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Teamboard

Just before I published the June 2009 Interactive Whiteboard  review, I came across the Teamboard IWB.  I said that as soon as I had some time to play around with it, I’d give it a review.  I contacted the company who sell the board, Sight and Sound, who are based in Dublin, and they lent me their demo board for the summer course I gave.

I also mentioned that the Teamboard looked like a decent prospect and guessed that it cost around €3,000-€3,500. (Update Nov ’10: €2,800).  I was absolutely right.  The Teamboard is very very similar to the Traceboard.  So, this board allows the user to interact with their finger or a pen but also allows him/her to use dry wipe markers on it.

There’s a couple of other nice features on this board.  I like the way you do a “right-click” with your finger – simply press down on the board and wait a couple of seconds.  I also like the feature that you can turn the projector off and use some “special” markers, which show up on the board.  However, as well as simply showing up on the board, if you’ve got your laptop plugged in, the laptop recognises the writing and saves it into a flipchart.  This is an extremely useful feature and very impressive.  I don’t think there’s another board out there that does this.  I will try and film a video of this in action to explain better.

The downside of this board is minor and represents the downside of almost every IWB – the software is fairly poor.  I loaded Promethean’s excellent ActivStudio on it and it became a super IWB!

I see this Interactive Whiteboard as one of the best quality that I’ve seen.  I would go as far as saying that it is about as good as the Hitachi Starboard and marginally better than the Traceboard.  Moreover, the board comes with an excellent guarantee and service.  Smartboard – beware: the touch-based IWB market is growing and you’re losing ground.

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Hitachi Starboard FX

If you’ve ever seen the film “Minority Report” and dreamed that you could be like Tom Cruise on his touchscreen computer, moving things around with two fingers, then this is the IWB for you. Unlike every other commercial IWB, this is the only board I know that lets you interact with two fingers allowing you do do cool things.

By now, it should be clear to the reader that touch IWBs impress me much more than pen-based ones. The scaremongers from certain companies always play the hygiene card and it doesn’t “wash” with me at all. I had a stand up argument (insofar as that is possible on the phone) with a salesperson trying to convince me of this drivel. Her brainwashed mind was incensed by my cheek to question what she had been told. (It felt like arguing with someone from a cult). Anyway… a touch-based interactive whiteboard that allows you to use two fingers must be twice as good. Well, in some cases it is but it comes at a cost.

The Technology

The Starboard FX from Interactive Classroom Solutions appears to use Infrared and ultrasound technologies to allow you to interact with it. It is both accurate and fun to use. I loved some of the features where you can rotate a 3D object using two fingers in all sorts of direction. I loved the fact that you can make more space on your workspace by brushing the back of your hand against the board. I loved the fact that I could play Tom Cruise in Minority Report.

The Software

Starboard comes with its own software, which is similar in design to Smart’s Notebook. For the life of me, I cannot understand why almost every company except Promethean do this as it is not primary school child friendly. The resources that are included are ok but a little mature (not in a bad way) for the primary-school child. For example, you won’t find clipart of Humpty Dumpty (I think). Starboard is the software that lets you use the “two-fingered approach”. Without it, for example, if you used a different software package like ActivStudio, this feature is not used.

The Price

The minimum price for a fully installed package with a long-throw projector is €3,798, which is somewhat dearer than its competitors.

The Quirks

The ability to use two different fingers to control the software is a great quirk. It’s a pity there isn’t much more software out there that can take advantage of this feature. With the popularity of the WiiMote IWB, perhaps, it will increase.

The Verdict

I like this board. I like the fact that two people can use it at the same time, when using the native software. It’s a pity that the software doesn’t match my needs as a primary teacher. The fact that it is over €1,000 more expensive than its competitors would turn me off. Like Smart, if their software was skinnable and they added more resources, this would be near or at the top of my wishlist.

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Imex Dualboard

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Genee Powerboard

Prim-Ed used to be the distributors of Promethean IWBs before Clarity came along and they did a brilliant job selling them with approximately 60% of schools choosing Promethean boards over others. I put this down to the excellent salesteam so with Prim-Ed now reselling two different boards now, the Hitachi Starboard and the Genee Powerboard, I had to check them out before the IPPN conference later this month.

The Genee Powerboard is incredibly similar to the Hitachi Starboard. It uses exactly the same infrared technology which allows the user to interact with the board using either their finger, pen or any other pointy object. Its software is also reasonably good. Like the Hitachi, you can use your hand to swipe the screen to make your canvas bigger. The toolbar has all the features you’d expect from IWB software and naturally you can use the IWB with any software at all.

