Freewrite Distraction-Free Writing Tool (US Edition, ANSI), Smart Typewriter, E Ink Display w/Frontlight, Cherry MX Mechanical Keyboard, Cloud Connected w/Wi-Fi

First and foremost, I spent months of research prior to deciding to buy the FreeWrite. It is a very expensive tool, and I was mulling over reviews on Instagram, Facebook, and Amazon. Many reviews do not paint the FreeWrite in a positive light. I kept second guessing wanting to purchase it because of this. However, after doing so, I now realize why there are negative reviews, and why I was correct in purchasing the Freewrite. Skip to the bottom for a TLDR (too long, didn't read).It is easy at first glance to discredit the Freewrite - it is also easy and lazy to say it is expensive and a "hipster" tool. People love to be enraged about something, no matter what it is. I had wanted a typewriter in order to write distraction-free. I have spent over ten years coming up with ideas, writing countless pages of notes and outlines, but never finishing one book. My outlines and notes probably encompass dozens of novels on their own. I was desperate for a tool that would help me take these notes and finally finish a novel. I came across the Freewrite - it immediately intrigued me, but I didn't want to impulsively buy it (most writers can relate to being impulsive). I waited a few months to be sure I wanted it, part of this waiting including coming up with the money to buy the device. Once I decided that I really wanted it, I bought it.Within a few days, it arrived. The keyboard is mechanical and feels like a typewriter with a little less resistance. I quickly grew to love it. The form factor enables it to be easily transported, while still having some weight to it when working with it on a surface. After some brief reviews of the manual, the interface was easy to use. At first, I was incredibly annoyed at the document reviewing capabilities. The Freewrite restricts the ability to easily cycle through your document. You can go up and down (pg up, pg down, up and down arrows), but it can be tedious. This is intentional and it is a GOOD thing. So, what would have originally been a negative point for me, ended up being the Freewrite's most important strength: its focus on linear writing.The FreeWrite isn't meant to just be another "word processor". I've seen countless people complain about it being the same as one, many of these complaints coming from people who clearly don't have the device. I want this to be clear: Freewrite is not a watered down word processor. I quickly came to realize that the Freewrite needs to be seen as two things (hear me out, this may sound cheesy at first):1. A writing philosophy2. A tool to fulfill this writing philosophyMy original purchase was based without either of these in mind. I know there are other writers out there like me who have trouble completing something for MANY reasons, whether it be expecting perfection, personal roadblocks, issues with attention, etc. Once I started writing with this device, it very quickly changed my perception of how to reach my end goal. At the start, I went against the grain of what Astrohaus preached, and would go into my cloud document and edit it, then go back and forth between typing. This started to become painful. I had a moment of clarity where I realized I had bought the Freewrite for a reason - so why not try and follow their philosophy? Reluctantly, I reorganized my outline and research, broke down each chapter, and decided to just plow through it (spelling & grammar mistakes and all).Within a few months, I have finally finished the first full draft of my novel after wrestling with a philosophy that many writers need to follow in order to finish something. I had written outlines and notes for YEARS, but never made much progress. Change is hard, and it can suck. It did at first for me. But once I saw the progress I was able to make in adhering to what the Freewrite was MADE for, everything fell into place. Was my draft full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors? Yes. Do I still need to edit a lot of it? Yes. But I have a completed structure that I now only need to modify. I'm not stuck in the loop of trying to get every single thing perfect, and not getting past the first chapter.The Freewrite is expensive - I won't argue that. But it is very hard to put a price on such a positive change in my writing. Can you do this with other devices? Sure. But I can tell you that this device was worth the money. It is a great piece of hardware, has amazing support, and has some awesome features you won't find in many tools, including cloud backups, portability, and the complete elimination of distractions (what I call "alt-tab" or "command-tab" (mac users) hell).TLDR:If you are a writer who struggles with finishing projects or dealing with distractions, and you can afford the FreeWrite - BUY it. I don't exaggerate when I say that it has not only helped me finish my first full draft after ten years of not being able to do so, but it has also changed my writing philosophy for future projects. I am now confident in continuing my completion of work that has been backed up for a decade. The floodgates have opened, and now I can compartmentalize my research and notes into books. It sounds simple - and many of us are taught everything I've said. But having a device that forces this method on you is game changing.Quick tips:1.When using the FreeWrite, put away the laptop and phone. I only use notes, research, and books that don't live in an operating system with hundreds of traps. I do not allow myself to get distracted and caught in "alt-tab" hell.2. Contact Astrohaus support. They are amazing and more than willing to help you with any issues you have.3. Use word count and set goals - there are plenty of tools within the Freewrite to help you continue your writing journey.4. Ignore the naysayers. If you are a writer, the FreeWrite will more than likely benefit you. Many of these negative reviews are from people unwilling or unable to spend the money. While I understand if it is too expensive, justifying this by giving a negative review isn't cool.5. There ARE alternatives if you can't spend the money - the AlphaSmart is one of them. But I promise you there is a huge difference in quality between the two. If you must, grab the AlphaSmart - in time if you can afford the FreeWrite, see it as a huge upgrade.

