Qomo BundleBoard G vs. BenQ Board

Qomo and BenQ have products installed in thousands of classrooms in North America.  While the features on the new BundleBoard G interactive display fall short of BenQ’s top-of-the-line RP series – it is a solid matchup for the BenQBoard RE interactive displays   So how do these two mainstream classroom interactive displays compare – and which one is right for your school? 

Here are the key elements to review:

·         Display Brightness and Contrast

·         In-Person and Remote Whiteboard Functionality

·         Classroom and Lesson Recording Features

·         Health and Safety Features for students and teachers

·         How easy – and secure – is it for a teacher to log in?

·         How easy to manage?

The brightness specification of a display is a key feature in any classroom display – since brighter displays with high contrast ratios are easier for students to read – especially from the back of the room.   The BenQBoard RE is nearly 20% brighter than many other classroom TV smart boards, enabling the screen to be easy to read in a bright room.  The Qomo BundleBoard does not provide any brightness or contrast specifications on its website.  The expected lifespan of the LED is also not disclosed.

Interactive displays are the perfect tool for hybrid classrooms.  The ability to run a Zoom or Team app directly from the display, as well as record and share lessons, enables these displays to be far more functional than a projector or interactive whiteboard.  So, what are the functional whiteboard features you want to look for?

Touch Sensor: BenQ Fine IR vs. Qomo IR

To better simulate the experience of using a real marker, the best interactive displays use highly sensitive IR touch systems that optically bond the sensor to the glass – enabling an instant response and a smoother, more intuitive writing experience.  The BenQ system is called “FineIR,” Promethean’s system is called Vellum, while the SMART version of this is called HyprTouch. 

The Qomo BundleBoard G has standard IR touch like other less expensive classroom displays, including earlier models of the BenQ boards.  

Whiteboard Object Recognition

Both BenQ Board and Qomo BundleBoard G boards each recognize 20 points of touch, offer palm erasers, and can recognize inputs from both pen and finger.  The higher-end BenQ Board RP series can recognize up to 40 different points of touch. The BenQ Board can convert handwritten shapes, letters, and numbers into computer text – even in multiple languages like Japanese, Spanish, and Mandarin.  

In-Person vs Cloud Whiteboarding

Hybrid learning is essential to enable students in – and out of the classroom to have the same learning experience.  Both Qomo and BenQ interactive displays are more than capable touch panels for in-person learning – and have the ability for cloud-based whiteboarding.

A cloud whiteboarding system in a classroom smart board enables the teacher in the classroom to interact with remote students in real-time via their device at home, making it easy for remote tutoring or coaching.  For example, the teacher can send a link or a QR code and broadcast directly from the board to a student's Chromebook or iPad logged into their home network.  Since the system is network agnostic, it enables unprecedented flexibility for teachers and students that complement other classroom systems such as Zoom or Teams.  Powerful cloud whiteboarding features like this are why BenQ Boards are the world’s most awarded education touch displays.  There are no additional licensing fees for this software.

Qomo BundleBoard G comes with whiteboard software, Flow!Works Pro and a learning program called Oktopus that is published by another interactive display company, Boxlight.  Flow!Works Pro does not have any cloud whiteboarding capabilities.

The ability to record, store and replay lessons to students who are not in the classroom is a key element in improving student performance in hybrid classrooms.  Why?  If a student misses a day or two of Algebra 1 – it could take weeks or months to catch up to the rest of the class.  The best interactive displays have the right hardware, software, and networking architecture to make recording a lesson as simple as a two-finger tap.  What should you look for to ensure your teachers can easily store and share their lessons?

How easy is it to record a lecture from the interactive display?

The best interactive displays make it simple to record any lesson – at any time – using any software running on the panel – and store that lesson anywhere on the school network or the cloud.  The BenQ Board interactive display enables instant recording directly on the board with a single two-finger tap.  This enables a teacher to record any lesson – from any software or application that is running on the board.  This means there are no extra applications that need to be loaded or run – making it easier for teachers to record their classes.

The Qomo BundleBoard G does not come with any built-in lecture capture software.  

A school should be more than a forum for learning; it should be designed with safety in mind. The same goes for the products and systems that help that school function. Fortunately, many of today’s leading display manufacturers design their boards with safety in mind.

Glass Hardness and Anti-Microbial Coatings

All BenQ Board screens feature heat-tempered hardened glass, and both are treated to reduce glare.  The BenQ display is the only one coated with an anti-microbial coating, which is then baked onto the glass. This model has been certified by Europe’s TUV against the five most common types of bacteria, including e. Coli, Salmonella, and pneumonia.  The BenQ display is also certified as classroom safe and toxin-free under Japan’s SIAA standard tests for potential risks such as long-term touch and oral toxicity. Qomo’s website doesn’t have any specifications for either antimicrobial coatings or hardened glass.

