The Freewrite E INK digital typewriter originally came out in 2014 and during our hands on review, we found that it was ideal for indie authors or students writing papers. The Freewrite second generation model has only been available for a short time and Good e-Reader has conducted a very comprehensive hands on review of the limited edition Sea color, which is basically baby blue. This device’s main selling points is the mechanical keyboard and syncs your work directly with your smartphone or to the cloud via WIFI.
This digital typewriter was designed to give you a distraction free writing experience. It does not have social media or any popup notifications. Many writers claim that the main thing that holds new ones back, is distractions. The Freewrite solves them all.
The Freewrite second generation model features two E INK screens. The primary one is 5.5 inches and has an adjustable front-lit display, so you can type at night. In order to turn the front-light on, you hold down on the special key and click on L. The second display is smaller, which is 4.5 inches and is pure landscape, the height is pretty small. This screen displays many words are in a specific document and how many words per minute you are typing, further goals can be configured.
The design of the Sea Edition is sky blue on most of the body and the keys are a baby blue. Typing on this model produces less lag than the original and the keyboard itself is mechanical, so pressing down on the Cherry MX keyswitches has some heft and is similar to the mechanical keyboard you would use for a PC. Cherry MX switches are best in class, and are designed to give key presses a tactile, satisfying feel. Many of us take keyboards for granted, but for serious and aspiring writers who can write thousands of words a day, having a comfortable keyboard is exceedingly important. The average laptop has a soft membrane keyboards, which is difficult for long writing sessions.
Freewrite can sync with Dropbox, Evernote, and Google Drive. You can find instructions for setting this up here: Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote. You can connect your Freewrite 2 to your PC or MAC via the USB-C cable. You can transfer data and also charge your device. Freewrite has a webpage called Postbox that you can open up on any smartphone and whatever you write will be saved to the website, this is useful if you want show anyone what you have been working on, or just for personal reference. There is a WIFI switch on the right side, you can basically toggle it on or off. It can also save documents to the internal memory and you can select folder A/B/C and switch between them with the toggle switch to the left. You can save all of your writings in plain text or PDF.
I really dig this typewriter, it is certainly not just for hipsters that want to hang out in a coffee shop and work on a report. It is ideal for writers and authors who basically want to unplug from the internet and write. The E INK screen does not get glare from the sun when working outdoors, which is ideal for sitting in a park or outside on the patio. Since you only have to recharge it every few weeks, you can take it to the cabin and get some work done.
The Freewrite 2 Limited Edition retails for $699, but the American Keyboard version is sold out and only the International ISO version is available. The Freewrite Traveler, 2nd generation is basically just in black and features a white keyboard, but is basically the exact same thing as the typewriter in our review. It retails for $549 USD from the Freewrite website.
Freewrite 2nd generation Sea Edition
$699Pros
- Dual E INK screens
- Mechanical Keyboard
- Typing is fast
- Long battery life
- Portable
Cons
- Unknown Resolution
- Saving to the cloud is complex
- Expensive
- Niche
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
