Improv Electronics has a new version of its Boogie Board writing tablet this year, the Boogie Board Rip with internal storage. Unlike the iPad, or the new enhanced e-readers on the market, the Boogie Board Rip is not meant for web surfing, gaming or content consumption. Instead it’s a pure slate, meant for drawing and note-taking. And, with the company’s newest hardware version, you can save digital copies of your sketches in PDF form, and transfer them to a PC with via USB.
I bought a Boogie Board last year as a Christmas gift for an artistically-inclined family member. It included a sealed internal battery that was meant to last for “about 50,000 erases,” and only cost $40. It was a lot of fun to play around with, but it was also limited given that you couldn’t save any images. The Boogie Board Rip, in contrast, costs $129.99, but is a lot more practical for artistic creation or hand-written notes. The board saves images as high-resolution vector PDFs, which can be imported into programs like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. The hardware also includes rechargeable batteries that should last a week between charges.
The Boogie Board Rip went on sale last week, and could be a good holiday gift option for tablet lovers who don’t want to be distracted by the web. It measures 11.1″ x 7″ x.05″ and weighs 11.5 ounces. It comes with 8MB of on-board storage.
