Vestaboard split-flap message board review: Impractical, overpriced and the coolest thing in my house
This would make a fantastic addition to a restaurant, coffee shop or other business seeking an amazing attention-getter.
Hey, all you lottery winners out there! If you've run out of sports cars, elephants and private islands to buy, allow me to point your fabulous wealth at something really cool: the Vestaboard split-flap messaging display. It's like those classic train-station schedule boards with individual letters and numbers that flip around and make a really nifty sound. And for a measly $3,295, you can own one!
Why? Wrong question, moneybags: Why not. I put one in my foyer so people see it first thing, and with a quick tap of my phone, I send a custom greeting so they can watch and hear the flippy action. Everybody loves it, and, therefore, through the transitive property, me. But is this super-luxe gadget right for you? Or, more likely, your business? Here's my Vestaboard review.
VERDICT: There's no earthly reason to own one of these things, but if you have the money and the space, it's a kick-ass attention-getter and conversation-starter.
- Just really freaking cool
- Can integrate with lots of services (with subscription)
- Expensive
- Subscription required for some features
- Very short power cord
Vestaboard design and installation
Available in black or white, the Vestaboard weighs 55 pounds, measures 42 inches diagonally and mounts on a wall, much like a TV. The company provides the necessary mounting hardware, though you could also use a TV stand (like this one) if a wall isn't a viable option or you want a less-permanent installation.
Both were the case for my house, so I went the stand route. Although I can't speak to what it's like to wall-mount, Vestaboard's instructions are crystal-clear and based around an adhesive mounting guide that helps you know exactly where to drill. Though this wouldn't be impossible for one person to manage, a second set of hands definitely helps when it comes to placing the board on the mount.
There is one notable challenge with wall-mounting, however: power. Vestaboard supplies only a 20-inch power cord, the idea being that you'll install the board right over an AC outlet. That'll keep the cord out of sight, which is great, but it also severely limits your placement options.
In my house, for example, all the outlets are down low; it was built before the days of flat-panel TVs you might want to hang on a wall. Thus, my only option would be to have an outlet installed (which for me would mean hiring an electrician, to the tune of a few hundred dollars) or run an extension cord, which wouldn't look great.
The takeaway here is to plan ahead, making sure you know where the Vestaboard is going to go and what power accommodations you might need to make.
Vestaboard features and operation
Once it's mounted and plugged in, the Vestaboard is a breeze to set up. Just install the eponymous app on your phone and walk through a few steps to connect it to your Wi-Fi network. From there, you're just a few taps away from sending your first message.
The board consists of 132 individual character modules (known as "bits"), each capable of displaying a letter, number, symbol or color. (Sorry, no emojis.) If you're wondering how that translates to text, recall that Twitter originally limited tweets to 140 characters. So think of the Vestaboard's messaging capabilities as "tweet-length," or enough for a few sentences.
To create a new message, you tap the "Plus" icon, type what you want, then tap Send. The app will automatically format the message layout for the board, or you can switch to Visual mode to place text and colors precisely where you want them.
Within a second or two, the board springs to life, with each bit flipping to its assigned state and making that oh-so-satisfying sound. (It looks super-cool, too.) This is an entirely analog, entirely mechanical display, a refreshing change from screens.
The app also serves up a selection of "daily picks," preformatted quotes or images you can send with just one tap. And any message, whether it's a daily pick or one of your own creation, can be marked as a favorite, pinned to the board (so it doesn't get overwritten by an automation) or even duplicated so you can make your own modifications without affecting the original.
I especially like the option to invite other users, who will also need to install the Vestaboard app but can then send messages from their own phone. My wife now uses this to let me know when she's heading home from work, or just to send me a little love letter during the day. Thankfully, there's an option to set "quiet hours," so I won't be disturbed during meetings or the like.
You also have the option of subscribing to Vestaboard Plus ($95 annually or $242 for three years). That gives you access to a wide range of channels (movie quotes, horoscopes, music trivia and tons more) and app integrations (Slack, Spotify, etc.). I played around with the Spotify integration; every time a new song started, the board flipped to display the artist name and song title. Very cool, but it also started to get a bit intrusive after a while; I'm not sure I want that much activity from the board, at least when it's in my house.
Vestaboard Plus also lets you create a customized list of recurring content — think "playlist for messages" — and send the same content to multiple boards, should you decide to deploy more than one in a business setting. The Plus subscription includes 90 days of "extended telephone support" as well.
Much as I wish all these features were included with a $3,295 product, the $95 annual rate certainly won't break the bank, especially for a business that can afford the board to begin with.
I also wish Vestaboard offered a software-only version of this, something that could work on a TV. It wouldn't be quite as cool, but as long as it accurately recreated the sounds and visuals, it would certainly be a lot more accessible to a lot more people. I'd pay for a software-only subscription.
Vestaboard: Should you buy it?
For now, alas, you have to buy the hardware. And if I may borrow from Ferris Bueller: "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." Because, yeah, the Vestaboard is incredibly cool; there's nothing else quite like it.
It's also very expensive and not especially practical for home use, even if your goal is just to impress the neighbors. The novelty does wear off. But in a business? I could see it in a restaurant lobby, where it flips between daily specials or announces the next group that's ready to be seated. In a coffee shop: today's blends, upcoming dates for trivia nights and so on. I could also see it in an office, where Google Calendar reminders pop up ahead of meetings or messages sent to a special Slack channel appear on the board.
Me, I'll be waiting for an app version I can display on my TV.
