The New York Times has released its own virtual reality app

As new technology appears, news agencies have constantly been reinventing themselves. That’s why the New York Times is rolling out a new smartphone app today that lets you dive into their stories–literally–using virtual reality. The Times has always been a tech-forward outlet–it’s even got a smart furniture-filled R&D Lab that makes prototypes that predict the future of media consumption. Now the 164-year-old newspaper is trying to make VR news mainstream. This weekend, subscribers to the Sunday Times print edition can expect to receive Cardboard VR viewers in the mail. Simply download the NYT VR app for free on Google Play or the App Store, stick your smartphone into the paper-and-velcro viewfinder, plug in headphones, download the selected video, and let ‘er rip. You can watch the videos without Cardboard, as well. It won’t be 3D, but you can still explore the 360-degree “world,” using your phone as a “window” and moving it about to see more of the environment. There’s a short GE-sponsored animated video that basically shows what the app can do: A giant cobra lunges at a parrot (and you); a trippy sequence explains how bird feathers influence jet turbine design.