A Minor Setback, Two Month Review of Freewrite Smart Typewrite

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Current reading: Gentle & Lowly
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SYNOPSIS:
LONDON, 1884.
Una Egerton is a woman adrift in a world dominated by man’s corruption and crisis. Riddled with a dark side herself, when night falls Una cloaks her feminine appearance and becomes the fighter known in the London Underground as the Silver-Haired Devil. But just as Una finally has a grip on her abnormal condition, the body of a woman is found floating in the Thames River in an oddly familiar way to that which claimed the life of her mother a decade ago. This murder sets off a series of events that fall one after another. Her alter ego is rapidly labeled a person of interest and the mysterious death toll continues to climb. A secret society hidden in the shadows begins to emerge having her question everything she thought she held dear.

[@MrDcrules]

True story: many years ago, before computers, I typed up 10 pages of college essays for a university application. Our townhouse was robbed and my application, on the counter, was stolen. I didn’t want to rewrite that application as I assumed I would get into 2 other schools. I retyped up these essays anyway over several days. I ended up getting into that university and not the others. Hoping your book does well and our colleagues who make this device address this issue and lower the costs. In the meantime, good luck and keep writing!!!

[@alexanderwrites_]

Crazy story! Thanks for the kind words! Best of luck to you.

[@Solidballofrock]

My wife bought me the hemingwrite version recently as a Father’s Day present and thus far I’ve not had any issues with it. However, after watching this video, I started a “writing drafts” mailbox in my email and plan on using it as a backup. Thanks for the heads up!

[@alexanderwrites_]

Glad to have found you sooner rather than later! Best wishes with the machine! It’s absolutely beautiful looking!

[@exili]

@Solidballofrock I'm currently scouring KZbin to try and find honest, non-sponsored feedback on the freewrite; how are you liking it so far?

[@triviaguy1969]

Can you password protect documents on the device itself? Or, lock device, screen lock?

[@anthonyt219]

​@@exili There's one review that mentions a slight delay in seeing the words you type. It's slow enough where it's noticeable where it seems like the freewrite can't keep up. For some people, it can be annoying cuz youre used to writing on a laptop or pc where there is no delay.

[@exili]

@@anthonyt219 there is a delay very subtle but nothing that's egregious. I would not consider the lag a dealbreaker by any means

[@JosephAland]

Alexander, losing your work isn't the fault of not researching. The use case you described is what the company claims the product can do.

[@alexanderwrites_]

Very true yes.

[@esthereley6808]

A distraction-free alternative that I'm using is the reMarkable 2 with the Type Folio. It syncs with the app automatically and you don't have endless emails. Plus, it's a cheaper option and you can upload a PDF of a whole draft to mark up and correct (rather than print out) as well. So it has multiple uses.

[@murielf7416]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I've got an older Freewrite, too, and, fortunately, haven't had data loss up to now. But a danger foreseen is half avoided. I'll be very careful now.

[@alexanderwrites_]

Sync, sync, sync! Now I’m very regular about it. Good to have connected so you can be forewarned. I still love the Freewrite! But now it’s a love/hate relationship.

[@Musikchic47]

The only thing I don't like about the Freewrite devices is the price. For a smaller fee, you could find a decent travel size typewriter and get the same distraction free writing experience.

[@pauljessup2647]

I have tried doing that with a typewriter, it's really difficult bringing it into the computer. OCR isn't good enough yet

[@BFKate]

Its a hard lesson to learn, and I absolutely feel your pain, but your workflow now, with the regular backup mails to yourself is a habit you will have for life now and I can promise you it will save you from a repeat of this terrible experience in future. If this is any consolation, in the early and not so early days of word processors lost work was a regular feature, heck, even in the days of typewriters people would lose whole drafts of work in a range of ways, from fire and floods, to unreliable postal services and everything in between, so you are not alone. This is part of growing as a writer I think. Keep going and never stop writing. You have got this!

[@alexanderwrites_]

Wise advice. Thank you!

