Smart Typewriter

I am so impressed how quickly my daily word count increased and how I’ve been more passionate about writing more than ever before. I love the keyboard and the backlit screen. I’ve been wanting one of these and originally bought the Alpha but didn’t really love it. But I liked it enough to invest in the Smart Typewriter and I’m glad I did. I’m a filmmaker and this tool has helped me work on my investors outline, write and explore ideas for short films, and work on my first short stories (something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time bc one of my dreams is to release a collection of short stories). The battery life is incredible. The set up was very easy. I love the built but I will say that the product is very pricey and I wish it wasn’t so cost prohibitive so more people could use this tool and increase their writing output.

Excellent packaging. Product is great. Just finished 1000 words of writing. Still learning keys and exploring potential. As everyone before me, the felt bag cover is a bit of a struggle to get on. Hopefully it stretches a bit.

It's an attractive piece of kit. It has an interesting aesthetic, and the idea of typing using an e-ink display is a nearly perfect wallet crowbar. But this is not a good way to get that done. First, the display is very slow. It is very noticeably slow. It is... distractingly slow. It's so slow that in the existence of faster options (of which there are many) it's enough to decide away from the Freewrite for one of those. Then it gets worse from there. Astrohaus wants to bind you tightly to them so that your success--even your hobby--depends on their continued existence as a company. This most obviously starts with the need to build a postbox account with them to have your draft work emailed to your desktop device--assuming it reaches a point where that's the next logical step. You can also get access to your files by mounting the Freewrite as a USB drive. But if you dig any deeper, things start getting uncomfortable. All your work is saved on the internal drive as read only rtf files. The only way to change the content of those files is via the Freewrite device. This means that you can't move partial documents to another device to work on, then put them back on the Freewrite. Unless you subscribe to their enhanced postbox service. That will allow you to copy or send files via postbox to your Freewrite via wifi, rather than that USB cable you have right there. That's a strange thing to do. It's only a requirement because AH decided it should be. It's not a functional limitation of the tech itself, and the default, simplest arrangement for things to be, isn't like that all. That would be to have the internal drive mount as a USB drive when connected to a computer, and then be browseable and usable as such, to include adding files that may or may not even make sense to have on such a device, simply because it's a drive. The reason for designing it this way, is to create a problem for their end user, so they can then sell them an ongoing solution. For some, that might be enough to shake off interest. It was more the door hitting me in the keister as I abandoned ship. What bothered me were other deeper design choices that echo the same tentacular, clingy mentality shown in the postbox thing, but in a manner half abandoned while still being very much a problem. The deliberately non standard keyboard. I didn't mind that it comes with mediocre keyswitches, because I'm handy with a soldering iron and when it comes to what I want, I can be pretty blase about warranties. I had no problem swapping out keyswitches--though the ribbon cable was a little bit of a nuisance. Attempts to dampen the ping of the aluminium case were less successful, but I could have lived with that--much as I was also willing to adapt to the basic quirks of file storage and the idiosyncrasies all embedded devices crop up. What ultimately turned my gut with disgust was when I realized Astrohaus had deliberately and needlessly altered the keyboard layout so that no profile of aftermarket keycaps would fit it except the ones they personally made. They did this by subtracting a portion of the length of the modifier keys on one side and adding it to the length on the other. This causes the keyboard layout to look right. It doesn't interfere with typing, only replacing keycaps. Astrohaus is the only source of modifiers (or spacebars) that will fit the Freewrite. And they aren't there. They have exactly one set of aftermarket keycaps. I can't emphasize enough that this was a deliberate, and purposeful design choice. It meant they had to foot the bill for a handful of special molds so they could then have an iron fist on a market they almost immediately abandoned. Probably because it turns out, churning out variations of keycaps that only fit one type of keyboard only used by a niche market isn't much of a moneymaker. They could have either reduced the cost of the device, or possibly shifted that budget to a better screen--or even simply pocketed it. They could have produced a better device by doing less, and they decided against it. If the keycap thing were the only issue, I'd still think less of the device because it wasn't necessary or useful to bring the device into being. It's not like Topre where the incompatible designs predate compatibility being a concern. This was a device that was designed from the start using recognized components for a marketplace that thrives on general inter-compatibility and customized end user experience, to market to a niche of people who are in those communities, only to not provide the whole reason for that compatibility. It's an ugly choice they made to try and drive people to buy all their accessories from AH. But add in the Postbox issue, the lockdown on writing files to the internal drive, and above all, the latency of the screen and lack of well optimized partial refresh--and it's just a disgusting mess and you can do and deserve to have better. I can't even bring myself to sell it because I have too much empathy for the hypothetical buyer.

I must admit, the Freewrite is kind of a joy to type on. Astrohaus gets a lot right, but the software leaves something to be desired and the device is too limited to justify the price. Purchase a small form Android based e-ink reader and a hot swappable, BT mechanical keyboard with a phone / tablet slot and you can recreate the experience for less than half the price with better software. (You will also gain the ability to change keycaps and switches to meet your needs and you will get keyboard RGB backlighting.) It won't be the same because the Freewrite hardware is an exceptional build but you will get the distraction free, e-ink experience for less.

