5 ms·

Boogie Board writing tablet costs $30, features ‘no power LCD technology’

40 points by elblanco 17y ago

timdorr 17y ago
Reminds me of one of those neon static writing pages I had as a kid. You'd press on it with a stylus and it would stick to the backing, making the color change to be more bright. To erase, you'd just pull it from the backing to unstick it. Low tech stuff.
- Luc 17y ago
  Hopefully this has some advantage because those plastic sheet things are awfully cheap, e.g.: http://toyday.co.uk/shop/party-bag-toys/magic-drawing-board/prod_3749.html http://toyday.co.uk/shop/party-bag-toys/magic-drawing-board/...
wallflower 17y ago
Reminds me of something fun we used to do when we had ample free time as kids: We would put random color patterns with crayons on construction paper and then overlay the entire page with black crayon and then scrape through the black to 'draw' with colored fills (the fills being the previously hidden background we made first). Try it - it's awesome for kids.
- maximilian 17y ago
 How did you "scrape" through the black? Just with fingernails? When you say, "overlay with black", you just mean that you colored over the top with black crayon? I have several nephews + nieces who might actually want to do this.
 - Groxx 17y ago
 Fingernails work, it's what I used when I did this a few times. Your nails just get really gunky :\ Otherwise, a smooth-edged knife works pretty well. Anything with a decent edge, not sharp. Rounded edges don't work. Overlaying with black is, yes, covering the whole page with black crayon. So, the steps: Fill ENTIRE page with colored crayon patches / squiggles. Color over ENTIRE page with black crayon. Try to make it TOTALLY black. Scrape off with fingernail / knife / wooden clay tools / whatever. Hang on the fridge to admire for several generations. Ultimately, it's a cheaper way of doing those scratch-drawing things, and doesn't require sharp tools and a careful hand to not gouge the paper.
 - gnosis 17y ago
 This is a good technique not just for kids, but for making art in general. I recommend trying it with oil pastels. Also, the bottom layer need not be colored randomly, but could use a single color or maybe a limited-color palette. Likewise, the top color need not be black, but should cover the colors underneath. Lots of room for experimentation here.
 - deleted 17y ago
 [deleted]
 - sgk284 17y ago
 Here is a step-by-step guide: http://www.ehow.com/how_4783750_scratch-art-drawings.html http://www.ehow.com/how_4783750_scratch-art-drawings.html My only recommended change would be that step #4 doesn't use nearly enough black. You don't just want to lightly color over the background, you want to literally put a layer of black wax on top of the background. When you're done, no color should really be showing through. It can be a lot of fun with children, enjoy!
 - tttboy 17y ago
 With the <a href="http://www.watchvisa.com/rolex-watches.html http://www.watchvisa.com/rolex-watches.html title="rolex Replica Watches">rolex Replica Watches</a> launch of another well-pleasing Bond movie comes the replica watches immensely anticipated debut of the <a href="http://www.watchvisa.com/breitling-watches.html http://www.watchvisa.com/breitling-watches.html title="breitling Replica Watches">breitling Replica Watches</a> Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m Co-Axial Chronometer. Mr. Bond donning perfectly crafted luxury timepieces equip with a variety of features, which can be appreciated by considering that when you also purchase Omega watch. As any Bond fan and Omega enthusiast will tell you, since 1995's Goldeneye, the featured Omega Seamaster watches of 007 have always had blue dials, however, The QuantumOf Solace film has marked a turning point and a possible departure for James Bond, with Daniel Craig using the Omega Seamaster crafted with a black dial as one of the very distinguishable differences, what other differences and features can you look out for when buying omega watches? Omega Quantum of Solace Watch Features Firstly the self winding chronometer with <a href="http://www.watchvisa.com/cartier-watches.html http://www.watchvisa.com/cartier-watches.html title="cartier Replica Watches">cartier Replica Watches</a> a power reserve of 48 hours means your watch will function in any lifestyle to optimum capacity. The screw-in crown making it a highly water resistant watch, accompanied by the unidirectional cartier watches rotating bezel, and helium escape valve, positioned