Blue Light Protection

The BenQ interactive displays and all BenQ desktop monitors come standard with TUV-certified blue light filtering features built in. The sensor on the BenQ’s display senses when a teacher or student approaches the display – will adjust the blue light automatically, minimizing the risk to students and teachers from excessive blue light exposure.  Qomo BundleBoard G does not offer any blue light protection certifications for teachers or students.

LED-Flicker

This is a unique feature of the BenQ touch display; the flicker-free screen makes long-term use of the board much easier on one’s eyes. Unlike those with traditional incandescent or fluorescent backlights, LED-powered displays can have a nearly invisible flicker that can be harmful to the eyes. This was originally a problem with LED-powered gaming monitors, and so BenQ invented a flicker-free backlight that provides great color and brightness – without the harmful flicker. This technology also has been certified by TUV and is not listed as a feature on the Qomo BundleBoard G display specification sheet.

Classroom Air Quality

Remember back to your days as a student. Recall any boring, stuffy days where you felt stuck indoors? It’s reasonable to conclude students today feel the same way now and then. Recent studies have even demonstrated that higher levels of CO₂ in a room cause people to become drowsy and pay less attention.

The BenQ RP interactive display comes with a built-in CO₂ meter that alerts the teacher it’s time to open a window. BenQ even takes this approach a step further and will also alert the teacher if levels of dust and particulate matter in the room are dangerously high. 

For Teachers: Account Management and Logging-In

Qomo and BenQ have two different approaches to how a teacher engages with the display in the classroom.

The Qomo BundleBoard display Android system will default to a home screen.  While this makes it consistent from one display to another – it exposes the settings to anyone who wants to change them – such as a student changing the network settings or language settings to disrupt the classroom.  While you can personalize the panel using a dedicated PC or teacher laptop – this requires extra cost and configuration by the IT department.

The BenQ Board is different.  The generic settings are protected – but it is designed for a teacher to store their personal profile and customized settings to be stored in the cloud, meaning a teacher can log in to their personal “board space” from any connected display on campus. That means the same display will adapt to any teacher that is using it – including backgrounds, apps, and network connections.

To enable personalization, the teacher merely scans a QR code, and it will reconfigure itself to his/her settings in just seconds.  Once they log out, the next teacher can tap the panel, and it will reconfigure itself for them.  The system is easy to use – and very secure since no passwords are typed into the screen.

For IT Administrators: Device Management

Both the Qomo and BenQ boards have been designed with remote management in mind. BenQ’s solution is the Device Management Solution, while Qomo is an authorized reseller of third-party software called Radix VISO.  Both DMS systems permit admins to push settings, updates, apps, and campus-wide messages to any or all boards in their network.

 The BenQ’s DMS enables advanced functions without any existing licensing costs, such as the ability to push or remove apps, send text, video, or graphic messages to any display, and modify the settings remotely.  In addition, the BenQ DMS can support a larger number of devices.  This software can control any model of BenQ interactive displays, BenQ projectors, and BenQ wireless presentation systems such as InstaShow. Still, it will also control popular legacy projectors like Sony, Epson, Hitachi, and NEC.   This means with BenQ, your department can remotely control more equipment from one screen without having to budget for costly software licenses.

In addition, to reduce the extra work of managing a special database for these displays, school IT admins will like the fact that BenQ’s account management system also integrates with Active Directory.    

While both models share similar features such as wireless screen mirroring, screen messaging applications, and centralized management software, understanding the key differences will help you decide which brand of interactive touch display will be right for your classroom.

It’s important to do research and consult important stakeholders before deciding which board your school district should adopt. As we’ve mentioned, both displays are high-resolution, IR-based touchscreens manufactured by trusted brands. But there are some major advantages that BenQ brings to the table that can make a difference to a school that might want more flexibility in its curriculum. When deciding on your chosen solution, consider the following differences:

·      The BenQ Board display has advanced IR sensors that are optically bonded to the glass and recognize any object applied to the screen surface, whether it be a fingertip, stylus, or even a paintbrush

·      The BenQ Board has more advanced classroom safety features, including anti-microbial glass, automatic blue light filters, and a flicker-free screen that helps protect the user’s vision.

·      BenQ’s Tap ‘N Teach QR code login technology enables instant, wireless, secure teacher login – and can be easily integrated with Active Directory. With a single tap, an enrolled teacher can transform any board on campus into their board in under 10 seconds.

·      BenQ DMS allows school IT admins to manage BenQ displays, projectors, and even equipment from displays from legacy brands, including Epson, NEC, Hitachi, and Casio

·      BenQ panels are designed and tested to run a wide variety of classroom education curriculum including Smart Notebook, ActiveInspire, Google Classroom, Microsoft Whiteboard, and dozens of other curriculum software platforms (including Mimeo) to enable teachers to switch learning.