[@anubis24354]

My main issue is the price. None of the models are appropriately priced for what a simple piece of machinery they are, niche product or not. They look cool, and seem like they’d be fun to write on, but it’s really hard to justify that much money in it.

[@RobotProphetsMoon]

Thank you so much for the info. I've been seriously debating getting a freewrite and it's oddly weird not to find more customer experiences with them. I'm so sorry you lost that progress 😢

[@alexanderwrites_]

Glad I could help!

[@GeoffreyCaesarSolicitor]

Thanks for this review, I found it really helpful. Like many others, I am on the fence about this product. I love the concept but there seem too many issues to justify the price, for me at least. My biggest issues with it are that for a distraction-free device for working offline it seems to have a lot of tech problems and I don’t like the fact that it’s usability seems to be tied to the fortunes of the manufacturer due to the cloud post box arrangement. Not to mention the the subscription, which is only one step away from them charging you to access your own work. Because of those issues I am thinking I might start my distraction-free journey with a typewriter and then scan to text. I wish I could be more convinced by the FreeWriter.

[@kennethharris6959]

The same thing happened to me on a gen2 Freewrite. I've been scouring the internet for similar issues from other people and yours seems most like mine. Freewrite support retrieved my document also, but it was missing about 30% of what was there. However, my document still existed in Google Drive as a blank document that had a title of 2014-07-30, which was weird. But that allowed me to view version history and download a previous version of my ENTIRE draft! I hope you got everything sorted out. Cheers!

[@alexanderwrites_]

It’s such a crazy thing to go through. My emotions were all over the place. Glad your situation turned out good.

[@anthonyt219]

Its one of the reasons why i prefer physical copies or printed copies from my typewriter and computer. My hard drive could fail any all of a sudden or bsod and i lose all of my work i did that day. I understand the convenience of writing digitally, but i still strongly recommend people to get a typewriter. Its very fun and useful for making first drafts. You just gotta make sure your house doesnt get burned down so you dont lose your physical copies lol

[@alexanderwrites_]

Well pointed out! A typewriter is certainly on my list of things to acquire in the future!

[@maryw6271]

THANK YOU!! SOOOO MUCH.

[@4061earthabcdesong]

Great tips. Thanks😊

[@alexanderwrites_]

You are so welcome!

[@jamesaritchie1]

One more reason I think a cheap, used laptop is infinitely superior.

[@MrDcrules]

Have they addressed this glitch now? I was thinking of getting the Hemingway model. Now I’m not sure. Thx for this video and I’m sorry this happened.

[@alexanderwrites_]

I’m not quite sure if they have. I’ve searched through Reddit forums dedicated to this topic and found others have had similar issues. I believe the newer devices are better, but I’m still extra cautious.

[@MrDcrules]

Many thanks again. Looking forward to reading your book.

[@princessmigo]

Nothing is perfect. Hard lesson to learn. I had a corrupt zip drive and lost 2 years of poetry. That sucked but I'm over it now ...kind of. Trustworthy storage is just always a problem.

[@alexanderwrites_]

Nothing can beat good old pen and paper. Well… unless fire finds it 😅

[@arentyr]

Change your workflow with it - my understanding is that this connects as a USB device and you can manually copy files off it. So, one solution is, regardless of whether your use Linux, Mac, or Windows, is to write a simple script that, after you’ve plugged the device into your computer, you type one command and it copies every single document you’ve written on the device into a date-stamped folder. The data will be very small, but you could have the script zip/compress the folder as well if you like. All this means, then, is you just get into the habit of, DAILY, after your writing session, plugging it in and running your script. This means you can never ever lose more than one day, at the very worst. I do writing on an ancient laptop/Neo combination, and because I can’t 100% trust that either won’t suddenly fail, I do this, in my case having it do daily backups onto a USB stick. Everyone uses/thinks that Wifi/cloud is a good way to “backup”. It is not. Those services are frequently bi-directional sync so there is always the possibility something will go wrong during the sync progess. Empower yourself by getting into the habit of a local wired backup using a simple script. There are plenty of Reddit forums etc that would help you write a Bash or Powershell script to do it, it is very simple bit of coding. I’d switch Wifi off it entirely and use your own local backups. Finally, because text files are so tiny, even if you did backups every single day for 90 days of your draft, the sum total data storage of 90 daily versions of it would be an extremely small amount of data. Hope this helps! PS. I think it is absolutely scandalous and disgusting of Astrohaus that you have to pay a monthly subscription fee to be able to put files ONTO the device. Pure greed. I take it is doesn’t work if you manually copy a txt file from your computer onto the Freewrite via USB? (i.e. mounts it as read-only).

