Which Promethean whiteboards to go for - 300 or 100 series

[steves222]

Grateful for advice on choosing new Promethean whiteboards. We currently have approx 60 of the older type of Promethean whiteboards (around 5 to 10 years old) , they work great. I am now looking at buying a few more and was looking at the 300 series (372 model) or the 100 series boards - all with short throw projectors. I can see that the series 300 board has integrated sound whereas the 100 does not (external speaker not a problem for us). If you want height adjustable then you would go for the 300 series but if not would you go for the 300 or the 100 series? Seems that the 300 series is more expensive and much bulkier/heavier than the 100 series. But am I missing something. Any advice welcome.

Steve

[cmssbrie]

Hi Steve,

The 100 Series board is the "entry" level variant, and is only sold in 64" and 78" variants. It comes with a USB cable, 2 "Teacher" pens and Inspire Personal Edition

The 300 Pro range comes with an inbuilt amp and speakers, 2 x Teacher Pens, 2 x Student pens, 2 x USB Ports (on the board) and Inspire Professional.

In terms of "use" the boards function in exactly the same way (i.e the pen controls the cursor of the computer).

Honestly do not know anything about pricing - but to my knowledge, if you baught the 100 Series Board, you would also need to purchase an Inspire "Pro" upgrade if you wanted it.

Might be best contacting your local reseller, but hopefully this gives you a bit of info!

[timzim]

We have a mix of 100s and 300s. The 300s are cracking! They are mounted on a frame but it only sticks out of the wall by about 10cm, incl;uding the board, and the boards can be moved up and down using a little built in motor (instead of the previous ones which needed hauling up & down manually). I think they're ideal for primary as you can lower them right down to toddler height, or for secondary if you have both short & tall teachers using the same room. The bulit i speakers are an added bonus and the sound is good from them too.
You do need to change your software (from ActiveStudio to ActiveInspire) but you can use the newer software on the old boards so you just upgrade the lot.