I'm a writer. I also have ADHD. It drives me crazy that this device works as well as it does, because I want to be able to believe that I COULD be this productive on a laptop, but I can't, and I know it.Writing on my laptop, there's always the pull of another browser tab, another notification, another app. You can turn off your wi-fi. You can use browser extensions to try to block your favorite social media sites. You can use plain text apps to try to get yourself to focus on the words. But my brain is skilled in evading all these things, and finding another way to be distracted. Oh, so I've blocked Facebook? Well, maybe there's something interesting on Twitter. Blocked that? Oh, better check out Buzzfeed, or NYTimes, or check my book rankings on Amazon, or this, or that... There's always going to be something. It's the way I'm wired.I think a lot of people could benefit from this device, to be honest. It may look like hipster nonsense, but it works. Whereas I used to struggle to finish 1,000 words in a single writing session, sometimes spending a couple hours sitting at my laptop, I can now bang out that much in 15 minutes. It's just amazing. I love it without shame. If you wanna get some writing done and you're at all prone to distraction, give this thing a shot.

I have gone through them all... the desktop, the laptop, the Neo2, the Dana, the Chromebook. For a while, I touted the Neo2 as the best thing for a writer in the electronic age, and I still have mine, but it has been sitting on the shelf since I got the Freewrite.Pros:My fingers love it. I actually type much faster on the Freewrite than on any other device. Part of it is the sensation I get while typing, which is missing in almost every other device. I love the way it feels! And the noise the keys make is wonderful.Cloud backup. I was hesitant about using Postbox but it syncs to my Drive account flawlessly.The screen. Ah... The screen! My eyes get tired very easily when looking at a computer screen, which I do at work all day, but I can still type for an hour or more when I get home without more eye strain.The size and weight. Perfect for lap typing.Cons:No battery charge indicator to tell it's fully charged or still charging. You just have to check by turning it on and holding down the spacebar, which still only gives a battery icon and not a percentage.And that's all I have! One con!I am going out on a limb here to say this device is perfect. I do not say that with abandon, either. I have typed on it for hours and love that - because there are no direction keys - I can't go back, only forward. That's exactly what I need! And the device itself is a work of art. Wonderfully designed and so pleasing you'll want to spend hours with it. I do.

Be sure you understand exactly what the Freewrite is before you buy it. If you don't, then you are apt to be disappointed. They call it a "smart typewriter" for a reason. The Freewrite is a forward-momentum first draft machine. It's there to get words out of you by ensuring that it's extremely difficult to do much else. It's limited by design. And when I say limited, I mean it. The Freewrite is all but useless when it comes to editing more than three or four words at a time. As long as you understand this I think you'll love a Freewrite. I enjoy the heck out of mine. First and foremost, the keyboard is great. Even the best laptop keyboards leaving me wanting. Finally, I don't have the willpower to sit with a multi-function device like a laptop and stick to writing. I suspect that it's a common affliction. I can put my laptop away and be channeled directly into a creative mode with my Freewrite.

