We’re big fans of Boogie Board, a non-powered, tablet-sized drawing board that you can scribble on and erase over and over. It’s an excellent replacement for traditional pen-and-paper setups for brainstorming, doodling, and just jotting down ideas, since it’s slim, reusable, and requires just a button cell battery to operate. The Boogie Board Blackboard is a new evolution of that original design.
Unlike the original board which is erased completely with the single push of a button, the new panel allows you to selectively erase previously-written items, so you don’t have to blank out the entire thing just to get rid of a mistake. That new capability brings it a lot closer to the functions of traditional pencil-and-paper setups, making the device even more useful.
Instead of the Reflex LCD used in the original board, the Boogie Board Blackboard uses a new writing surface called Liquid Crystal Paper, which is what enables all the new capabilities. This writing surface is semi-transparent, by the way, so you can insert items underneath, making it possible to overlay the panel on a template, a map, or any other printed material. That means, you can insert a floor plan underneath and show a co-worker your proposed changes without writing anything on the original floor plan, among a whole host of other potential applications.
As with the original, you can still blank out the entire writing surface with a push of a button. With this device, though, you can now erase specific sections of the screen. Do note, the process is a little complicated and way more laborious than erasing pencil markings with an eraser, so it’s probably one of those features you’ll end up using only when it’s really necessary. Still, having the option to do that does make it a lot more useful compared to previous models.
Despite the new writing surface, the Boogie Board Blackboard still writes in a similar manner to the original. That means, it’s a very natural and tactile writing experience with absolutely no lags or delay. Each board comes with an inkless pen that has an eraser on the opposite tip similar to pencils, which you’ll use when taking advantage of the device’s selective erase capabilities. That writing surface, by the way, is non-digital, so it doesn’t require any power whenever you’re writing or drawing. The only time it requires power is when erasing the contents (either completely or selectively), which is why it only needs a button cell battery, a fresh unit of which can keep it running for up to five years. And, yes, the battery is easily replaceable.
Aside from the pen, it also comes with four paper templates (black, lines, dot grid, and seven-day planner), with more templates to be made available soon. Of course, you can always make your own templates whether printed or by hand, as well as use any existing templates that will fit the 8.5 x 11 inch writing surface.
The Boogie Board Blackboard is scheduled for availability later this month.
- An electronic writing tool to plan, sketch, and design featuring Liquid Crystal paper