The etch-a-sketch from beyond

Ever heard of Liquid Crystal Paper? No? Well, neither had I but the perks of this job include learning about new things. If e-ink was a display’s best attempt at resembling print on paper, LCP (Liquid Crystal Paper) is the closest thing to the digital world recreating the sketching-on-paper experience. Blackboard, the only product to use LCP technology is much like those magnetic sketchpads, but redesigned for real-world applications. Built with a stylus, a good contrast ratio, and a translucent design, the Blackboard can be used for taking notes, tracing, or sketching diagrams. The translucent pad comes with template grids you can place behind it to turn it into a ruled notebook, a dotted graph paper, or a plain sketcbook. You can even place the Blackboard directly on screens and sketch away. Its tinted translucent surface dims the screen behind it, but keeps everything visible, allowing it to act like a big electronic tracing paper.

The Blackboard comes with a stylus that allows you to draw and erase your work. You can even use a clear-all button on the blackboard to erase the canvas. All this happens without a battery, letting your Blackboard be as handy and readily available as a piece of paper. Plus, Blackboard even ships with a mobile app that allows you to scan, document, edit, and share your work!

Designer: Boogie Board

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Dropbox pushes further into education by partnering with Blackboard

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WriteBoard Electronic Whiteboard: Quantum Note Taking

Whiteboards and blackboards are great for group discussions. But they also take attention away from the speaker, especially for participants who insist on writing down everything that’s on the board. That’s where the WriteBoard concept comes in. Anything that’s written on it gets sent to connected mobile devices and other WriteBoards.

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The WriteBoard is a 27″ 1080p LCD monitor with a capacitive touch layer, and will come with a large stylus. Mobile app users can annotate and edit the copies of the board that they receive. The app also lets users send an image from their mobile device to the WriteBoard. Designers David Lindeque, Nicholas Rout and Olivia Pougnet are also thinking of giving users the option to make their WriteBoard public for others to follow. But the best part about the WriteBoard? The 27″ 1080p touchscreen display will supposedly be sold at just $299 (USD).

Unfortunately, the concept does have a couple of big red flags, especially for something that’s already being peddled in the guise of a fundraiser. First of all, it doesn’t seem like David et al have concrete proof of a working prototype. Second, it looks like that insane price tag does have a catch: pop-up ads. It’s the hardware equivalent of a Hulu subscription.

The WriteBoard team is currently raising funds for its concept on Indiegogo, where a pledge of at least $299 gets you the device as a reward. But as with all crowdfunding projects, you should wait for enough proof that this isn’t vaporware before putting your money down.

[via Gadgetify]