Surfers need momentum to come up to pace and successfully ride big waves. Noisy jet-skis are typically what is used to tow surfers now, they will be a thing of the past soon.

WaveJet provides the surfer the necessary momentum to catch a big wave without requiring a large towing vehicle or a partner to do the duties.   The core of the WaveJet system is a pod which can be fitted under any Wave-jet compatible board of any size or kind, including surfboards, paddleboards, boogie boards and rescue boards.

The advantage of its design is that it fits flat under the board and doesn’t affect its balance nor does it interfere with the ride. It uses two aluminum impellers within the pod to give up to 20 lbs. of thrust, which translates into a speed of almost 12mph.   That should push you onto the biggest wave at Mavericks, California, or any other “big” place for that matter.

But apart from providing adrenalin to surfers, WaveJet will become an important tool in the hands of lifeguard as it enables a rather compact and quick way to reach victim amongst the wake and crashing waves.

Besides the innovative and non-obstructive motor, the WaveJet’s wireless control system is convenient for the surfer doing the balancing act while standing and “walking on water”.

Check out the video.

The surfer can control the motors using wireless remote controls on the wrist. The wireless system keeps the surfer’s hands free and doesn’t tie him to the board. The wristband also monitors the battery of the motor and has the ability to cut the motor once the board is more than a leash-length away from surfer.

So the surfer needn’t worry about the board propelling itself away after bailing.

The rechargeable lithium-ion battery gives almost 45 minutes of run time, but then no surfer will be using the motor continuously. So it means the juice in the motors will last even more, if not for a whole day of fun at the beach.

Surfers and other industry professionals have been testing the WaveJet and it’s going to hit the markets next month. This year, the WaveJet will be provided in surfboard, boogie board and stand-up paddle boards, while its scope will be extended to kayaks and other models next year.

The delivery of WaveJet will begin in the mid of May. The pod price will be $2,500, and could be used with WaveJet-ready boards. Recreational boards will cost $4,395 while rescue board packages start at $4,150.

The post WaveJet: First Ever Internally Propelled Surfboard with 20 lbs of Thrust appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

My desk is littered with post-it notes and scraps of paper that are scribbled with to-do lists, reminders and important dates. The original 8.5-inch Boogie Board LCD tablet, a digital replacement for note pads, appealed to my desire to quit wasting so much paper. If I could cut back on my tree consumption for only $30, I’d be pretty happy.

The only problem I could see with the Boogie Board is that it didn’t have permanent storage. The only thing it would function as for me would be for a daily to-do list. I couldn’t set up reminders for weeks in advance, or save an important note. Once the Boogie Board got too cluttered to squeeze in any more notes, I’d have to erase it and all those notes would be gone. Also, the 3V watch battery was not replaceable. But the good thing is the device could retain the scribbles without needing to power the display, which ensured that the Boogie Board could last for 50,000 refreshes.

Improv Electronics has now announced some new additions to the Boogie Board, which aim to appease critics of the non-replaceable battery. The new 10.5 LCD Writing Tablet has a bigger-screen, binder-friendly casing and runs on two AAAA-sized user-replaceable batteries. It costs $59.95 US. Yay for the low-energy, replaceable batteries, but does that and the bigger screen really warrant an extra $30?

For those not wanting to upgrade, there’s a new accessory for the old 8.5 inch Boogie Board that allows the board to be attached to a fridge door, wall or almost any other flat surface. The Boogie Board Message Center includes a reversible cork/metal insert underneath the main tablet area for push pin or magnetic paper notes. It costs $19.95. Improv Electronics is also going to release a new version of the 8.5-inch model, housed in a special casing that includes holes for clipping into two, three and four ring binders and a holder for the included stylus. It’s priced at US $44.95. Does new casing really warrant an additional $15?

I don’t know if I can justify spending close to $50 or more on something that doesn’t have permanent storage, though it would be an excellent addition to the kitchen or hallway for kids to write reminders or amuse themselves the way they used to with an Etch A Sketch. The new additions will start shipping in July.

The post New Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablets Announced appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Among 2011′s impending hail of new tablet releases, there’s one slate that’s going to stand out among the rest in its single-function, single-colour glory: The NoteSlate.  An upgrade to the Boogie Board of yesteryear.

I fondly remember that day near the end of 2009 when me and my at-the-time girlfriend discovered our Sony Reader Touch’s drawing program. We wrote silly notes and drew silly pictures with the little stylus on the little screen; it brought us whole minutes of cheap laughs and good times.

Come June, the NoteSlate will take those good times to the next level – or a lower level. Possibly a different podium at the same level.

