Tidybyt Is a Cool Retro-Style Display You Can Use for a Variety of Content
The smart 64 x 32 pixel LED matrix is launching through Kickstarter right now.
Most of us use of smartphones for virtually everything, including simple tasks like checking the time or the day’s weather report. But it feels a little bit silly to dig out your phone just to spend a second or two looking at the screen. Information that you need to check frequently would be better shown on a display on your wall or on a shelf. Despite the convenience, nobody wants an ugly computer monitor sitting where everyone can see it. That’s why the retro-styled Tidbyt display could just be the perfect new addition to your home.
Tidbyt recently launched on Kickstarter with a funding goal of just $40,000, but already the campaign has reached more than half a million dollars in funding with nearly 3,000 backers. By most objective measures, the Tidbyt is a display that is inferior to something like an LCD monitor. It has a resolution of just 64 x 32 pixels on an LED matrix that is about 8 x 4 inches. But those modest specs are irrelevant, because Tidbyt looks cool. Instead of a boring black plastic bezel, Tidbyt has a stylish American walnut wood frame with an aluminum back plate. That RGB LED matrix provides a distinct retro aesthetic that is actually nice to look at. Simply put, it will look good sitting on a bookshelf in your home.
A display like this is only as good as the information it can show you, and that is where Tidbyt really excels. It is built around an ESP32 microcontroller and has built-in WiFi microcontroller so that it can connect to your wireless network. A smartphone companion app lets you configure what you want to show on your Tidbyt display and when you want to show it. You can choose to display apps with the time, the weather, stock tickers, subway schedules, messages, the song currently playing on your Spotify account, and more. It can also be configured to cycle through multiple apps. You can also develop your own apps for Tidbyt. You can adjust the brightness manually and even set Tidbyt to adjust the brightness according to the time of day. No, Tidbyt probably won’t change your life. But it could add a bit of convenience and looks nice to boot.
If you want a Tidbyt display, the Kickstarter campaign will be running until April 15th. Kickstarter backers can get a Tidbyt for $159. Rewards are expected to be delivered in September of this year.