Like the Blue Monster Hugh MacLeod created for Microsoft, this well-expressed thought, "all good ideas must die (so that great ideas might live)" seems apropos the Boogie Board, a quintessential writing tool with the magical "erase" button that instantly creates a "clean slate" ready for your next great idea to come to life.

iMPROV Electronics, a Kent Displays Company, was named by Igor, as was the Boogie Board.

The eTablet is developing into a major product of Kent Displays, Inc. Based upon the bistable cholesteric technology, the tablet is a writing surface in which an image can be drawn with the touch or light pressure of an untethered stylus such as pointed object or even the finger or finger nail. The unique feature of the eTablet is that the written image is instantly erased with the push of a button and a new image written. Kent Displays, Inc. has issued patents (US Patents 6,104,448, 6,061,107, 5,453,863 and 5,437,811) and patent applications (US Patent Applications 11/762,174 and 12/217,158) on file basic to the eTablet for two different modes of operation.

Searching IP.com's Library, can one find subsequent patent applications and technical disclosures by Kent Displays Inc. that might indicate features that could possibly be included in future evolutions of the eTablet?

Multiple color writing tablet (05-Feb-2009)

Selectively erasable electronic writing tablet (16-Apr-2009)

Handwritten Messaging with the eTablet (26-Aug-2009)

Who knows? One can dream of future applications that IMPROV Electronics might bring to market with the name and trademark Boogie Board.

For the latest information, visit myboogieboard.com on the web and follow @Boogie_Board on Twitter.

Schools are making the Boogie Board tablet a must have learning aid used in place of note pads, loose leaf paper and chalk, magnetic and dry erase boards for a wide variety of student activities such as handwriting/arithmetic practice, solving equations, and drawing pictures. The Boogie Board tablet’s ease of use has also made it a favorite of individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities, including as a basic means of communication for those with limited speech and hearing. A pilot program allows schools to purchase up to 30 units at a significant discount. Discounts for larger education and institution-related purchases are also available.

Although the initial launch focused on the U.S., global demand for the tablet was immediate and has grown steadily. It has been featured by the Today Show, the Bonnie Hunt Show, What Now (New Zealand), Popular Science and hundreds of newspapers, magazines, web sites and blogs worldwide.

"The heavy demand created numerous out of stock situations for which we apologize," said Taesun Cha, VP, Global Operations. "To meet ongoing global demand, we dramatically increased production and created its own online store, with low shipping rates to many international addresses." The Boogie Board tablet can also be purchased at amazon.com, brookstone.com, Brookstone stores (U.S.), taobao.com (China) and Ziho International (Korea). Other resellers and e-tailers will be added in coming months.

Based on market input, several new features will be added to the Boogie Board tablet beginning with a stylus holder and protective sleeve this summer. New standard colors, image save, and a larger size will be available in 6-12 months. Custom colors and graphics are available now for promotional product orders (minimum 100 units). 

About Kent Displays

Founded in 1993, Kent Displays, Inc. is a world leader in the research, development and manufacture of Reflex No Power LCDs for unique, sustainable applications including electronic skins, writing tablets, smartcards and eReaders.

Kent Displays announced it is expanding global distribution and developing new product features for the Boogie Board Paperless LCD Writing Tablet based on heavy demand. Kent Displays subsidiary Improv Electronics launched the Boogie Board tablet in the United States in January 2010. It is the first paperless writing tablet to utilize a pressure-sensitive, Reflex™ LCD from Kent Displays for its writing surface.  Information in this post is from a press release published by Kent Displays, which has investors and shareholders also affiliated with IP.com.

For more information, technical disclosures, patents, patent applications, and prior art, search "Kent Displays" in The IP.com Library.

Boogie Board, Reflex and Push Green are trademarks of Kent Displays, Inc.

The first product sold under the Improv Electronics name, the Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet, is now available. This product is the first paperless writing tablet to utilize a pressure-sensitive Reflex LCD for the writing surface. While most other LCDs are made on glass, the Reflex LCDs used in Boogie Board tablets are made of impact-resistant, flexible plastic. They are mass produced exclusively in the U.S. on the world's first roll-to-roll line for fabrication of flexible LCDs.

Because all Reflex LCDs are reflective and bi-stable, the Boogie Board tablet requires no power to generate or retain an image, and only a small amount to erase (supplied by a small watch battery, which will execute over 50,000 erase cycles). At a retail price of $29.97 USD, the Boogie Board tablet's cost per erase is 15 times less than the per sheet cost of paper in a comparable steno notepad.

Written and graphic images are created with an included stylus or any other instrument that will apply the desired pressure (even a finger nail). Unlike traditional LCDs that have a poor response to pressure, the Boogie Board's Reflex LCD is highly responsive to variable amounts of pressure. This allows different line thicknesses to be easily created (great for sketching) and provides a writing experience very similar to paper and pencil.

Part of Kent Displays' Push Green™ initiative, the Boogie Board tablet provides a highly-effective vehicle to reduce everyday paper consumption. While most reduction strategies have focused on computer-related activities, an equally significant amount of paper is used for everyday writing tasks such as writing memos, jotting down ideas, making reminders/lists, practicing handwriting/arithmetic (young children), playing games, drawing pictures, and diagramming plays (coaches). The paperless Boogie Board tablet can be used for all these activities, replacing memo/note pads and sticky notes in the home, office, school, car and field. It also replaces chalk, magnetic and dry erase boards. Like all the above writing and drawing mediums, the Boogie Board tablet consumes no electrical energy to produce an image.

OEM versions of the Boogie Board tablet for integration into third party devices (e.g., computer keyboard) will also be sold.

Founded in 1993, Kent Displays, Inc., is a world leader in the research, development and manufacture of Reflex No Power LCDs for unique, sustainable applications including electronic skins, writing tablets, smartcards and eReaders. In October 2008, Kent Displays installed a new roll-to-roll production line at its headquarters in Kent, Ohio, U.S.A. to mass produce Reflex LCDs from rolls of plastic. The line is the first of its kind in the world and produces no waste water/chemicals and less solvent emissions than sheet-based processes. The flexibility, durability and exceptional thinness of our plastic displays, combined with no power image retention and superior optical characteristics, result in a versatile, environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional paper and backlit LCDs – with nearly endless applications!

For more information about Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablets, go to www.myboogieboard.com

Become a Boogie Board fan on Facebook and follower on Twitter.

For more information about Kent Displays or Improv Electronics, go to www.kentdisplays.com

Kent Displays, Inc. has shareholders in common with IP.com, so we know and like these folks, and we're happy to help spread the news about this innovative application of its patented technology.