Choosing an interactive whiteboard

[Dilbertian]

I've just been told I can have an interactive whiteboard in a non-school setting where I teach. But I have very little time to choose one.

Can anyone give me any recommendations? Features to look out for? Features to avoid?

Is there a difference between an interactive whiteboard and a smartboard? I don't mean the sort with a projector, but the sort that duplicates your laptop's screen and can be manipulated by both the computer user with the mouse and by pupils touching the screen with finger or 'pen'.

In my experience Promethean are the best - but schools are vey reluctant to get them due to the High Cost. I've also used one of the epson ones which uses some kind of lazer beam to detect your pen and that was poor - the sensitivity wasn't good enough. Another option - which is what I currently use and works very well is having a normal projector and a surface pro (laptop.) I can connect wirelessly to the projector and write on the screen with my pen and it comes straight on the board. This can be used in conjunction with a promethean board too .

I have a Newline interactive TV.

I can use it as a plain whiteboard, advantaged is you can zoom, scroll, and it saves the page as an image, which is useful.

It also mirrors my laptop screen and works as a touch screen, picking apps, writing, etc…

I like it.