[@alexanderwrites_]

This is all really good advice. I will certainly look into what you’ve suggested. I’m practically at that point all ready with just plugging it in and manually creating a file on my computer versus using a cloud service. I do agree that a subscription service, albeit for a small amount of money, is a step in the wrong direction. It locks things behind a paywall of an already expensive product. (Fortunately I never paid sticker price for mine). Once I finish a draft, I end up just pasting it into Scrivener and working on it from there. That’s process isn’t without its formatting flaws but it seems to work for me at the moment.

[@DthBakesh]

As a guy who's primary writing device is Alphasmart Dana, I can double that advice. At least Dana, twenty years older than Freewrite, has an option of SD card backup, plus Palm Desktop with custom conduits for syncing documents

[@Adrian.Barcenas]

Is absolutely beautiful ❤

[@JMaxwell1000]

What a horrible experience! Our condolences. I would NEVER use any device that tethers me to the Internet. Never. They really screwed up when they decided to omit an SD or CF card slot.

[@Rogue428]

One quick thing I would suggest for you, is that instead of writing 30K words in one document, and then switching folders to write the next 30K words and so on, is that you create a new document at the end of each chapter by hitting both NEW buttons at the same time. It keeps it from delaying and growing very sluggish and you can navigate documents by using the NEW and PGUP/PGDN buttons. I use the different folders for different projects. Slight workflow difference. I also send myself emails all the time too using the SEND key.

[@alexanderwrites_]

Wise words! Thank you!

[@MrDcrules]

I really want the Hemingway model. I guess the sure fire way to have the text secured is to email it to oneself after each sitting right? I plan to use this for journaling. Not sure it’s worth it for that purpose. Still….

[@alexanderwrites_]

That is exactly what I do. Every session I simply send it off to myself via email before putting the device into sleep mode. I double check I received the document and have peace of mind.

[@exili]

​@@alexanderwrites_ I'm just curious if you are still using freewrite, I've only just discovered your channel so I'll be going through your vids soon so apologies if you've already posted a video update on my question.

[@alexanderwrites_]

Yes I still use it. It’s part of my first draft process. I’m currently on draft 3 so I’ve switched to my MacBook. The device has flaws but the draw to use it is still there for me. When I start a new book, I will dust the device off and get back to work!

[@JosephDickson]

I'm considering one of these devices. Perhaps I'll create a new document daily rather than add to an existing one. Just to prevent corruption of a larger multi-day document.

[@JosephDickson]

Everything has a learning curve even analog devices. I think this post makes me more likely to try it.

[@alexanderwrites_]

That’s good! 👍🏻

[@milosflaca]

I am waiting for my freewrite Alpha. I know that there are cheaper alphasmarts but the company is gone and I would like to have some kind of support when it breaks down (also, I do not live in the states, so the Alphasmart is not 70 usd. Or 20. It is like almost 200 with shipping. Wouldn’t want to pay for something used I’m not sure will work). Reading the comments, it would seem as if their computers didn’t crash at all. I use scrivener and even then, I would back up as a pdf just in case. Also, I work on a regular typewriter and scanning the pages is a hassle. Would it be better if the device would work as intended? Sure. But it is a machine and crashes are an everyday problem (unfortunately). Thank you for being so honest. Now I know for sure, when I get my Alpha, I will make a point to back up at the end of every session

[@alexanderwrites_]

So happy to have helped! Let me know how you like the Alpha. I’m really interested to see how this device performs. I may have to get my hands on one as well!

