Boogie Boards Review

“What the heck is a Boogie Board?!”, You must be wondering aren’t you?

Well, I won’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of it. I too haven’t heard of it until one day I stumbled into a Popular Book Store (a chain stationary store in Singapore and Malaysia) that I first set eyes on one and tried it out myself.

Now in a world filled with tablets, how does the Boogie Board stand apart from an iPad or Android Tablets? To put it in one nubby sentence: “It does 1 thing only and does it well”

The Boogie Board is a thin plastic slate/tablet that will remind us of the Magic Slates from our childhood, especially for those who grew up in the 80s and 90s. Remember the magic drawing board, the one with the 2 knobs to draw on the screen? (As shown below)

When you wanted to make a new drawing, you would just shake it or swipe a handle across to erase the ‘screen’. The Boogie Board has taken that concept and modernized it.

Now you may ask, can’t other tablets do the same thing if not better and more? Well for some people, simplicity is key. The Boogie Board is not affected by sunlight, does not need to be charged and for some people, being able to writing notes like a shopping list, or for illustration purposes, that is enough. It is as simple as writing on regular paper.

So lets talk about Pros and Cons.

Pros

• Simple to use
• Not affected but sunlight illegibility
• Does not need charging, Battery lasts a few years
• Fairly durable
• Ideal for all age groups, including adults
• Comes in different sizes

Cons

• Technically, a bit expensive for its limited functions.
• No native way to save writing elsewhere. (Read final thoughts for more info)
• Able to only support roughly 50,000 to 60,000 erases before the board is useless.
• Battery is non-replaceable. (Read final thoughts for more info)

My only 2 gripes about the Boogie Board were that you couldn’t save what you wrote on it and the battery was non-replaceable. Well I am pleased to announce that the makers of the Boogie Board has heard our cries and have released newer models that has Bluetooth support, so whatever you write can be saved to your mobile phone or computer and some newer models are battery rechargeable or replaceable.

From an educational standpoint, who would want to use this device? I recommend those in the Kindergarten to Primary level (5-12yrs old).  The Boogie Board is eyesight friendly, since it does not have a backlight, simple to use, and no other distractions compared to an iPad or Android Tablet.

Teachers can make use of this for students to give feedback in class, practicing writing or jotting notes or observations during activities. And because it doesn’t need to be charged, you will never face the issue of running out of power.

To find out more about the Boogie Boards and the different models available, you can head down to http://www.improvelectronics.com/ and check it out!