

Boogie Board writing tablet costs $30, features ‘no power LCD technology’ - elblanco
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/01/22/boogie-board-writing-tablet-costs-30-features-no-power-lcd-technology/

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ggruschow
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.

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javery
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.

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dmix
> 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.

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wallflower
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.

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maximilian
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.

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Groxx
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.

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gnosis
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.

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timdorr
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.

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Luc
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/...](http://toyday.co.uk/shop/party-bag-toys/magic-drawing-
board/prod_3749.html)

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dpcan
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.

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NikkiA
"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.

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dpcan
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.

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

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

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

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ShabbyDoo
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.

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Zak
Add bluetooth sync and I'll buy it.