If you are reading the reviews of this product then, like me, you know what it can and cannot do. The Freewrite is in a nutshell a kindle screen with a mechanical keyboard that allows text to be typed and then emailed to your PC for editing or saved to a cloud. Unless you backspace to delete words, any text cannot be edited on the Freewrite but this is something you get used to and typos etc can easily be corrected once the text is uploaded to your preferred writing program on your preferred PC/laptop. I just cut and paste my emailed text docs into MS Word.The kindle screen looks much larger in the flesh than it appears in photographs, and it can be used without any glare in bright sunlight. As such I use mine to write anywhere and everywhere, in the car, in the garden etc. The keyboard makes a satisfying 'click clack' much like keyboards from the 80s, and as mechanical typewriters still do. This did make me feel self-conscious on a quiet train once, so perhaps I wouldn't use it in a library or coffeeshop.As an author my Freewrite enabled me to finish the first draft of my most recent novel in record time, I was able to write on the go without the worry of battery life or screen glare. I easily added another 500 words here and 1000 there.The unit itself is also very sturdy and has an integral carry handle. It looks kind of ‘steampunk’ which I, being one of the ‘cool-kids’, like a lot.There were a couple of issues however, which did resolve themselves. There is an 'email' button to directly email the current draft to your computer. This randomly stopped working (although I could still access my work in Freewrite’s own cloud service page) and the manufacturers had no idea why (customer service is not great as they are in the US and I am not) but then randomly started again. And also, a couple of times I've had to restart the machine. But I have never lost any of my work and am not interrupted by any adverts or notifications. And there is no way it can be hacked. If security is a concern the whole device can be used without any internet connection and plugged into your PC for file transfer.A new third generation has just annoyingly been launched (it would have been nice to have been told it was on its way) but as this has taken over five months to ship, I’m happy that I bought my second generation when I did, as I needed to finish my book. The new edition has arrow keys for editing and a longer battery.My advice is when you see one available from amazon buy it before it vanishes again as stock is always limited. This is a professional tool for anyone who is serious about their writing.

I thought this would be an indulgence purchase, something that sounded great but had limited appeal once used. I was so wrong. One of my bugbears is being tied to an electronic device as a writer - this smart typewriter frees you from the blue screen and the power cable. You can literally pick it up and sit down with it anywhere - sofa, garden, bed - press a button and you're away. No more running out of battery, no more having to be near a plug point. Forget the fact that it's touted as a distraction-free device - I have no trouble blocking out the world - it's the ease of use that is key for me.

The main problem with this machine is that there is no external printer. I expected to be able to make immediate hard copies as I go along in writing letters etc. This so serious a defect that it reduces the convenience of the machine to zero. because of this I am even thinking of returning it, The matter could be solved if an external printer could be supplied to connect withe machine so that documents e.g. letters could be printed of as with an ordinary typewriter, Without this I find the value and convenience of the machine very limited.It is a pity that this is not explained before the sale of the machine. Without this facility the high prices of the machine makes it very disappointing

Schreiben auf der Tastatur ist ein Traum, aber damit ist die positive Geschichte dieses Schreibgerät es auch erzählt. Der Akku lässt sich nicht aufladen, ich habe dieses eine Gerät dann umgetauscht, und hatte auch beim zweiten das gleiche Problem. Außerdem stürzt auch laufend die Software ab, da es wenig Beschreibungen gibt, wie man bootet wird alles sehr kompliziert, habe es dann aber geschafft, bin aber insgesamt mit dem Schreibgerät unzufrieden. Beim zweiten Gerät was ich umgetauscht hatte, hakten auch noch zwei Tasten, vermutlich war das ohnehin schon eine Retoure. Ich finde die Idee super, aber es ist nicht ausgereift und Für dieses Geld einfach megamäßig zu teuer.