Beautiful board, just a couple minor issues
This board is awesome. I didn't want a board flat against the wall, and I love the modern look with the drop shadow. It extends off the wall about an inch and the grey screw caps and borderless glass looks really nice. I left the marker tray off so it doesn't look like a whiteboard. When it's not in use, it looks almost like a piece of art (albeit blank). It's not bright white, which I actually prefer. It doesn't stand out too much. Basically, it blends in and doesn't look like the front of a classroom in my office.
Functionally, it does have a hint of a reflection to it (duh, it's glass), but it isn't a problem for me. Also, it is actually clear glass with a white backing, then a metal back on that. The glass is 1/8th inch thick which gives it just a little "depth" with the writing and creates a slight shadow from the ink. It just adds to the clean modern look.
I was able to hang it by myself, but I wouldn't recommend trying that for most people. You need to be fairly accurate with your marks and holes, and the board is pretty heavy to hold and mark by yourself (but it can be done). You can also try using the wall of the box as a template to mark the holes on the wall. If you have to hang it by yourself, use one of the shipping foam edges slid onto the bottom to give you a better grip and to hold it against the wall with your body while you screw it on. Better yet, just do it with a friend.
The board is pretty thin, so it does flex in the middle if you push on it. You'll never really have to press hard to write, but it might flex while you erase.
The magnetic feature was a requirement for me. I've seen other reviews where people complain magnets don't hold well, but that isn't surprising. It's really thin and the metal on the back seems less than one millimeter thick. It works fine with rare earth magnets as the description says. They need to be a bit larger size for the right strength, and the ones that come with it hold a little stack of papers just fine. 10 sheets might be as thick as it will hold comfortably. Sometimes 15 would hold, but usually it slid off. Be careful purchasing rare earth magnets too large, because they can be incredibly strong and you wouldn't want it to snap into the glass with too much force.
My minor issues:
(1) My board has a few areas with black scratches on the white backing under the glass. They aren't giant, but they are noticeable if you're up close. I don't know how this is manufactured, but perhaps dust got on or it was scratched before the glass was joined on top of it. It's not too distracting, but surprising for a board with this price tag.
(2) The marker that comes with it was really bad. I compared it out of the box to some other brand markers and you can see that one of them is clearlysub par. I have to assume that it doesn't reflect the quality of Quartet accessories, but it doesn't really make me want to take that risk. It's their standard marker and perhaps I just got a weak one, but maybe they should ship their nicer boards with a nicer marker.
(3) For the retail price of this board, I really wish it had more of the magnets. It doesn't look like you can purchase these anywhere and it would have been nice to see somewhere around 4-5 of them.
Like I said, just a couple minor issues. The board is beautiful, which isn't something you usually say about a whiteboard, and which is exactly why I wanted this for office use. I would recommend it if you want a white board that doesn't look like a whiteboard. I would absolutely purchase it again... maybe when they throw in more magnets.
