The New York Times' Google Cardboard virtual reality technology brings audiences inside the story

The New York Times started rolling out its Google Carboard virtual reality headsets November 5 to literally bring audiences inside the story.

According to The Verge the NYT VR mobile app is now in Apple's App Store, as well as the Google Play store. After this weekend the headsets would start showing up in NYT's print subscribers' doorsteps. Those who don't have the headset can watch the content in flatscreen 360-degree videos. It also has a modified desktop version.

The Gizmodo writes that users can watch the videos without the Cardboard to experience the 360-degree world, but it wont be on 3D. The new technology will feature a short GE_sponsored video, which is an animation about a giant cobra and how birds' feather influenced aviation. There are also journalistic pieces that users can watch. There is also a video that brings the user in the studio of famous street artist JR. The piece will also show the user a video of how it is like riding a helicopter above Manhattan. The piece will also feature the first VR film by New York Times on the global refugee crisis called "The Displaced."

The International Business Times reported that Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab head Jeremy Bailenson said, "When Virtual Reality is done well, it is an experience -- it's not passive news consumption, but an event which 'happens to you."

"Some news events are perfect for this," Bailenson said. "Other news events, for example war footage, might be better consumed via traditional media,"

Besides The New York Times, the Associated Press is reportedly seeking to have its own VR content, which could be available in the next five months. However, it is NYT VR that marked the milestone. It doesn't ask customers to buy pricey gadgets to experience the VR news. Instead, it only asks them to stick their smartphones into cheap VR equipment that are shipped for free to some subscribers.