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The Blank Slate Case Adds an E-ink Screen to Your iPhone

Frustrated by the perpetually-delayed PopSlate and can’t get your hands on the InkCase from Gajah? Then you might want to keep an eye on a new case maker I just discovered.

blank slate

While I was in the E-ink booth on Tuesday I happened to run into Neil Blank. He’s the principal of nBlank, a product development consulting firm, and he showed me nBlank’s latest project. It’s called the Blank Slate, and like the PopSlate and the InkCase the Blank Slate adds a second E-ink screen to your iPhone.

The Blank Slate case sports a 3.5″ E-ink screen (640 x 360) and connects to the iPhone via the lightening connector. Unlike the InkCase, this isn’t intended to be a BT accessory but an integrated component.

blank slate 1

This case is still in the early development stages, and in fact the prototype I saw wasn’t even a pre-production model. It worked, yes, but from the way it was described this was a "everything fits in the case, and it works" model. nBlank has been working on the Blank Slate for about 6 months, so the fact that they have a working model is remarkable.

I don’t have any firm details on when it will hit the market, but I do know that it will go through at least one design iteration before going into production. Until then, all I have is this demo video that Neil posted on Youtube:

Update: Here’s a gallery of photos which show the Blankslate and the InkCase side by side. I wasn’t allowed to mess with the BlankSlate too much, but I did get permission to set them on a tablet and take photos.

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Comments


Bonnie @ A Backwards Story January 8, 2014 um 10:39 am

That is AWESOME! If only everyone could do it. I’ve been waiting for color e-ink, but going in reverse? That works, too!


Tricia Ang March 21, 2014 um 12:45 pm

Bonnie,

A lot of folks have asked us about colored e-ink screens. Currently colored e-ink screens are available but costs to bring that to the consumer market is fairly high at the moment. We expect the prices will come down significantly in the near future, but not just yet! In the meantime, we at nBlank.com are bringing the 3.5″ e-ink screens integrating that into an iPhone 5/5S case and bringing that to the market, along with some fun apps! Check the nBlank site for updates coming real soon!


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