Freewrite Traveler | Lightweight and Portable Typewriter with E Ink Digital Screen for Distraction-Free Drafting | Word Processor with Wifi Cloud Sync and Long Battery Life for Writers on the Move

The media could not be loaded. Buying this device is difficult because there are so many mixed reviews out there that don’t cover anything in detail so I will try to address the regular concerns and explain why I love my Freewrite Traveler.The Freewrite Traveler is awesome! Some people make it seem like the product is complicated but it’s very simple. You boot it up and it walks you through setting up wifi. Once you’ve done that it will walk you through creating a Postbox account with Freewrite. It’s simple and easy. Once that’s happened you can begin distraction free writing.Issues Addressed:- my biggest concern is regarding the WIFI. The Freewrite cannot connect to 5G wifi (it won’t even show it as an option to connect) most home Wi-Fi signals have regular/5G so if that’s the case for you then this is not an issue. However when you go out and about to write you may not find a wifi to connect to.- the price… this thing is stupid expensive and I can’t recommend it to hobby writers unless they are loaded. I freelance write for websites, work as a ghostwriter, and have published my own novel. The device is perfect for providing distraction free writing and helping me stay on task while drafting.- The biggest concern I typically see is about the half second delay between typing and letters appearing on the screen. I personally stare at my keyboard like an amateur while I start typing then halfway through a paragraph I glance up to read/quick edit. With that style of writing I don’t notice the type delay. However, if you don’t look down at all while you type this could become a real issue and may ruin the experience.- the Traveler saves your data on the device until it’s deleted. All my drafts have stayed on the device and there is nothing that has been lost.-Postbox is an awesome system. If connected to WIFI it instantly autosaves your drafts to their system. If you connect your postbox account to Google Documents (another easy thing to do) it will also autosave instantly to Google documents. Postbox also has your writing stats to help keep you motivated and see how hard you’ve worked.- some people say the device appears cheaply made and plasticky. In my opinion it looks great and while it feels a bit delicate it doesn’t feel cheap. The device comes with a cleaning wipe that I use more to clean the cover as it is definitely a fingerprint magnet.Overall there are How To Use Freewrite Traveler like a Pro videos on YouTube. Take the time to watch them and you will learn all the neat features the device has to offer. It is near flawless for what it offers and happens to work so well for me.

I am typing this review on my new FreeWrite Traveler. I bought it as a shared gift for me and my husband; we both like to write but are easily distracted. I think we may end up battling for time with the FreeWrite and need a second one for the household.I have written more in the last week than I had in the previous six months. As others have said, the FreeWrite helps to focus the mind and fingers on writing only. I think the reason it is working well for me is that it compels forward momentum by leveraging laziness. Backspacing to correct is not impossible but is just hard enough that my brain has decided to keep writing. Instead of deleting or moving a sentence that I don't like, I now just plow ahead and type an alternate version, knowing that it will land in a google doc for editing later. The result is more words on the page, not always a perfect and polished version of the writing, but something to work with.I was afraid of the high price tag and some of the tech glitches that other reviewers have experienced, so I bought the service plan. So far so good.Cons:Latency- doesn't bother me but the letters do take at least half a second to show up on screen after you press the keyGhosts - see latency above - letters and images can also take some time to vacate the screen after they have appearedKey commands- I will need the manual for a while because in order to navigate around the screen, change settings, etc, combinations of keys have to be pressed. Not entirely intuitive, but it keeps the button count down and makes the keyboard clean and simple.Plastic case - I kind of like it but my husband thinks it could look less cheap and not catch fingerprints so easily.Not for editing - it is not easy to navigate around in what you have already typed, that has to be done later on a different machine.Pros:Lightweight and small - easy to throw into a bag, fun to take out to a cafe or library.Increased words per day output - please see above.Keyboard feels nice - not too loud but satisfying to type on, it has a very good depth of key pressNo eye strain - I have a remote job so I stare at a screen for 40 hours per week. The FreeWrite does not add t o my eye strain, and using it does not feel like spending even more time at work.Ambient light required - the screen is like paper; you will need a book light to read it in the dark.

The idea behind the freewrite is you focus on writing the first draft. You just go forward. When I sit to write on the lap or desktop, there is a part of my mind that wants to check the email, notifications, social media, etc. I have the willpower to not do it, but I still want to check them. How long have I been writing? Can I check now? These thoughts reside in the back of my mind. I don't have the desire to check on those things with the traveler because it simply isn't an option. It is only about writing the story. The distractions no longer interrupt my creative thought process.The instant opening of the document gets me straight to work. Transferring the document to the computer is quick and easy.The traveler is quite portable. It's the size of a keyboard. The screen is large enough for you to see what you wrote previously. I have mine set for average size text view and my screen shows eleven lines. The cover is glossy and it will show lots of fingerprints.Battery life is long. I've had mine over a week and used daily. I'm still on the first charge.It is expensive. Pen and paper is cheap and also distraction free, but pen and paper isn't free in time. I hand-wrote ten pages and the next day, instead of writing ten more pages, I spent the next day typing the pages into the document. And that's another reason I purchased this machine.