Tech of the Month is a monthly series contributed by Mike Dannenberg, Associate Principal and Director of New & Emerging Technologies. The monthly Tech of the Month post highlights interesting technologies we’ve seen on our projects or that we believe represent game-changing technologies. We’ll cover how the technology can be used, its key features, pros and cons and will end by answering the question “Would I Spend My Own Money on This Technology?”.
Why Are We Featuring the Samsung Flip?
The Samsung Flip is a portable digital flipchart that can drive more productive and efficient collaboration – and can be set up with minimal effort. The Flip has been on our radar for more than a year as Mike Dannenberg participated in the product development for the Flip and worked with the product team to identify requirements and test prototypes.
What are the Key Use Cases for the Samsung Flip?
Paper-based flipcharts have been a staple in offices, boardrooms and classrooms for decades because they enable quick and easy collaboration. While traditional flipcharts can get the job done, they are a clunky and inefficient way to capture, collaborate with and save the information written on the flipcharts.
The Flip takes the flipchart into the digital world as anything written on the board is captured and digitally stored. Documents can be shared, annotated, saved to the cloud, emailed directly from the Flip, or printed. Since the Flip is portable, it can be rolled from room to room and shared among different groups. Unlike paper flipcharts, the Flip can integrate with PCs, tablets, or smartphones using HDMI, USB, screen mirroring, and wireless or NFC connectivity.
Flip being demoed in the Vantage Office during an A4LE event
A Flip can be used anywhere you may be using a paper flipchart such as a classroom, office, huddle space, conference room, or lobby. Samsung touts the Flip for creative thinking, team collaboration, and innovation across almost every industry. For the educational market, these can be a valuable addition to an active learning space for each team collaboration cluster.
What are the Key Features of the Samsung Flip?
The key features of the Samsung Flip are:
- 55-inch display can be easily rotated to display in portrait or landscape modes
- Connect a PC, tablet, phone, or USB storage device via HDMI, wireless (Windows 10), screen mirroring, or NFC to import active content for display
- Ability to capture any screen content for static inclusion in notes permitting annotations over
- Stylus allows you to write on the Flip with various pen sizes or colors
- Save and output anything on the flip to a file, USB device, or send directly to a printer
- Built-in speaker
What are the Pros and Cons of the Samsung Flip?
Pros
- Easy to set up
- Cost effective – approximately $2,600 plus $800 for the Flip portable cart when compared to the alternatives of the Microsoft Surface Hub ($9,500) or SMART Smart Board interactive display ($6,400)
- Easy to move around and share within an office environment or classroom
- Easy to get share content from a laptop or mobile device
- More user-friendly than some of the alternatives
Cons
- Expensive when compared to the paper and marker alternative
- While you can roll the cart around an office or classroom, it is not easy to transport it in a vehicle or take it outside of the building
- It is not always intuitive to change pen colors and widths
- There is no output or integrated camera found on other more costly models
- You must add your own camera to use for video (web) conferencing
- You need a Samsung smartphone to use the connected-smartphone functionality
- Stylus is not pressure sensitive
Would I Spend My Own Money on this Technology?
Yes, I would spend my own money on this technology.
Such a multi-use device at a price point like the Samsung Flip is something that would get a lot of use around my house. I could see using the flip as an extra monitor that I can roll anywhere in my house, for creating pros and cons lists with my family (it would have been useful for my son’s university planning) and even for interactive games such as a using the Flip as a pictionary drawing pad.
“It would be awesome to have a monitor that I could roll anywhere in the house.”
Where Can I Learn More About the Samsung Flip?
Here are some additional resources if you want to learn more about the Samsung Flip:
- Why Educators Will Flip over a New Kind of Smartboard– a whitepaper providing an overview of how the Flip can be used in classrooms
- Samsung Flip Brings Portability Interactive Whiteboard – a review from BizTech Magazine
- Video of Enhanced Features of the Samsung Flip – a video from Samsung
- Cool Digital Flipchart with a Lot of Potential – a review of the flip from IBV