A Practical LCD Writing Tablet

An anonymous reader passes along a word about an innovative LCD writing tablet. The Boogie Board costs $30, can be written on with a stylus or a fingernail, and uses no power in the act of writing. Only erasing consumes power — from a watch battery, which lasts for 50,000 erases. The total cost per "page" comes out to only 1/15th that of steno paper. The writing surface is pressure-sensitive and "highly responsive to variable amounts of pressure," so you can make thick and thin lines.

Comments

demo please?

[v1]

I'd like to see a youtube of a boogie board in use.

Re:demo please?

[Tjp($)pjT]

Sounds like a wax coated cardboard sheet with a plastic overlay. A kids toy. I want to see a demo too. I can just imagine a waxed cardboard toy pad with a motor driven lifter for the erase ... LOL

Re:demo please?

[ozmanjusri]

I can just imagine a waxed cardboard toy pad with a motor driven lifter for the erase .

Why not just shake it?

It's close to being price-competitive with the old classic too. Once the immediate geek fuss fades, I'd say that's where its niche will be found.

Re:demo please?

[sopssa]

I actually didn't know there was such you controlled with two knobs too. Sounds a bit hard and limiting. Magna Doodle is probably a little bit closer with its pen and free drawing.

The Etch A Sketch toy was invented in the late 1950s by a man by the name of Arthur Granjean invented something he called ``L'Ecran Magique", the magic screen, in his garage. The inside surface of the glass screen is coated with aluminum powder which is then scraped off by a movable stylus, leaving a dark line on the light gray screen.

and Magna Doodle

The key element of the Magna Doodle is the magnetophoretic display panel, filled with a thick, opaque white liquid containing tiny dark magnetic particles. These particles can be drawn to the surface by the stylus or the shapes, or to the hidden back side by a sliding eraser bar. The middle layer is divided into a honeycomb of cells, keeping the liquid static and the particles evenly distributed across the panel. The liquid is formulated so that the particles can be pulled through it in response to the magnetic forces, but not due to gravity.

Interesting concept though. I always wanted to know how it worked :)

Automatic erasing etch-a-sketch

[EdZ]

There's no way to save whatever you've drawn onto the tablet, so it's the LCD equivalent of carrying around a small blackboard and an infinite supply of chalk. Or a whiteboard with an infinite supply of ink (of only one colour). At only $30, it's reasonably priced enough that it can cater to the niche of "I want to jot down a small note that I can hardcopy later for posterity, but I don't ever want to need to worry about my pen running out of ink, as long as I remember to change the battery occasionally".

Re:Automatic erasing etch-a-sketch

[EdZ]

...And while that would be enough for me to buy one (it would save reams of paper of irritating matrix algebra), their shipping cost to the UK is almost twice the cost of the device itself!

Re:Automatic erasing etch-a-sketch

[adolf]

"I want to jot down a small note that I can hardcopy later for posterity, but I don't ever want to need to worry about my pen running out of ink, as long as I remember to change the battery occasionally"

Indeed, that seems to be all it is really good for -- other than the geek factor of writing with passive liquid crystals.

I solved the "I don't want to run out of ink" problem by buying a Fisher Bullet Space Pen. The ink cartridges are said to last a very long time and never run dry from disuse. So, for the meager amount of writing that I do, this pen will probably be able to stay in my change pocket for many years before it needs the cartridge replaced. And it was $10 cheaper than this "practical" LCD tablet.

Re:Automatic erasing etch-a-sketch

[kg4eyf]

Have you ever tried to jot a quick note on an Etch A Sketch? It's much more like a Magna Doodle.

Shipping kills it

[Albanach]

Wow, they want almost $45US for shipping an 11oz tablet to the UK.

USPS airmail from the US to the UK for a 1lb parcel is slightly over $10.

So, it's $30 for the tablet, and $35 for the handling fee. Shame.

Re:Shipping kills it

[MichaelSmith]

Just spend a few days kayaking over here and pick it up with no shipping costs. Then you would only have to pay for the food & water for your trip.

You want to sea kayak the North Atlantic? I don't think even Ed Gillet would try that. Unless you tried to hug the coast and ice around the north. Should be pretty safe that way.

Of course this is the standard way for us to get to the USA now.

Why oh why can I not save the screen?

[SuperKendall]

The thing would be awesome if I could save the screen. As it is I don't really see why I would choose it over paper since I can't save paper either, but at least paper I could store for later and write on more paper.

But it IS pretty cool.

Re:Why oh why can I not save the screen?

[oGMo]

Yeah, I would easily pay $100 if I could save things to a memory card and recall pages from thumbnails. Double that or more if it did some basic diagram aid (draw a rough rectangle, have it neatened). I've been searching for the ideal "electronic graph paper" and I have yet to find anything. It doesn't need to play movies or browse the web or send email... ok, it could have basic wifi and be able to email diagrams... but still. A few functions for drawing and writing and diagramming, some storage and searching, and that's all it needs.