The Genee Powerboard’s accuracy is excellent, easily as good as any others. It also comes with a decent 3 year guarantee, which is about average.
The Genee Board has a couple of features that Hitachi doesn’t. Firstly, the board is 78″ in size rather than Hitachi’s 77″, which isn’t really that important! More important is that the board has incorporated the “smart pen” system used in Smartboards. That is, there are three “magic” pens and a duster on the tray of the board. If you pick up one of these, the IWB automatically recognises its function without you having to click on the toolbar, which is useful. Genee have also decided to create their own brands of viualiser and slate which seemlessly integrate with the board, which most other’s don’t. (Update November 2010) Prim-Ed are now saying that dry wipe markers can used on the Geneeboard.

Overall, I actually think the Genee Powerboard is slightly better that the Hitachi Starboard.  One could compare the Geneeboard to the Smartboard in terms of quality.  Hitachi also beats it in is its 5-year guarantee and swap-in swap-out next day service. With all that said, from the looks of things Genee are a company that aren’t going away and seem to be growing even in these harsh economic times. Prim-Ed have secured two excellent IWBs. It will be interesting to see how they’re going to convince people that the Promethean board is no longer the board of choice.

For more information on the Genee Board, go to Prim-Ed’s web site, www.prim-ed.com

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IQBoard PS

I haven’t reviewed an interactive whiteboard for some time now and after visiting the BETT show in London last week, I found some new boards to play with including this one, the IQBoard.  Sourced by a company called Mediascene who are working in partnership with Sight and Sound, (who sell the excellent Teamboard), I had high hopes for this board.  It promised my three criteria – one you can use a magic pen with it, two you can use your finger or any other pointy device on it and three you can use a dry wipe marker on it.

From playing around with it, it is an excellent board.  It’s sturdy, accurate and has everything I could ever want with an IWB.  I don’t find this minor issue a big problem but only one user can interact with the board at a time so I wasn’t bothered by this admission from the salesperson.  The most important factor was the price.  You can get the board for around €2,195, which includes a full installation including a  projector.  This is a good price in my opinion.

Essentially the IWB market is starting to go in the same direction with touch-based and dry-wipe solutions becoming the norm.  The differences between them are minimal.  You’ll have to check out prices, guarantees, servicing and all that other stuff now as that’s becoming as important.  In the IQBoard’s case, standard guarantee is 3 years with a 5 year option available.  The other thing that’s driving the IWB market right now is all-in-one classroom solutions.  By this I mean companies are creating IWBs, slates, visualisers and other materials designed for interactivity.  The IQBoard does have accompanying slates but I’m quite happy to use different brands with different IWBs.

Mediascene have been around for many years selling computers in the early 90s and are now embarking in the IWB world with many partners.  I don’t think they’re going to disappear anywhere so you’re looking at an established company.  They have big ambitions to get the IQBoard to be the 3rd biggest selling IWB on the market within two years.  I’d imagine Prim-Ed will be trying to get that slice of the pie with the Genee Board and their new Hitachi Starboard.  It’s going to be an interesting couple of years.

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Traceboard

The great thing about blogging compared to, for example, print media is that if you write something that’s inaccurate, you can go back and make changes. My first impression of the Traceboard when I met it two years ago was that it was a Smartboard clone. I gave it a fairly average review and it probably didn’t encourage people to buy it over a Smartboard.

However, I was totally wrong. The Traceboard is not a clone of the Smartboard. Yes, it does everything a Smartboard does; but it does much more. My 3 criteria for any board (finger interaction, dry-wipe marker enabled and good service) have all the boxes ticked. The reaction time of the board and accuracy is super and it’s really really easy to get working. Simply plug in the USB plug and you’re away.

Lennox are the people selling the Traceboard and they are quite the innovators. They have already seen that the future of IWBs is no longer the software that comes with the board. Teachers don’t have the time to create professional looking flipcharts for their classes; and, let’s face it, the only decent software out there for primary level is Promethean’s ActivInspiere. So, like the UK, Lennox are utilising the efforts of third party vendors to supplement their board’s functionality. As far as I’m aware, you can also buy Wizteach, which I’ll be reviewing shortly, which looks excellent. Obviously you can download ActivInspire if you wish.

