Tabletop Tent Cards Go Digital With Viewneo’s Soon-To-Launch Dinio E-Paper Solution

May 8, 2025 by Dave Haynes

The German digital signage solutions firm viewneo has started previewing an interesting product that is a contemporary spin on the idea of using small form factor displays in in dining establishments as dynamic table tent cards – but with color e-paper instead of energy-hungry LCDs.

CEO Manfred Ludtke tells me members of his Dusseldorf-based team was at a trade show in Hamburg this week presenting the solution, which is mainly positioned as a marketing tool for third-party beverage brands that want to influence behavior when diners are thinking about what kind of beer or liquor to order.

Ludtke: “For restaurateurs, there are actually a bunch of other benefits too — like automatic table reservation displays, built-in payment features, and some solid cross- and up-selling options. But our main focus is really on large beverage brands and digital out-of-home network operators or investors.”

Ludtke says the goal is to provide the devices to restaurants completely free of charge. “This would be financed by sponsorships from beverage manufacturers or digital out-of-home companies — making it possible to roll out at scale. For sponsors, it’s a very cost-efficient way to gain presence, especially compared to traditional DOOH setups. We’re planning to sell the device for around $100.”

I’ve never had the impression restaurateurs and bar operators are all that keen to put their own money into solutions like this, so having third-parties with deep(er) pockets and marketing needs instead funding the things make sense to me.

Color e-paper is a good solution, because it can operate on a teeny battery and run for days, weeks or months off a charge. An LCD, by comparison, needs a power cable – the sort of thing that might not be available at many tabletops.

E-paper, however, is challenged by lighting conditions. E-paper reflects light, and in dim or subdued conditions, those Dinio tent cards will either be hard to see or need to be enhanced by a targeted light or some lighting built into the units. If you have a Kindle or Kobo and like me read in a darkened room until I start yawning in a big way, you can do so because of that built-in lighting.

The Viewneo guys might want to touch base with Wi-Charge, the Israeli start-up that has wireless power tech that could keep these things lit and negate a need for battery changes.