First of all, I want to say that I really like this device. The ease of use, and overall experience of the keyboard is very good, and I write with it regularly. There are a few things that make the Freewrite not the perfect writing machine though. Firstly: it writes in a very basic text editor. It's so basic that it doesn't even have a function to use tabs or indentations. Instead, when you hit the tab button, it applies 8 spaces to the start of your line. It looks fine, but when it comes to editing later in Google Docs, it becomes a hassle. I have to go to a third party site for coders that converts spaces into tabs. Not a dealbreaker, but it is inconvenient. Secondly: the screen. I love an E-Ink display, and I would replace them on almost all of my devices if the technology was there...but it's not. I don't mind the display, but it is just a little bit too laggy for my liking. I quickly got used to it, but it does become noticeable on occasion. Especially when I want to go back, and see if I accidentally misspelled a word, and it hasn't appeared yet. It's also at slightly too flat of an angle. Depending on what your set up is, it may be a bit uncomfortable to look at for longer periods of time. It could be remedied by just tilting it down a couple degrees, so you would be able to see it easier from a lower angle. And thirdly: the cost. It's far too expensive for what it is. I realize that they are a smaller company, and in order for this product to even exist, it probably has to be around this price point. I spent the money, because I love the experience of typing on a manual typewriter--or even an electric one--but I don't like the process of transcribing my writing later into a digital document. This solves that problem. But, I would be much more lenient if it was half the price. There is literally no competition in this field right now though. I wish that there were. That all being said, I bought one, and I don't want to go back to writing without it. It's the closest thing I can get to exactly what I want. It's also very nice that it automatically syncs to a Google document. I love the feel of the keyboard, and it's very cool when I take it out to coffee shops and things. I can't easily take a typewriter everywhere with me, and I wouldn't really want to anyway. I can take this with me anywhere--in one of the felt cases--and there's no excuse for me not to write. I've accomplished quite a bit on this device, and I've enjoyed the experience. If you have the money to spend, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. If you're on the fence about it, just realize that there are quirks, and it's not perfect by any means.

Okay, so I enjoyed the few minutes that used the Freewrite, nice keyboard, simple to use. The reason for only a few minutes use; was due to three areas on the unit where the paint had bubbled and in places had completely come off, revealing the aluminium chassis below. The bare areas had the tell tale signs of aluminum corrosion, a sort of white powdery appearance, bearing in mind this was a brand new shrink wrapped item for £640, I have it packed up ready for a UPS collection back. Now I seriously considered another purchase, but there's a good chance that Amazon's units are all the same, and as I have been charged, and won't see me refund for a week, I'm in no hurry to spend another £640, as I'll probably end up with another duff paint quality unit, I have informed the EU Freewrite office and they were interested in seeing the pics, so all I can say check your unit carefully if buying from amazon and just be aware my returned unit will more than likely end up in the Amazon warehouse at a greatly reduced price or maybe not. Other than that, it is a nice experience if you want that analogue touch...

Partendo dalla chiave di ricerca "macchina da scrivere" mi imbatto in questo oggettino meraviglioso, stile vintage, zero distrazioni ,praticamente un kindle per scrivere. Purtroppo restituito perché credo che se anche desse una certa soddisfazione estetica d'Antan, per 800 € non posso rinunciare agli accenti (la tastiera è qwerty ma generica) ne' devo premere 3 tasti in contemporanea per risalire di una riga o spostarmi alla fine della frase. Penso che per 800 € avrebbero potuto studiare una tastiera meno macchinosa,perché se un apostrofo e un accento si possono barattare, le altre funzioni ormai basiche proprio no,non a questo budget. Peccato, sarebbe stata un' idea davvero allettante tornare a questo tipo di digitazione.

Es una maravilla. Hace que el proceso de escritura sea más placentero. Es caro, pero vale la pena si escribir es un hobby serio.

