Remember the Boogie Board LCD drawing tablet from Improv Electronics that I reviewed over a year ago? They’re finally coming out with a version that has a SAVE feature. The new Boogie Board Rip (Record Image Preserve) will have a save button that will capture your drawing and then allow you to upload it to your computer via a micro USB connection. There’s no word on how many images the device can store before uploading and there’s no definite pricing info available except that it will be over $100 and won’t be on the market till November. Hmmm, I don’t know about you, but when we get to that high of a price point, the device no longer seems quite as appealing. Is it just me?
[Via Engadget]
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Ever since HP set their TouchPad pricing at $99, nothing over $100 makes sense any more.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20095208-92/hps-touchpad-fire-sale-the-fallout/
I like Boogie Board and all (have 2) but I do agree; if it is something more than $100…. heck even $75+, I won’t buy it.
$100! No way. Currently, I have the original. While it’s okay, it’s not really worth the $30 I paid for it. This is coming from someone who loves to jot ideas down and doodle. Yes, the save feature is nice. However, I just thought that they would eventually add this feature and only somewhat adjust the price. Boy, was i wrong.
The poster above makes an interesting point. Since the Touchpad firesale, all other tablets seem overpriced. Also, currently, I have an iPad1 (love it), but I tried to get a Touchpad but was unsuccessful. That tablet does way more than the Boogie Board.
This was the point we made back in the original discussion…that in order to make the “Save” feature work, they will have to put in a lot more electronics.
The screen does not have separately addressable pixels…it is just one big amorphous soup of liquid crystals.
Hence, the only way to save any drawings must be by an additional mechanism, substantially increasing its cost. Still, would be interesting to understand how they approached it…and what is the final resolution of the image saved.
@Mina…
You do realize that selling tablets which cost $230 to make at $99 is not a real business model 🙂
We’ve got a few of the original BBoards — we keep them with our Pictionary game and yank them out for other games that require score keeping.
If saving a pic is so important, drop the thing on a photocopier/scanner or take a pic of it. Can’t see spending even $30 to “save” pics/drawings.
@RainyDayInterns: I don’t think the consumer cares about how much it costs HP. They only care how much it costs themselves. Hence we still use dirty fuel/energy sources, buy cheap trinkets from overseas, and outsource all our jobs.
I paid full price for my iPad at Christmas only to see the iPad 2 come out 4 months later and the original iPad drop $100. I was kicking myself for not waiting, even though I love my iPad!
@Mina,
What you say is true…consumer only care about price, but only to some extent. Apple products cost more, but they sell well because they are easier for many to use.
Our point about production cost is that HP will not make a business of selling the tablets at a loss if they plan on continuing the program. So while the $100 price point is awesome, it is artificial, and will last only until the stock is exhausted.
We were merely pointing out that the claim that “…nothing over $100 makes sense any more…” is not how we would look at it.
BTW…there are plenty of quality products from overseas and outsourcing jobs is a great for the long term stability of the world. We are all for it.
@RainyDayInterns – Outsourcing only benefits the country the jobs are being outsourced to. This causes local job loss and more products to be made overseas, which means we are buying instead of selling and that drains the local economy.
Unless we also make products and sell them abroad then the process is one way!
Just like any other economic policy, unless there is balance then it’s not good!
@ James
As you say…balance is EXACTLY the key. The USA’s standard of living is so disproportionately high compared to the rest of the world that the flow of job overseas is inevitable.
If we want to have stability at home, paradoxically we cannot think and behave locally.
When did this become a conversation about outsourcing? I thought that this was a page about the Boogie Board Rip?