That said this looks like this product probably can't even address pixels. It's probably lucky to just get enough current to the whole panel so that it clears. I doubt that requires even half the electronics of a 4-function calculator, but then I'm not an EE.

Re:Why oh why can I not save the screen?

[ColdWetDog]

You could probably just stick it in a Xerox machine (er, I mean copier). Interesting to note that they are out of stock at Amazon. We've Slashdotted a physical object!!!!

Gaze in fear, World!

you used the word practical why?

[Tumbleweed]

Cuz c'mon, what can you use this for? This is an easier to use version of the Etch-a-Sketch, nothing more. Good for kids to play with, but that's about it. I guess it beats paper and crayons, though, in that you now have an excuse not to have to put up their latest 'masterpiece' on the fridge for years. It's easier to just not have kids, though. Much more PRACTICAL that way.

Re:you used the word practical why?

[maxwells_deamon]

Many years ago I was going to have jaw surgery. I was going to be wired shut for about seven weeks. They told me to bring a paper tablet and a pen. I went to the toy store to pick up one of the pads called magic slates in the midwest. I came across a new toy called a Magna Doodle.

This is two sheets of plastic with white oil and iron fillings (or something similar) you had a magnetic wand and the back has a wide magnet.

When you write on the surface with the wand the dark particals move to the front and turn it dark and the slider on the bottom wipes it back out.

The doctors/nurses had never seen one and would borrow it at the start of each shift and show it at the daily meetings.

Not pressure sensitive, but I think it does most everything else the board does

Re:you used the word practical why?

[uptownguy]

I read the summary thinking, Cool, this is a new form factor, I wonder what putting a million smart monkeys together and thinking about it might come up with... That's why I read Slashdot. I mean, anybody can just DISMISS something. It isn't that there is anything wrong with people summarily rejecting it and saying things like This is _______, nothing more ... it's just that I suspect there is a place for something like this. I'd be curious what that would look like. JUST an etch a sketch? ONLY kids?

Even if the form factor isn't perfect out of the gate, there will be some people who recognize this is close to what they need for an outstanding problem. Perhaps a problem they may not even know that they face until the solution comes along. (I often think the Nokia 800 fanbase is like that. I read Slashdot daily and so of course I KNOW that there are people out there who swear by that device. It's the wrong form factor for me but then the introduction of it -- and the wider recognition in the market of the demand for portable browsing devices -- ultimately led to a $300 netbook that I adore...)

When something sort of new comes along, I like to pay attention and think about what the children might be like.

No offense to the original poster.

I got one that uses no batteries

[xzvf]

Etch A Sketch

No saving? Here's why...

[RoFLKOPTr]

It looks to me that this is not an electronic device, per se. There's no ability to save because it does not detect the presence of a writing object or the state of the surface. It seems to be just a really crappy, but durable, LCD screen. When you apply pressure, you displace the liquid crystal material. And when you "erase" the board, it applies electricity to redistribute everything. In order to add saving features, the "energy-efficient" part of the device that seems to be one of the major selling points would pretty much have to go down the drain.

This is not meant to be a permanent record, and I don't know why they relate it to a pad of paper... it's more like a monochrome dry erase board.

(I am not affiliated with the makers; I have never seen one of these up close and personal; The above writing is based purely on assumption from looking at pictures and reading what it does)

Ok then, why not paper????

[SuperKendall]

You can. It's called a camera. Same as taking a picture of a whiteboard or blackboard.

Or a piece of paper!

It still gives me NO reason to use this device over something that needs no battery, and serves as archival hard copy of my idea.

Without the extra step of the camera, an electronic notepad would be very useful indeed to quickly produce pages of material that then got sent elsewhere. But needing that extra step just kills it from being more useful than paper.

Re:Ok then, why not paper????

[Anonymous Coward]

Since it's ink/lead-less, it could be useful for cleanrooms where special non-shedding paper and pens are necessary.

As the site notes, it's useful in many of the same instances where small marker/chalkboards works - sports sidelines, shopping lists, fridge reminders - but doesn't require a pen or marker, much less dry-erase ink or chalk, which is also a benefit for people sensitive or allergic to marker/chalk dust.

The ability to write with a finger can help people with wrist/hand disabilities who can't easily grip a writing implement. Can't speak, can't hold a pen, but still have even rudimentary hand dexterity? You can write on this, but not a pad of paper.

Since it doesn't, and can't, store what's written on it, and erases without a physical trace, the tech could be useful for secure handwriting.

For paper-wasteful, short-term notes that are pointless to save and end up in the trash - brainstorming, thought organizing, memorization through repetitive writing/muscle memory - this is far more efficient (and part of the reason it's so heavily marketed to schools).

