Boogie Board is an LCD Tablet notepad by Improv Electronics. The Boogie Board makes use of its parent company Kent Displays’ revolutionary “Reflex” – no-power LCD Technology.
It basically uses a pressure-sensitive Reflex LCD for the writing. You can write or draw on it using an included stylus or any other instrument that will apply the desired pressure (even a finger nail). Ironically, writing tools that will mark or scratch the LCD, such as pens or pencils, are not recommended. The Boogie Board’s Reflex LCD responds very well to varying pressure. This means you can create lines of different thickness, just by applying appropriate amount of pressure while writing/drawing. This makes the writing experience very similar to paper and pencil and is also great for sketching.
Reflex LCDs utilize “cholesteric” liquid crystals, producing an image from reflected light. Cholesteric liquid crystals are bistable, exhibiting both a bright reflecting state and a dark non-reflecting state without any voltage applied. Because of bistability, Reflex LCDs will retain an image indefinitely without power. Erasing an Image needs small amount of power, which is supplied by a small watch battery that can last up to 50,000 erase cycles.
Reflectivity allows Boogie Board to support “Sunlight Readability” i.e the displayed image will not “wash-out” in direct sunlight, so no need to squint or shade with a hand. This can come in really handy for outdoor note-taking purposes.
This tablet as a part of Kent Displays’ Push Green initiative, enables us to reduce the usage of paper in our daily activities like making To-Do lists, writing memos, playing small fun games, drawing / handwriting practice for children and sticky notes for daily reminders in the house. Boogie Board tablet’s cost per erase is 15 times less than the per sheet cost of paper in a comparable steno notepad.
The company has said that it’s working on OEM versions of device of the Boogie Board Tablet that would allow its integration into input device like a keyboard (maybe a keyboard PC?), so that you can save your work in electronic form.
The Boogie Board Tablet is now available for purchase via Amazon for $30 USD (approx 1400 INR)
(Boogie Board Tablet via CrunchGear)
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