Archos VR Glasses join the virtual reality party: Budget headset revealed

Earlier this week Carl Zeiss unleashed its answer to the likes of the Oculus Rift, the Samsung Gear VR and Sony's Project Morpheus and now French tech company Archos is getting on board the virtual reality band wagon with the launch of the Archos VR Glasses.

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Essentially a Google Cardboard variant, in plastic clothing, the Archos VR Glasses are compatible with any smartphone with a screen sized 6-inches or less, and its makers claim it will work with iOS, Android and Windows Phone - although good luck finding any developers knocking out VR apps and demos for Microsoft's mobile platform.

Unlike the Oculus Rift, Project Morpheus and Samsung's Gear VR, the Archos VR Glasses don't pack any of their own sensors - the system relies on the smartphone to do the grunt work. So, much like Zeiss VR One, you're basically looking at a pair of lenses to create the VR effect using your smartphone's display.

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But at just £24.99, Archos' effort could just be cheap enough to tempt early tech adopters, even if the device itself looks much clunkier than anything we've seen in this field before. At least in the 21st century.

Archos states that for an 'optimum experience' you'll want to pop in a 5-inch smartphone with a quad-core processor and motion sensors like an accelerometer and a gyroscope on board.

On sale in November, you'll be able to buy the VR Glasses direct from Archos. In the meantime, check out our guide to the best VR headsets.