rolex watches at 10 o'clock makes this the perfect condiment for Mr. Bond when taking to the water, up to 600 meters. All this packed into a polished stainless steel 42mm diameter case, featuring the sophisticatedly patterned black dial enclosed inside domed <a href="http://www.watchvisa.com/omega-watches.html http://www.watchvisa.com/omega-watches.html title="omega Replica Watches">omega Replica Watches</a> anti-reflective, scratch omega watches resistant crystal sapphire face. What more could you possibly desire or need when buying your watch from Omega, read a little more and see. With the Omega 2500 caliber and the <a href="http://www.watchvisa.com/movado-watches.html http://www.watchvisa.com/movado-watches.html title="Movado Replica Watches">Movado Replica Watches</a> co-axial escapement movement, designed by Dr. G Daniels and commercialized by Omega for high precision watches with rhodium plated finish gives the Seamaster Planet Ocean a quality of it's own when accompanied with all the other features, including the date being positioned at 3 o'clock, and attached to a steel, leather or rubber bracelet to fit the comfort of the consumer. Omega Watch Sophistication You will see from The Quantum Of Solace this watch <a href="http://www.watchvisa.com/tag_heuer-watches.html http://www.watchvisa.com/tag_heuer-watches.html title="Tag Heuer Replica Watches">Tag Heuer Replica Watches</a> is just as indestructible as James Bond himself, as well as smart and sophisticated like the man who buys his Omega watch and wears it with pride upon his wrist. Buy Omega Watches On The Cheap The great chance to buy Omega watches on the cheap,replica watches taking all the features into consideration when selecting an unique pieces of breitling watches art that nobody can afford to mon. Fans of Omega and James Bond, the collectors and enthusiasts now have the opportunity to buy the ocean swiss re
 - wallflower 17y ago
 Usually use a nickel or a penny to scrape through the surface. Yes, overlay - use big cheap black crayon to cover up the patterns - not the expensive Crayola type
ggruschow 17y ago
Magnetophoretic writing tablets were 3 for $10 at the drug store down the street last week. They don't require any power to draw, display, or erase and I'd guess their contrast ratio is better than the current electrophoretic/e-ink displays.. but the ones I got are cheap knock-offs. The true Magna Doodle has better resolution and contrast.
- javery 17y ago
  My exact thoughts when reading this, I was playing with a similar device yesterday but it was my daughters Dora the Explorer Magna Doodle... maybe TechCrunch should feature that next.
  - dmix 17y ago
    > Dora the Explorer Magna Doodle That product doesn't have the word "tablet" in it, so no dice. And no making it to the homepage of HN.
- nzmsv 17y ago
  And here's one driven by an AVR: http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/plotbot http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/plotbot
dpcan 17y ago
This needs the ability to save to a flash drive and it would be golden. Can't imagine a watch battery could still be enough power however.
- NikkiA 17y ago
  "This needs the ability to save to a flash drive and it would be golden" As I understand it, this isn't possible; The board isn't 'displaying' anything, the stylus just presses on the crystal and changes the state of the crystal. The only time electricity is involved in the panel, is when you press the 'erase' button, which uses a single refresh of all the cells. Since the 'state' is only in the LCD itself, adding on a method of saving the drawing/doodle, would require a lot more electronics, and cost, than there is. Probably magnitudes more.
  - dpcan 17y ago
    That makes sense. Thank you. I think that by "this" I was referring to the concept more than the specific product - but I was definitely unclear.
ShabbyDoo 17y ago
If one could erase parts of the screen by themselves, a much larger version might be a clean replacement for a whiteboard. Perhaps a few colors would be required as well. And, the ability to save images. Now, it'll cost $3K.
Zak 17y ago
Add bluetooth sync and I'll buy it.
plaes 17y ago
Back in 1800-s people were already using similar things - they were called portable chalkboards.
kingkawn 17y ago
What is the even remote benefit of this without the ability to upload to a computer?
elblanco 17y ago
Anyone have an idea on how this could be made minimally useful? (save image of scratchings to thumbdrive or sd card).

