Following from my last article about Interactive Whiteboards, it appears that things have changed a little. Promethean have felt the heat and have restructured their pricing. It no longer costs over €6,000 to buy their IWB solution. According to Louise Moore from Promethean on the CESI Discussion List, you can buy a range of their solutions from €800 to €4995. But what do you get for your money?

To be honest the €800 option is not an option. It’s only really an add-on if you’ve already got a Promethean board. It’s also just a graphics tablet. I can buy them for €40 anywhere else and integrate them with any other IWB.
They also have a €3995 option. This, in my opinion, brings them almost in line with other permanent IWB solutions price-wise. However, I still think it’s far too much money to spend when the equivalent portable solution (including fitting, training and software) costs about half that. Promethean’s €4,995 option has a short-throw projector by the way.
So… I guess if you were still obssessed with getting a permanent IWB, Promethean have edged back in the price war. It puts pressure on Smart anyway to do something. However, I still 100% believe that portable solutions are the best option for Primary schools. Remember a portable solution can easily become a permanent solution by simply not moving it.