We are back with another installment of our interactive display comparison videos. Previous videos looked at the SMART Board versus the Promethean ActivPanel and the SMART Board versus the Clear Touch Interactive. This time, the team compares the SMART Board 6065 with the Sharp Aquos flat panel.

As with our previous videos, we are looking at the most basic usability features of these products: how quickly they turn on, and how quickly can you begin using them to by writing with digital ink. We compare both interactive flat panels side-by-side, and in real-time. The results speak for themselves, but here are a few things to note.

• Startup time: Unlike the other interactive displays we have compared with SMART, the Sharp Aquos Board actually starts pretty quickly. The SMART Board was slightly faster, but you will not lose too much instructional time as you would with the Promethean we tested. That is until you try to use it.
• Annotation: Simply writing over an application is the most basic feature these products should do, and this is where the real difference can be seen. Writing in digital ink with simultaneous users was easy and intuitive on the SMART Board, and we accomplished it without any issues. You can easily see how you could have at least two students collaborating on a lesson while standing at the SMART Board. The Sharp Aquos display, however, did not have the capacity to support multiple users as seamlessly.Notice at around the 30-second mark, trying to write with digital ink over an image in a web browser was problematic. The image moved and zoomed, causing a lot of confusion. We had to open the Sharp touch overlay software, and even then, both Jake and Rossana could not use the Sharp panel at the same time.
• SMART Notebook: Once we switch to using SMART Notebook, the SMART Board has the clear advantage. SMART Notebook will always work best on a SMART Board, and anyone that tells you that it will be the same experience on a different interactive flat panel (IFP) is just wrong.
• Pens: When we first set up the Sharp panel, we were surprised that it only came with one pen. Many IFP manufacturers tout multiple points of touch as a competitive differentiator, as if it is equal to the ability to have multiple students collaborating at the IFP at the same time. How can two students write at the same time with a single pen? You lose all of the benefits of being able to use a pen for writing, your finger for touch, and your palm for erasing with the Sharp IFP. I guess if you are deciding to purchase a Sharp Aquos IFP, make sure you spring for the additional pen.

While the Sharp Aquos IFP was quick to startup, I cannot imagine the level of frustration a teacher or student would have when trying to use it. This would be even worse if I was used to using a SMART Board, and then had to switch to using Sharp.

ICYMI: As we have mentioned before in these features, Teq is a proud retailer of SMART Boards. When it comes to interactive displays, we haven’t been able to find a product that can compete with SMART.

If you’d like to try these displays, you can schedule a time to visit our showroom or schedule a demo with the Teq Squad.
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