their site, but I can't do without it either, otherwise it's just a shot in the dark, like pin the tail on the donkey.There is however a sweet spot, that I haven't had a chance to get very often. The next time I get that sweet spot, I'm going to use some type of marker and trace the spot, so hopefully I no longer have to use their alignment guide. 5. None of their QR codes work when scanning. 6. Lens tend to fog up randomly especially when breathing through your nose. Workaround is to direct some airflow to you, such as a running electric fan, which seemed to minimize or eliminate fog for me. PROS: 1. Nice design. 2. Every other part is comfortable (Besides the plastic ear strap adjustments noted earlier) 3. Universal fit phone adjustments, and adjustments for plug-in accessories, such as usb cable, headphones, etc. (I have a 6.1" Huawei AM2) 4. Easy open/close lid with secure snap lock. Padding in multiple areas protects your phone from being damaged. Side adjustments practically locks your phone into the headset until you press the release button, which will eliminate worry of your phone falling out. 5. Minimal to unnoticeable blur if your phone is aligned just right, but can be tricky to hit that spot. 6. Surprisingly good FOV. I was worried that since my phone has 6.1" display, that I would get a cropped picture display, but this was not the case at all. I have used a few dozen different apps, and watched a few dozen videos, and It seems that nearly every part of the picture is visible. Which truly does make this universal up to the max recommended sized smartphones. 7. Included accessories are awesome; High quality storage case, good microfiber cloth, and a remote, although I have not used the remote more than a few times and nearly after 2 months of ownership. I will however say, it was still near full charge when I did use it, as I charged it right out the box, and the charge time was very quick. CONCLUSION; I can only compare this to one other well known, but cheap headset, It was hard enough to find a headset that could fit my phone, as the other one claimed to fit my phone, but did not, and in comparison the quality between the other, and freefly, was night and day. Despite it's cons, I believe it is currently the most versatile headset available, and despite the currently, slightly high price tag, the included accessories, versatility, added safety, etc., balance out the cost. You get what you pay for.

Coming from Google Cardboard to other Chinese plastic versions like "VRBox, Desktek" and generally anything under than $60, this was an amazing experience and for a little less than $80, you have the best mobile virtual reality headset around. I'd say its better than the Samsung Gear because of the FOV, its rated at 120 degrees and I have to agree its exactly that and more amazing. Its very clear, the lens are a nice glass material and not plastic like cheaper brands. The app is helpful for centering it perfectly, and the locking mechanism for the phone is ingenious. I tried it tonight with a good friend and we both had a riot. For whats out now, this really takes the cake! The travel case is so nice and handy. UPDATE 11/18/15, the QR code that came in the pamphlet for the google cardboard settings was still giving me a somewhat blurry and weird image. I played around and made this code for friends and users to use, it provides a much clearer image overall. Just go into your google cardboard app and press "switch viewer" and scan this from your computer screen, http://imgur.com/KI3khvV

Okay so I just got this the other day and have been playing around with it. I will say the FOV is amazing, better than any other one I've tried. Another huge plus is how comfortable these are, I had it on my head for an hour straight without even really noticing. The glide controller "works" for some games and not for others but I wasn't expecting it to be amazing, it's easy to go out and get a nice Bluetooth controller. NOW with that being said at least for my LG G3 there's some cardboard games that are a little blurry in the center due to the code Freefly sends you to use. You can easily go and adjust these settings through [...] but I have yet to find the perfect setting for my phone. Just because they don't have adjustable lenses doesn't mean you can't fix the blurriness. Once I figure out the correct settings for my type of phone I will update. EDIT - After playing with it for a few days, I lowered it a star and unfortunately I'm going to return it. 1. I thought it would be easy to keep playing around with the cardboard QR codes until I found one that would give me a crisp picture but boy was I wrong. Nothing I did got rid of the blurriness (I have perfect vision too) for a $70+ product I'd expect better. 2. The glide controller the more I used it just became pointless it moves you around for SOME visual games, that's about it. (Not a big negative since you can get a better controller and it was a "freebie" thrown in with the product. 3. The lenses fog up every couple of minutes! There are (temporary) fixes for this issue but every other VR headset I've tried has not given me this type of fogged lenses. 4. The product gets 5 stars for how comfortable it is, it really might be the most comfortable VR headset on the market. Without a crisp picture though it's not worth the money. I went with a cheaper headset (a TAD less comfortable) but the FOV was the same and I could adjust the lenses to make everything I watched/played crisp. In the end it was worth losing out on some of the comfort.