40 points by elblanco 17y ago

Reminds me of one of those neon static writing pages I had as a kid. You'd press on it with a stylus and it would stick to the backing, making the color change to be more bright. To erase, you'd just pull it from the backing to unstick it. Low tech stuff.

Luc 17y ago
Hopefully this has some advantage because those plastic sheet things are awfully cheap, e.g.: http://toyday.co.uk/shop/party-bag-toys/magic-drawing-board/prod_3749.html http://toyday.co.uk/shop/party-bag-toys/magic-drawing-board/...

wallflower 17y ago

Reminds me of something fun we used to do when we had ample free time as kids: We would put random color patterns with crayons on construction paper and then overlay the entire page with black crayon and then scrape through the black to 'draw' with colored fills (the fills being the previously hidden background we made first). Try it - it's awesome for kids.

maximilian 17y ago
How did you "scrape" through the black? Just with fingernails? When you say, "overlay with black", you just mean that you colored over the top with black crayon? I have several nephews + nieces who might actually want to do this.
- Groxx 17y ago
 Fingernails work, it's what I used when I did this a few times. Your nails just get really gunky :\ Otherwise, a smooth-edged knife works pretty well. Anything with a decent edge, not sharp. Rounded edges don't work. Overlaying with black is, yes, covering the whole page with black crayon. So, the steps: Fill ENTIRE page with colored crayon patches / squiggles. Color over ENTIRE page with black crayon. Try to make it TOTALLY black. Scrape off with fingernail / knife / wooden clay tools / whatever. Hang on the fridge to admire for several generations. Ultimately, it's a cheaper way of doing those scratch-drawing things, and doesn't require sharp tools and a careful hand to not gouge the paper.
 - gnosis 17y ago
 This is a good technique not just for kids, but for making art in general. I recommend trying it with oil pastels. Also, the bottom layer need not be colored randomly, but could use a single color or maybe a limited-color palette. Likewise, the top color need not be black, but should cover the colors underneath. Lots of room for experimentation here.
 - deleted 17y ago
 [deleted]
- sgk284 17y ago
 Here is a step-by-step guide: http://www.ehow.com/how_4783750_scratch-art-drawings.html http://www.ehow.com/how_4783750_scratch-art-drawings.html My only recommended change would be that step #4 doesn't use nearly enough black. You don't just want to lightly color over the background, you want to literally put a layer of black wax on top of the background. When you're done, no color should really be showing through. It can be a lot of fun with children, enjoy!
 - tttboy 17y ago
 With the <a href="http://www.watchvisa.com/rolex-watches.html http://www.watchvisa.com/rolex-watches.html title="rolex Replica Watches">rolex Replica Watches</a> launch of another well-pleasing Bond movie comes the replica watches immensely anticipated debut of the <a href="http://www.watchvisa.com/breitling-watches.html http://www.watchvisa.com/breitling-watches.html title="breitling Replica Watches">breitling Replica Watches</a> Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m Co-Axial Chronometer. Mr. Bond donning perfectly crafted luxury timepieces equip with a variety of features, which can be appreciated by considering that when you also purchase Omega watch. As any Bond fan and Omega enthusiast will tell you, since 1995's Goldeneye, the featured Omega Seamaster watches of 007 have always had blue dials, however, The QuantumOf Solace film has marked a turning point and a possible departure for James Bond, with Daniel Craig using the Omega Seamaster crafted with a black dial as one of the very distinguishable differences, what other differences and features can you look out for when buying omega watches? Omega Quantum of Solace Watch Features Firstly the self winding chronometer with <a href="http://www.watchvisa.com/cartier-watches.html http://www.watchvisa.com/cartier-watches.html title="cartier Replica Watches">cartier Replica Watches</a> a power reserve of 48 hours means your watch will function in any lifestyle to optimum capacity. The screw-in crown making it a highly water resistant watch, accompanied by the unidirectional cartier watches rotating bezel, and helium escape valve, positioned rolex watches at 10 o'clock makes this the perfect condiment for Mr. Bond when taking to the water, up to 600 meters. All this packed into a polished stainless steel 42mm diameter case, featuring the sophisticatedly patterned black dial enclosed inside domed <a href="http://www.watchvisa.com/omega-watches.html http://www.watchvisa.com/omega-watches.html title="omega Replica Watches">omega Replica Watches</a> anti-reflective, scratch omega watches resistant crystal sapphire face. What more could you possibly desire or need when buying your watch from Omega, read a little more and see. With the Omega 2500 caliber and the <a href="http://www.watchvisa.com/movado-watches.html http://www.watchvisa.com/movado-watches.html title="Movado Replica Watches">Movado Replica Watches</a> co-axial escapement movement, designed by Dr. G Daniels and commercialized by Omega for high precision watches with rhodium plated finish gives the Seamaster Planet Ocean a quality of it's own when accompanied with all the other features, including the date being positioned at 3 o'clock, and attached to a steel, leather or rubber bracelet to fit the comfort of the consumer. Omega Watch Sophistication You will see from The Quantum Of Solace this watch <a href="http://www.watchvisa.com/tag_heuer-watches.html http://www.watchvisa.com/tag_heuer-watches.html title="Tag Heuer Replica Watches">Tag Heuer Replica Watches</a> is just as indestructible as James Bond himself, as well as smart and sophisticated like the man who buys his Omega watch and wears it with pride upon his wrist. Buy Omega Watches On The Cheap The great chance to buy Omega watches on the cheap,replica watches taking all the features into consideration when selecting an unique pieces of breitling watches art that nobody can afford to mon. Fans of Omega and James Bond, the collectors and enthusiasts now have the opportunity to buy the ocean swiss re
- wallflower 17y ago
 Usually use a nickel or a penny to scrape through the surface. Yes, overlay - use big cheap black crayon to cover up the patterns - not the expensive Crayola type