La première impression lorsque l'on reçoit cette machine est excellente : boîtier en métal, clavier d'excellente facture, bel écran rétro-éclairé, style et design "Steampunk", bref un objet très valorisant qui fait plaisir au déballage comme à l'emploi. Si vous êtes à la recherche d'une machine à écrire de qualité, cet objet pourrait répondre à vos attentes. D'un design plutôt flatteur, il donne envie d'écrire et de se pencher sur son travail. Mais voilà l'énorme point noir du produit : son prix ! DE-LI-RANT ! J'ai tout de même décidé de le tester et de le comparer à mon vieil ALPHASMART NEO acheté 20 euros sur internet. Et c'est là que tout se gatte : >>> ECRAN - L'écran "encre électronique" du Freewrite est sympa et très lisible même en plein soleil, oui, sauf que le vieil écran LCD de l'Alphasmart Neo permet d'afficher presque autant de texte (suffisamment en tout cas) et se révèle tout aussi lisible même sous forte luminosité. De plus l'écran LCD de l'Alphasmart n'a pas ce problème de latence pénible que l'on retouve avec l'encre électronique. BILAN : Alphasmart 1 - Freewrite 0 >>> CLAVIER - Le clavier du Freewrite est certes de bonne qualité, mais je trouve les touches trop raides et trop bruyantes. Elles m'ont rappelé les touches de mon vieux Commodore 64. Sympa et nostalgique certes, mais désagréable et pénible à la longue, et mieux vaut éviter de taper la nuit quand la maisonnée est endormie ! Côté Alphasmart, on profite d'un clavier de bonne qualité également, bien plus souple et équilibré. Ma vitesse de frappe est nettement supérieure sur l'Alphasmart. BILAN : Alphasmart 1 - Freewrite 0 >>> LOGICIEL - Oui l'interface utilisateur du Freewrite est sympa visuellement, mais assez pauvre au final. Je sais que c'est délibéré pour encourager un processus créatif, à écrire d'un jet sans se corriger. Oui, bon, OK, mais là encore l'Alphasmart fait mille fois mieux je trouve avec un clavier et des raccourcis identiques à ceux d'un PC standard, il offre toutes les fonctionnalités habituelles de copier, coller, etc. Avec de vraies flèches de direction, etc. Bref, je n'ai pas du tout accroché sur le firmware du Freewrite qui n'apporte rien d'après moi et se révèle beaucoup moins complet de celui de l'Alphasmart. BILAN : Alphasmart 1 - Freewrite 0 >>> MEMOIRE - Alors oui le Freewrite a une mémoire théoriquement "illimitée" là où l'Alphasmart ressort limité je crois (de mémoire ;)) à 55'000 caractères. Mais là encore, ce n'est pas un problème car vous pouvez sauvegarder votre travail sur un PC, laptop, Mac, Smartphone, etc. régulièrement et facilement. Donc sur ce sujet, le Freewrite ne se différencie pas vraiment pour moi, balle au centre. BILAN : Alphasmart 0 - Freewrite 1 >>> RAPPORT QUALITE/PRIX - Bon là c'est carrément une mauvaise blague ! Entre 500 et 700euros pour une machine qui fait à peine mieux qu'un clavier Alphasmart de 2013, c'est délirant ! Faites le calcul : pour le prix moyen constaté d'un Freewrite, vous pouvez vous acheter entre 10 et 30 Alphasmart ! Sans commentaire ... BILAN : Alphasmart 1 - Freewrite 0 >>> CONFIDENTIALITE - Alors oui le Freewrite vous permet d'accéder au Cloud. Mais alors là moi ça m'a carrément refroidi ! Après deux jours de test du Freewrite la société m'a envoyé un mail pour me féliciter d'avoir écrit mes premiers mille mots. OK, et comment ont-ils eu l'information ? Super la confidentialité et la sécurité des données !!! Bref, je préfère mille fois mon Alphasmart que je connecte tout bonnement à mon laptop comme un clavier. Pas de wifi, pas de cloud, pas de sorties de données, du simple, du basique, et le respect de ma vie privée. BILAN : Alphasmart 1 - Freewrite 0 >>> AUTONOMIE - Le Freewrite se vante d'offrir plusieurs semaines d'autonomie. La bonne blague : l'Alphasmart avec ses trois piles AA peut fonctionner plus de 700 heures, soit en moyenne une autonomie de plus de 2 ans ! Sans commentaire ... BILAN : Alphasmart 1 - Freewrite 0 CONCLUSION En dehors de son bel aspect soigné, je n'ai rien trouvé dans le Freewrite de supérieur au vieil Alphasmart ; pire, c'est bien l'Alphasmart qui domine et de loin ce comparatif. Rien ne justifie le prix de l'appareil en dehors encore une fois de sa qualité indéniable de facture, qui à elle seule toutefois ne justifie pas pour moi son prix. Pour ma part j'ai renvoyé le produit et je me régale avec mon Alphasmart qui fait super bien le boulot. Freewrite devrait vraiment intégrer des fonctionnalités disruptives dans ses produits, qui en l'état, n'apporte pour moi rien ou pas grand chose de plus que ce qui a déjà été proposé sur d'autres produits il y a 10 ou 20 ans. Le Freewrite est gavé de technologie inutile (écran "encre électronique", cloud, wifi, etc.). Autant de fonctionnalités susceptibles de tomber en panne, là où l'Alphasmart avec sa conception rudimentaire ne vous lâchera certainement pas, même après de nombreuses années ...

Schön verpackt. Gerät hat eine sehr gute Verarbeitungsqualität und ist einfach schön anzuschauen. Es ist einfach und intuitiv zu bedienen und lässt sich super darauf tippen. Tolle Tastatur. Bin sehr zufrieden. Erfüllt alle meine Erwartungen. Da es leider (noch) keine deutschen Keycaps gibt, habe ich mir mit Tastaturaufklebern ausgeholfen.