Freewrite E-Ink Typewriter Review

April 22, 2017 By Michael Kozlowski 5 Comments

The Freewrite was initially designed to be a replacement to a laptop or a computer while at the cottage or on vacation. It is a niche device that is primarily aimed at authors who want to eliminate distraction from their daily life. There is no internet browser or email, it is a singular purpose device that features a small E Ink screen and a mechanical keyboard. It has a WIFI toggle switch that you can turn off to conserve the internal battery. Once you are done writing for the day you can turn WIFI on and send your documents to to Evernote, Dropbox, Google Drive and a number of other cloud storage systems.

Initially the Freewrite was named the Hemingwrite when it first initiated a crowdfunding campaign in 2014. It took the company several years to work out the kinks in the various prototypes and it has been available for less than a year. It weighs four pounds, so it is comparable to the weight of modern laptops.

I like the fact that it supports USB-C which is quickly becoming the standard and that it has an SD card for more internal storage. It costs $499, so it will not break the bank but it is kinda expensive for what it is.

Michael Kozlowski

Michael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and Verge.

Master Doge

Is there a handheld device the size of kindle paperwhite/kindle keyboard dedicated for writing existing out there right now… i like this BUT it’s bulky… i have a rooted nook ST glowlite, but the keyboard’s in the touch screen (not very good) and since it’s android notifs, etc are distracting unlike freewrite you start writing after turning it on.. i wish you could crowdfund something like a real “kindle for writers” —-mobile, write anywhere,frontlit, write in any lighting conditions, fits in pocket,write without distractions, works offline, sync to google docs blah blah, and the possibility to preview your manuscript just like published books ..:-) …writers’ dream device
Jens

The idea certainly is interesting, but I fail to see who would seriously pay 500 bucks for such a device with a relatively small screen. And no control keys?? Come on! How will you be able to review what you wrote say 15 sentences ago? Even if I can fully understand the concept of making this a pure typewriter (without a browser, games, etc.), I fail to see why would it lack basic functionality such as control keys. This makes it even less useful than a classical typewriter, because with these the author could at easily take a look at the physical paper he has written on.

And why have Wifi instead of a decent USB-port (taking USB-Sticks) or a memory card slot?
Barbara

I put my phone in Do-not-disturb-mode, connect my bluetooth keyboard, start up Google Docs and start writing. The keyboard cost me less than 12 bucks and I already have a phone anyway. So I call that my dream device: fits in my pocket, you can even get foldable keyboards and cloud based is a given with Google Docs.
statik13

If you want a more affordable alternative check out an Alphasmart Dana. I picked up one for $30 plus shipping and have been very happy with using it as a typewriter with a screen. It runs the old Palm OS and syncs back to your desktop or saves to SD cards. As a dedicated typewriting device I’m loving it.
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