Any glitches? Not really. I’d probably ask for better speakers than the ones that are provided by default. The projector contains 5W speakers and this isn’t really loud enough for a group of 30 Junior Infants.

So basically, if the price is right, (which it currently is), this is a great addition to any school. Lennox have worked really hard with this board and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one of the major players in the Irish market for IWBs.

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Smartboard

This is the latest in Smart’s top of the range products in Interactive Whiteboards. Its big selling point is not the board itself – as that hasn’t changed – it’s the projector. The projector has changed. It’s now a fancy Toshiba projector with brilliant true-colours ensuring amore vivid images…or some sales speak like that.

The price tag is around the same price as you’d expect from the top-end (read expensive end) of the IWB market, circa €3,500-€4,000.

The Technology

At this stage, we know that Smartboards are controlled by a finger or pointy device like a pen and using a thin mesh, one can control the mouse on the board and it’s rather good and sturdy, no matter the other people say about hygiene or solidity. However, as I said, the main difference about this board is the projector that comes with it. The projector is a short-throw one, which allegedly means much less shadow, but this technology gives bolder, brighter colours.

The Software

Smart’s Notebook 10 software is included in this, which is free and includes free updates forever and ever. I don’t like Smart’s software for primary schools as it is too business-like, (much why I don’t really use MS Word for kids). One day, Smart will listen to me harping on about “skinning” Notebook. The far superior Promethean ActivStudio for an extra €99 would be a worthy addition to this whiteboard.

The Price

“Why buy a Mini when you can buy a Rolls Royce for an extra €1,000?” is what I hear from the salespeople. The reason is because €1,000 is a lot of money when you are a school and having slightly brighter colours is not justification for me to be parting with my extra €1,000. The price itself is roughly between €3,500 and €4,000 from the above companies. If you’ve been convinced by short-throw projectors, you can get a similar product (with less bright colours) for between €3,000 and €3,500.

The Quirks

The SmartBoard doesn’t have any new quirks but the Toshiba ST20 projector seems to have “brighter”, “bolder” and “more brilliant” colours. I never noticed that the colours on my projected image were terribly inferior..but there you go. Aside from all this, the projector shuts off after 30 minutes if not being used, which is very green but terribly annoying if you don’t want it to switch off.

The Verdict

By now, it should be obvious that I’m not convinced. I’m very happy driving a mini because I work in a primary school. If I worked in a big business that required my presentation to be interactive with the brightest of colours, then I might splash out and hope this technology would seal me a deal…which it might…unless the projector switched off automatically halfway through my pitch. Nope, better to check out Liosdoire’s €2,400 solution and ask for an add-on of a short throw projector and see what you get.

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Imex Interwrite

Just when I thought I’d reviewed every Interactive Whiteboard, there ever was and along comes another one.  Except, this one has been around as long as any of them.  In fact, this board has a 75% market share in Northern Ireland.  The board is called InterWrite and it’s being sold by a company called IMEX.

Well, the fact that very few of us in the south have heard of the InterWrite board is a sticking point for Imex.  The salesman I met is very eager to make Imex as well known down south as it is up North.  So what’s it all about?

Well, firstly it’s a similar product to the pen-based boards out there.  The most similar board to it is Promethean’s offering.  However, the Interwrite board offers a couple of extra things that the Promethean doesn’t.

Firstly, it has a multi-touch option where up to 9 people can interact with the board at the same time using its software.  It also has some nice shortcut buttons on the side of the board.  Another cool thing is that it can double up as a normal whiteboard, i.e. you can use dry wipe markers on it.  On top of that, you can also buy a special type of whiteboard marker for the board.  This allows you to write on the board without a projector and whatever you write shows up on the screen but can also be saved to a connected computer.

Another couple of features that the salesman pointed out was the five year warranty and the free training provided.  Impressively, the whole package with a long throw projector comes in at just under €2,600.  This compares with the Promethean reseller  €2,500 offer which does not include training.  I think Promethean resellers also only offer a 1 year warranty with their €2,500 offer too.

The only downside to this whiteboard is that it is pen-based only.  Apparantly, they are developing a widget that will turn the board into a touch-based board but this is not available at least until 2010.

I think for its price, quality and guarantee, this is a strong contender if you like pen-based boards.  I doubt they’ll have 75% market share in the south of Ireland with this board but it certainly deserves to be better known.

