QuirkLogic's new E-Ink whiteboard is a giant kindle for your office

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By Matthew Griffin Industrial Revolution 7th January 2017

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

E-Ink is one of those technologies that won’t set the world alight, but it’s going through a renaissance and it still has a place in the market

Backlit touch screens have, arguably, helped propel smart phone and tablet sales into the stratosphere ever since they were first bought to the market back in the early 2000’s. After all, if you couldn’t see what was on your screen then it’s unlikely that you’d have ever bought them in the first place. That said though back lights are rubbish if you want to use your iPad, or other tablet device, outside for reading and that’s where E-Ink first found it’s niche – on Amazon’s Kindle range of e-book readers.

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For the past few years E-Ink technology has been relegated to the boring seats, behind the pillar, up in the heavens – an interesting technology that serves its niche well, but nothing more. But now, a new product from Canadian company QuirkLogic, called Quilla hopes to rejuvenate the E-Ink market and to do so they’ve bought out the world’s first touchscreen powered “Connected E-Writer.” Basically it’s a giant Kindle for the wall in your office – it boasts a ludicrous 42 inch ePaper display – and it’s trying to be an intelligent whiteboard, and, it has to be said it kinda works. Not only can you draw on it freehand with the appropriate stylus, you can also upload and display complex images like schematics, or anything else it would be handy to annotate, then, once you’re finished with them you can E-Mail them out to people for review.

Whiteboards are so 80’s… and with a Quilla there’s no messing around trying to figure out if the pen you just picked up is a permanent marker. Oh yes, the guys in facilities love it when some idiot’s drawn on the whiteboard using a permanent marker.

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The Quilla is shouldering its way into an apparently booming market, and they’re not alone, Microsoft too are trying to replace the humble whiteboard with their new $7,000 Microsoft Hub, which in its case is more like a massive Surface than a massive Kindle. So, it’s 2017 and if you’re really bored, or you have some of last years budget left to spend then why not upgrade your whiteboards?

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Matthew Griffin, described as “The Adviser behind the Advisers” and a “Young Kurzweil,” is the founder and CEO of the World Futures Forum and the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures consultancy working across the next 50 years, and is an award winning futurist, and author of “Codex of the Future” series.

Regularly featured in the global media, including AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, RT, Viacom, and WIRED, Matthew’s ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of revolutionary emerging technologies on global culture, industry and society, is unparalleled. Recognised for the past six years as one of the world’s foremost futurists, innovation and strategy experts Matthew is an international speaker who helps governments, investors, multi-nationals and regulators around the world envision, build and lead an inclusive, sustainable future.

A rare talent Matthew’s recent work includes mentoring Lunar XPrize teams, re-envisioning global education and training with the G20, and helping the world’s largest organisations envision and ideate the future of their products and services, industries, and countries.

Matthew's clients include three Prime Ministers and several governments, including the G7, Accenture, Aon, Bain & Co, BCG, Credit Suisse, Dell EMC, Dentons, Deloitte, E&Y, GEMS, Huawei, JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, Lego, McKinsey, PWC, Qualcomm, SAP, Samsung, Sopra Steria, T-Mobile, and many more.