Thursday, March 22, 2012
Boogie Board Paperless LCD Writing Tablet Review
When I first got my hands on this, the first thing I thought of was one of those Magic Slates that we grew up with where you draw with the little plastic stylus on a piece of clear plastic that covered a waxy black board. Then when you were ready to "erase" your drawing, you would simply lift the clear plastic paper and then start all over again. I also thought the popular magnetic doodle toy that uses magnets to display images and then "erases" with a swipe of the slider. Improv Electronics have taken these to the next level and modernized them into the Boogie Board!
Some negatives include the lack of a place to store the stylus when not in use, no ability to save and inability to replace the battery. They do have a Neoprene Sleeve specifically designed for the Boogie Board tablet that protects the board and includes a space for the stylus without adding a bunch of size or weight. The Boogie Board comes with a 3V watch battery that is good for 50,000 erase cycles which comes out to about 20 erases a day for more than six years, so the battery issue isn't as bad as it sounds. Not being able to save is another issue but this is more for jotting down quick notes and less about writing papers. Some have suggested to use your phone or camera to take a quick picture if it is something you want to hold on to.What Can I Do With It?
Parents - grocery lists, chores list, family game night score keeper, message boardArtists - quick sketches before starting a project, doodles
Kids - play games like Tic-Tac-Toe and Hangman, doodles, writing
Travel - long car rides, airplane/airport travel, play games
Students - homework, math problems, drawing
Preschool - handwriting practice, sight words, draw funny pictures, durable and easy to use
Engineer - drawing diagrams, schematics, floor plans, calculations
Going Green
The Facts
- Erase your image with the touch of a button - and a friendly flash of the liquid crystal display - Very Cool!
- Sealed 3V watch battery never needs replacing
- Boogie Board tablet is an ultra 1/8" thin and is easy to take with you in a purse, scheduler, briefcase or backpack
- The case and LCD are made from durable plastic materials. Safe for school use and all around the house, office and car
- The Boogie Board tablet's pressure-sensitive LCD writing surface creates lines of different thickness based on how hard you push - just like paper and pen!
- Write or draw with the included stainless steel stylus or any other suitable instrument - even your finger! You'll never need to search for a pen or pencil again!
- Winner of the 2009 Flexi Award in the Most Innovative New Display Product Category
Pros and Cons
Pros - Easy to use, eco-friendly, fun to use, lightweight, sturdy design, high qualityCons - No stylus holder, non-replaceable battery, cannot save image, can't see in dark
What Other's Have Said:
"Easy to jot down my thoughts or shopping lists", "It would make a cool little toy for kids", "I need more - my wife and kids all want to steal mine!", "Useful to communicate between deaf and hearing", "Great paper saver", "I use the Boogie Board to make a daily chore list."
Bottom Line
This is a great device and while there are some minor drawbacks, these are minimal compared to the flexibility and the number of uses are seemingly unlimited. I've been using the Neon Green 8.5" Boogie Board for the past few days and keep finding new uses. The primary use I have is taking down quick notes, voice mail messages, various thoughts and doodles! I didn't realize how much I liked to doodle while on the phone, but now I don't have to waste paper when all I do is throw them away anyway. My 5-year-old daughter loves her magnetic doodler and now she prefers to play with this instead. The accuracy of the drawings is much better and she loves pushing the only button on the board to erase everything and start over again.
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I do remember the old days when we still use those Magic Slates. This Boogie Board is such a great piece of electronic toy that comes with numerous applications. It will be a good replacement for my notepad to be used in meetings.
ReplyDeletePhilip
http://www.mylearningtoysforkids.com
Boogie board is a very common learning toy for kids. This has a plastic and a covered waxy board that when you write on it it will produce a draw back. It's really fun to use!
ReplyDeleteAwesome product! Even though the battery is not replaceable, you can still buy a new one after the battery gone dead. The Boogie Boards themselves are only around $30, so it will last you for about 6 years, if you keep it to 20 erases a day. Worth it for the price!
ReplyDeleteI have one of these. The batteries do NOT last anywhere near as long as claimed- i erased mine once per day and within 3 months the first battery died.
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that with a bit of care the battery CAN be replaced with just a simple soldering job.
The second battery has just died after 1 year of use (erased once per day, occasionally twice- 20 erases a day for 6 years?? no chance whatsoever.
The replacement battery is the same as that used in a Gameboy Colour- battery CR2032 easily found in many places and on ebay. It has the Tags already soldered onto the battery so you only need to unsolder the old battery and solder in the new one- simples and at a mere £2- £3 a pop far better than chucking away your boogie board. :) HTH