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TouchIT Board

I finally got my finger(!) on the TouchIT Interactive Whiteboard at the IPPN conference. For those of you who have been reading this blog, you’ll have noticed I’ve been waiting a couple of weeks to see this new and interesting development. Until now, the only IWB I knew of, where you could interact with your finger was the Smartboard. (I have since found out Hitachi do one too – but that’s another review). Well the good news is that the TouchIT is all I hoped it would be.

The thing I like about IWBs that you can touch is the amount of extra opportunities it opens to the kinesthetic learner. The folk who sell the pen controlled devices will try to scaremonger you with health and safety warnings and grubby fingers but the fact is that they wish they could be touch-based and they’re looking for ways to discredit this technology.

As I said, the only option I knew of was Smartboards who are the market leaders and provide excellent service. So, what about TouchIT?

TouchIT is sold by the rather innovative company Resources4Learning, based in Limerick. This company were the first to bring eBeams to our shores and hundreds of schools have never looked back. TouchIT is the latest IWB to enter Ireland and offers a cost-effective solution to touch-based IWBs.

The Technology

TouchIT uses Infrared beams (like the eBeam). There are four in total and their job is to create an invisible mesh on the whiteboard which is broken by a finger (or any pointy device) touching the board. This broken mesh sends co-ordinates to the computer and voila, you’ve got an interactive whiteboard.

The Software

At the moment, TouchIT comes with Easiteach, which is an very good piece of software. It can be extended (unlike other software) to include Science Packs, Maths Packs, Dance Mats, etc. However, because Promethean are releasing ActivStudio as a download in March 2009, you will also be able to get the board with this software. I must admit the new ActivStudio is rather excellent so it’s worth getting this.

The Price

As with all IWBs, the price of TouchIT depends on what you want and how many you get. It can be sold as a complete package – installed in your school ready to use – for about €2,500 or less. However, if you already have a projector, you can minus that from the cost. Also, if you want someone else to install it, again, that can be deducted.

The Quirks

The thing I like about the TouchIT over its competitors is the fact it can double up as a normal whiteboard when it’s not being used as an IWB. This saves the bother of having 2 spearate boards in our very small classrooms. I also like the personal after-sales service and the genuine belief that John Hughes, the head of Resources4Learning, has in his products.

The Verdict

I now have a new favourite Interactive Whiteboard. TouchIT has now given us a cheaper option than SmartBoard (except Liosdoire’s offer, though watch this space!) but it has also given us an added feature to touchscreen IWBs – and that is the ability to use them as normal whiteboards.

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Epson EB-450Wi

The lines have been blurred! Here is a projector that doubles up as an Interactive Whiteboard. Epson are an international company who have a base in Ireland and will be selling this board. According to some press release, this combined projector and IWB will

“shake up the interactive whiteboard (IWB) market, two projector manufacturers have just released new products that can turn virtually any surface into an IWB.

The development means schools no longer have to buy separate hardware to enjoy the benefits of IWBs, whose interactive surface and ability to engage students have made them quite popular in classrooms.” (http://www.eschoolnews.com)

So will it be a “game-changer”? Will we no longer be buying Interactive Whiteboards as we know them? The simple answer is: It depends.

It depends on price. I haven’t got a definite Irish retail price but from converting the UK rate, it works out at around €1,800. This is a good start. The minimum price for an Interactive Whiteboard with short throw projector is at least €200 more expensive.

It also depends on its accuracy. I tested the IWB with its pen and found it to be incredibly accurate. This is also good.

It also depends on how good it is compared to other IWBs on the market. Well, I’d be worried if I were a manufacturer of pen-based IWBs. Boards based on eBeam or Mimio should be very afraid. This projector has easily as good functioning as these brands and comes in a few hundred euro cheaper. I’d probably be a little worried if I were Promethean or any of their clones. This projector wipes out the need for these boards in every way as not only do they utilise pen-input, if they are projected onto a matt-whiteboard, they double up as normal dry-wipe boards. Now, if you’re a manufacturer of any of the touch-based boards, I wouldn’t worry…yet.

Soon this technology, if it’s successful, may become ubiquitous in schools due to their cheapness and the fact that they’ll probably be allowed under the NCTE purchasing framework. (They are projectors first and foremost).

IF Epson get this right, they could easily take a massive chunk of the IWB market. With other smaller companies starting to produce these types of projectors in the UK, it’s not long before one of them will travel to Ireland and clean up. Having said that, I won’t be buying until they develop a touch-based version of their hybrid projector/IWB. But when that day comes, it will truly be ground-breaking.

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