Vidabay Snap: A Cool Tech Demo

The Vidabay Snap E-Paper Fridge Magnet is easily the coolest piece of tech I’ve messed with in a minute.

It’s essentially a tiny color e-ink display packed into an acrylic enclosure with a magnetic back. You can stick it just about anywhere to show off a photo, a logo, or some text. If you aren’t familiar with e-ink, just think of a Kindle screen shrunk down to the size of a Polaroid.

What makes this thing so impressive is what’s not inside. There is no battery, no Bluetooth, no Wi-Fi, and zero internal memory. It’s just an e-ink panel and an NFC radio; the same tech your iPhone uses for Apple Pay.

To change the image, you just open the Vidabay Snap app, pick a photo, and tap your phone to the frame. Since e-ink only needs a burst of power to move the “ink” around (and zero power to keep it there), your phone’s NFC radio actually provides enough juice to transmit the data and refresh the screen at the same time. It feels like a magic trick every time.

I picked this up on a whim after seeing it in David Pierce’s Installer newsletter. It took forever to arrive due to a likely mix of high demand and the long trek from China, but honestly, I wish I’d bought a handful of them at once.

I can see these living on my fridge, my whiteboard at work, or really any magnetic surface. The tech itself isn’t brand new, but this is exactly the kind of clever implementation that pushes the market forward. They come in a few different colors, and I’m definitely picking up at least one more. If they ever iterate on the hardware, I’ll be first in line.

These would be great gifts, stocking stuffers, or something you can throw in your parent’s house and change the photo each time you’re there. In a world where everything is connected or requires a battery, it’s refreshing to see fascinating tech without those things.