ggruschow 17y ago

Magnetophoretic writing tablets were 3 for $10 at the drug store down the street last week. They don't require any power to draw, display, or erase and I'd guess their contrast ratio is better than the current electrophoretic/e-ink displays.. but the ones I got are cheap knock-offs. The true Magna Doodle has better resolution and contrast.

javery 17y ago
My exact thoughts when reading this, I was playing with a similar device yesterday but it was my daughters Dora the Explorer Magna Doodle... maybe TechCrunch should feature that next.
- dmix 17y ago
  > Dora the Explorer Magna Doodle That product doesn't have the word "tablet" in it, so no dice. And no making it to the homepage of HN.
nzmsv 17y ago
And here's one driven by an AVR: http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/plotbot http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/plotbot

dpcan 17y ago

This needs the ability to save to a flash drive and it would be golden. Can't imagine a watch battery could still be enough power however.

NikkiA 17y ago
"This needs the ability to save to a flash drive and it would be golden" As I understand it, this isn't possible; The board isn't 'displaying' anything, the stylus just presses on the crystal and changes the state of the crystal. The only time electricity is involved in the panel, is when you press the 'erase' button, which uses a single refresh of all the cells. Since the 'state' is only in the LCD itself, adding on a method of saving the drawing/doodle, would require a lot more electronics, and cost, than there is. Probably magnitudes more.
- dpcan 17y ago
  That makes sense. Thank you. I think that by "this" I was referring to the concept more than the specific product - but I was definitely unclear.

ShabbyDoo 17y ago

If one could erase parts of the screen by themselves, a much larger version might be a clean replacement for a whiteboard. Perhaps a few colors would be required as well. And, the ability to save images. Now, it'll cost $3K.

Zak 17y ago

Add bluetooth sync and I'll buy it.

plaes 17y ago

Back in 1800-s people were already using similar things - they were called portable chalkboards.

kingkawn 17y ago

What is the even remote benefit of this without the ability to upload to a computer?

elblanco 17y ago

Anyone have an idea on how this could be made minimally useful? (save image of scratchings to thumbdrive or sd card).