It basically looks like a tiny, sleek 13″ chalkboard or whiteboard, depending on which colour scheme you choose. Its touchable 750 x 1080 eInk display (whether that’s the same E Ink-brand display you’ll find in the Kindle is yet to be announced) runs almost right to the edges, giving some style to your either black-on-white or white-on-black doodles. That is, until the release of three single-colour-on-black versions are released down the road, as well as an all-three-colours-on-black version. It’s also got a full-sized stylus, offering the option of drawing or writing comfortably as opposed to solely using your fingers.  A USB charging port, SD slot where screen captures are saved to, and a slot for the stylus.  The three buttons across the bottom are Save Picture, View Last and Erase.

But that’s all it can do: Be the medium for and storage place of your notes and drawings. I mean, it plays MP3s, too. But what doesn’t these days?

That said, it’s not all bad. At $99 and with 180 hours of battery life, that’ll get you through more than a semester’s worth of college lectures on a single charge and within a student’s budget. And they do have big plans for the device.

Its initial release will be the bare-bones note taker, but it’ll be an open-sourced bare-bones note taker. Version 1.5 plans for PDF and text viewing capabilities, with version 2 incorporating OCR handwriting-to-text. Once this happens, it may really carve out a niche in the student demographic.

[Engadget, Zive via NoteSlate

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Boogie Board LCD tablet on top of Apple's iPad

We have come a long way in technology since then, and the latest generation of Etch A Sketch-like technology is now in the form of the Boogie Board. An inevitable evolution stemming from LCD technology, and thanks to it becoming so cheap; Improv Electronics was able to make the Boogie Board and sell it for a mere $30.

The Boogie Board objective is to cut back on the amount of paper we use. By aiming to replace memo pads, sketchbooks, sticky notes, dry erase boards, and whatever else we scribble on to save more ancient forests across the planet.

Features and Design
The Boogie Board is plain Jane, aside from the screen itself, there is literally one button on it, erase. The screen is a good size, although I was expecting it to be a bit larger. The stylus that comes with it is high quality. It telescopes in length; it’s balanced nicely and slides smoothly across the screen surface. I was a bit disappointed in the brightness of the impression left on the display, the website and press photos show a bright neon green image, but in actuality it is much darker.

It is solid, very thin at only 1/8”, and light enough to be stuck to your fridge with some heavy-duty magnets. The screen itself is an LCD made of liquid crystals, just like the screen you are probably looking at now. Popular Science ran a feature on the Boogie Board’s insides, explaining the different layers and particles involved in the making of your image, and the erasing of it. Basically you are pushing the crystals around with some type of pen, finger or anything to create pressure. When the board senses pressure, tiny molecules arrange themselves into spirals, joining together to form the image that reflects light. To do this does not require any power, and this is why it can go for so long on a single 3V battery. The only time the juice is used is when you erase. At that time the spirals are broken apart and reset into darkness.

Boogie Board LCD tablet: How it works

Overall Performance
There is no backlight, so reading in the dark is not possible. Battery life is expected to last for 50,000 refreshes. That’s impressive, but being a green product I would expect the battery to be able to be changed. Perhaps the screen suffers from decay at 50,000 cycles, so Improv Electronics did not bother with making the 3V watch battery replaceable. Being one who likes to take things apart, I wanted to see if it could be replaced in some way. I managed to pry the top side open; it’s just locked in with small fragile plastic clips. The 3V battery is in the absolute center and is soldered to one of the terminals. If you are a bit crafty and completely opened it up, cut the solder link to the 3V and soldered a new one on, or just stuck it down with some good glue, I could see it being done. And if you are at the point where your battery is already dead, you really have nothing to lose.

Bottom Line
Priced at only $30, the Boogie Board is quite the deal for quick notes and other doodles you may not need for longer than a day. The erase button is setup in such a way that you wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally pressing it, and erasing your directions for example. It’s very well designed, lightweight, and a good way to save some trees. I think Improv Electronics could perhaps get a bit more green on their production methods. The LCD is made in the USA, then shipped to China to be completed with the China made PCB, case and stylus, then shipped back to USA to be sold. I’m sure it could all be made in the USA, but then it wouldn’t be $30 now would it. Only a small price to pay for saving the forest.

Company Website: MyBoogieBoard

The post Boogie Board LCD tablet review appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Built with a Reflex LCD, power is only needed when you erase the screen, drawing and scribbling on the screen requires no power at all. At only $29.97 and one battery lasting 50,000 erases, I really can’t think of any better way to stop using paper post it notes, or those messy white boards which never really erase properly in the first place. The future? Perhaps classrooms with entire walls covered in Boogie Boards, gone are the days of chalk.

[Gizmodo via Crunchgear]

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