The Freewrite Alpha is a dedicated drafting device for anyone who wants to write without the distraction – or temptation – of browsers, email, or notifications. This digital typewriter is designed for prolific writing sessions by separating the drafting and editing processes. When it is time to edit, your drafts wirelessly sync to the cloud for export into your software of choice. This device was crowdfunded via Indiegogo in 2022, and the company designed and manufactured it in 2023 and began fulfilling orders. For everyone else, pre-orders are available on their website for $470.00 and is shipping sometime in January 2024.
Freewrite typewriters have been around for the past seven years, and they have always featured an E INK screen and have cost upwards of $800. The e-paper displays ensure long battery life; you can use them by a window or outside in the sun. The significant advantage of this typewriter is the mechanical keyboards that have a satisfying tactile feel. Freewrite Alpha, instead of using an e-paper screen, employs reflective monochromatic FTSN LCD, which has dramatically cut costs.
Alpha has an instant refresh LCD that shows 2-6 lines of text so you can stay focused. The screen is anti-glare, as well, and utilizes ambient light so that it can be used indoors or in direct light without getting washed out. It has a full-size mechanical keyboard featuring Kailh Choc V2 low-profile tactile switches. There is WiFi to automatically sync your writing to cloud storage for providers such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and Evernote. However, device storage allows everything you write to be saved directly to the device if you are off the grid. It has a 100-hour battery and can be recharged via USB-C.
The Alpha is billed as a distraction-free experience. You can’t check your email, fact-check on Wikipedia, access social media or launch any apps. It is a singular purpose device, a writing tool, to write a novel or a short story. Using the Alpha is pretty simple; you start typing. If you don’t speak English, no worries. There are keyboard layouts for German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, Greek, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. See a list of keyboard layouts here.
There are two colours available for the Alpha, black and white speckled. Each device has a kickstand to keep it propped up when writing. We have reviewed most of their previous generation products on our YouTube Channel.
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.