Last week, I went to a toy store to buy some gifts, where I discoverd something really cool: A "boogie board".
It's essentially a very thin touch-screen LCD display that comes with a stylus so you can write on it. Press the "delete" button, it's gone again.
As simple as that.
Boogie boards are obviously intended for children, but I nonetheless picked one up for myself. Quite often during my work day I jot down a few things on a piece of scrap paper so I remember them for five minutes, then throw away the paper. That's really wasteful, and besides, paper notes are sooo 1999.
Depending on where you want to put it, the boogie board comes with magnet strips so you can stick it to your fridge and write your grocery list on it, or to your NASA cubicle wall, inviting the Mars Rover to draw oblong tire tracks on it, next time it rolls by.
But I don't only like the board because of what it can do. It also intrigued me because of its limitations.
The similarity to a chalkboard (white on black) is probably quite intentional: Much like a real chalkboard, it does not sync with a computer. If you are an inventor and just drew the Next Big Thing on it, you can (and should!) take a photo of it, before you or anyone else erases the board.
In summary: A boogie board won't replace your new fifteenth generation iPad, but it just might make the stack of sticky notes on your desk last a whole lot longer. If you find yourself jotting down things a lot, if you doodle while on the phone, or want to sketch the flux capacitor before the idea escapes your mind, this thing is for you. Give it a shot.
If you're as intrigued as I was: At the time of writing, you can pick up a Boogie Board on Amazon for under 30 dollars.
I'm blogging about once a week in 2013, on various topics. This is my tenth post of the year.