I do agree that it has several flaws and missed opportunities. On top of the obvious inability to save and dependency on a battery, it's not backlit, which could make it a fantastic piece of dynamic signage. Like any LCD, it's temperature sensitive - its listed operating temperatures are 14F-145F, but I'm not sure I'd trust it below freezing, in a hot kitchen or for extended periods outdoors over 100. Erasing is, like an Etch-A-Sketch, an all-or-nothing affair, and isn't instantaneous. I have a hard time buying into the "green" paper-saving aspect when the board is apparently not designed to be user serviceable (when the battery dies, Improv says to buy a new one) and paper is far more recyclable than any component of this pad. And perhaps most disappointing to me is the lack of any form of digital input - if it was possible to make it display monochrome image files, you'd immediately have a lovely piece of equipment for things like circuit reference, blueprints or other sorts of repair documentation. It's a pain to have a printer exclusively for that purpose, and digital devices of that size are too expensive to care about.

But to dismiss the tech altogether demonstrates a lack of imagination. There's quite a few practical uses for this, especially at the price point.

Totally agree

[SuperKendall]

I've been searching for the ideal "electronic graph paper" and I have yet to find anything.

That's all I want too! I don't need it to play music or videos or browse the web, or even receive anything for that matter. Just let me use it as an off-line digitizing pad and I'll be happy.

The diagram neatening would be interesting but I could skip anything except recording where I pressed, preferably with some degree of pressure sensitivity as this offers.

That said this looks like this product probably can't even address pixels.

I wondered about that too, but there's got to be something that happens when you press that causes the state change, if it would even store that raw input and have software to assemble it back into an image later that would be fine by me.

Re:Looks Great!

[Gerzel]

No way to upload to a computer, no computer assistance, and $30?

I can give you a device that does the same for a tenth of the amount and the added convienence that it can easilly be digitized using common computer technology.

I call it a pencil and paper pad.

Magna Doodle?

[kg4eyf]

Shortly before reading this article, I was playing with my son's Magna Doodle, making a sketch of our dog. Somehow I was still impressed when I read this article. Nonetheless, the Magna Doodle is still cool. It takes no batteries to erase and even works under water! And it has for 36 years.

Re:Looks Great!

[hairyfeet]

Or for just $9 more you can have a tablet input. I gave one of these to my youngest and he just loves it. Good luck on ever getting that kid to go back to working with just pen and paper or a keyboard and mouse. It is surprisingly accurate and sensitive, allowing him to not only write fluently, but to draw freehand and make some truly sharp artwork. me? I am lucky if I can draw a straight line.

But I just don't see the point of spending $30 on this with no PC input, when for $9 more you can have a tablet input. I'm sure the level of sensitivity on the tablet probably kills this thing, and unlike this it doesn't "die" after x number of erases.

Re:Looks Great!

[Aladrin]

You mean $9+the-cost-of-a-computer more. The boogie thing is completely self-contained. Plus, you can see what you're drawing -where- you're drawing. With a cheap digitizer for the computer, you have to watch the computer's screen and draw somewhere else. Yes, people do it all the time, but there's a reason people are willing to spend thousands on a Cintiq instead of pay 1/10th as much for just a regular digitizer.

Yeah. Worthless without connectivity.

[newdsfornerds]

Update: After talking to an Improv Electronics representative, we’ve confirmed that they are indeed working on a recordable Boogie Board tablet that would utilize flash memory and a USB connection to save and download your work. It would be the size and model, just with added storage and USB connection. They anticipate having this new version available for sale within the year but will still sell the current base version. Price on this new recordable model would be around $50. Read more: http://besttabletreview.com/the-boogie-board-paperless-lcd-writing-tablet-very-cool-and-only-30/#ixzz0dYELgHng

Re:Looks Great!

[hairyfeet]

Well for starters, just about everyone here in the USA already has a PC so that isn't a problem. Thanks to PCs passing "good enough" awhile back PCs for under $100 are quite plentiful.

As for the second? If I was a tablet manufacturer I would simply get one of these and copy its tech into one of my tablets and add $30 to the price. With them selling at $30 I doubt they have sunk huge amounts of R&D, more likely they simply came up with a "recipe" using already available tech, and considering how much money the tablet manufacturers like Genius make I'm sure they could just buy this company outright if there were IP issues. If they are making a profit at $30 then a large scale manufacturer like Genius could probably incorporate this tech into their tablet line for $20 and still make money off of this, just add a rechargeable or easily replaceable battery and all is golden.

But those that would and could afford a Cintiq frankly wouldn't look at either device. And without PC input I really don't see what kind of "advantage" it has over good old $0.99 paper and pen. And of course kids would probably burn through those "50,000 erases" pretty quick, which with use and abuse will probably be closer to 5-10,000. Looks to me to be more landfill fodder than anything else. I would much prefer a tablet input in that case, as I have a graphic artist customer that has had his tablet going on close to a decade, and my youngest has been using his heavily daily for soon to be two years. I would say the "bang for the buck" lies squarely in the tablet input camp, wouldn't you?

Re:Use the tools you already have.

[tarsi210]

Well, it comes up quickly, but first I have to reach for the phone, press the home button to wake it up, slide to unlock, enter in my passcode, then swipe to the screen with the Notes application, touch that, and then read what my note is. By that point, I need to get a cup of coffee. :)

This beats shifting my eyes 6" to the left to read the post-it note without my hands leaving the keyboard/rodent. Win!