Smart Debuts Notebook 10; New Whiteboards Also Launched
Smart Technologies this week debuted a new full-version update of its Notebook collaborative learning software and also launched new interactive whiteboard systems. The new Notebook 10, which will make its first public appearance at the Macworld Conference and Expo next week in San Francisco, adds 30 new features for lesson creation and delivery.
Among Notebook 10's new features are a variety of composition, presentation, and creativity tools, including a tool for creating tables; "Magic Pen" for spotlighting, magnifying, and zooming images; an "Active Alignment" tool for aligning objects accurately; and a new pen for creating shapes freehand. It also includes additional multimedia features, such as the ability to animate any Notebook object and to record and play back presentations step by step. Other, more general new features include:
- More than 100,000 new, searchable pieces of content;
- Support for reusable themes;
- The ability to create page groups;
- A new Properties tab for changing object attributes;
- Additional languages for the Windows version;
- An updated teachers' resource hub for lesson activities and activity creation help; and
- Additional tools to help IT managers install and monitor Notebook.
Smart is also debuting two new interactive Smart Boards. These include the Smart Board 680i and the Smart Board 685. The new 680i is an update to the previous model of the same name. The second-generation 680i includes a new Unifi 45 projector and a reduced base price point. The Unifi 45 is a 2,000-lumen projector with a resolution of 1,024 x 768 (XGA). The unit includes the 77-inch Smart Board 680 whiteboard.
The Smart Board 685 is a wide-format (16:10) interactive whiteboard that offers an 87-inch active area. It also incorporates an expansion slot on the pen tray for upgrading the system down the road.
Notebook 10 is expected to be released this spring free for Smart customers as a free, downloadable update and will be included with all Smart Board interactive whiteboards, Sympodium interactive pen displays, Senteo interactive response systems, and AirLiner wireless slates. (A stand-alone version is also available for users of classroom systems from other vendors. Pricing for this option was not available at press time.) The Smart Board 680i will be available in February for $3,299 (education pricing for the complete system) or $2,099 for the projector and height-adjustable wall mount. The Smart Board 685 will be available in April. Pricing has not yet been announced for the Smart Board 685.
The new technologies will be exhibited Jan. 15 through 18 at Smart's booth at the Macworld Expo (booth S-2508).
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