[@milosflaca]

@@alexanderwrites_ I've been waiting to get my hands on that machine for a few months now. I also want the one you have (for in house writing). Many thanks for replying :)

[@JosephAland]

​@@alexanderwrites_Fair warning on the alpha: Astrohaus sent review units to two sites, and one of them experienced data loss. Astrohaus claimed the reviewer encountered a "rare bug." Not a good sign that data loss is still happening on their third major product.

[@alexanderwrites_]

Yikes 😬

[@YvesThePoet]

Dude, that is not a minor setback -- that's a pretty big one! I would be so sad. Good for you for having a good attitude about it and moving on. This review was extremely helpful. I've been torn over whether to try the Freewrite. Honestly... I think something like this would stress me out, even though it is a beautiful machine. Maybe I'd try the Traveler for quick hit scenes on the go but wow. Thanks for the review!!

[@alexanderwrites_]

I’m glad you found it helpful! These devices have their flaws but they do also have a lot of advantages.

[@YvesThePoet]

@@alexanderwrites_ Well said. Gotta get comfortable with it first. Congrats on your writing.

[@alexanderwrites_]

Thank you, best of luck to you!

[@PaulHosler]

When these came out the Raspberry Pi hit the market just a little while before the Freewrite. I thought about making my own, it wouldn't be difficult other than making a custom case, but at the time the e-ink screens were a little harder to find a fairly expensive if you only bought one. These days you could build your own for maybe around $100 or less, and the most expensive part would be a custom case and keyboard. If you could find a freewrite cheap, working or not, it shouldn't be too difficult to put a Raspberry Pi in to to replace whatever is in there.

[@fortunamajor7239]

There's actually someone who created an open-source project like you're describing called the Zerowriter which can be made for abt $50

[@forestofthings]

Alexander, this is so so awful! I don't know how you'll be able to continue to use Freewrite ever again. I know I wouldn't. As an historian, ten days of work are a massive lost. It is a lot of work to lose. It doesn't matter how nice their customer service was, just the idea of saving the file each time you finished a day of work is so difficult to do in a long period of time (I say that from an experience of 4 years). I think you should keep the Freewrite as a writing device for regular writing prompts or assignments but writing your books in a different writing device. Just the idea of something like that will ever happen again is so terrifying! You were lucky to have the previous file with the 3,500 words as a back up. Losing 4,500 words is so horrible.

[@alexanderwrites_]

Yeah it was a massive disaster. I think I’ve learned what the device is used for. It took me a couple days to build the want to write again. Losing work deflates you and really leaves you feeling sick to your stomach. But all is well, I have recovered with stronger and better words!

[@forestofthings]

@@alexanderwrites_ I'm so happy to hear you were able to move on from this. It can be so tough. I hope you'll be able to find the right rhythm when writing with the Freewrite. And I hope you'll never stop writing. So proud of you for writing so much lately!

[@alexanderwrites_]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@JessicaFEREM]

honestly you could just as easily just get a $30 HP stream laptop, install Linux, and setup syncthing, and install a distraction-free writing app. you create a folder and it has file versioning, and you get the same file no matter if you're using your phone or your desktop, any time the device is on an internet connection. an HP stream is too slow for the internet but it's just fast enough to where you're not waiting to open a document, and it's so low power than you still get 6 hours battery 10 years after the laptop was sold. plus this option is free monthly, cheaper, and you still get a decent keyboard, and you don't look weird for pulling out a massive typewriter.

[@JessicaFEREM]

There's a free app called FocusWriter that runs on a potato and provides a fullscreen distraction-free writing experience. it also saves directly into ODT format so you can open it with libreoffice, or to a .DOC or TXT.

[@MrDcrules]

Hi Alex--hope you are doing well. About 10 months ago, i checked your video. Has your experience changed, and, if so, how, since then with the Freewrite? Has the company addressed this issue? I'm still stunned that the company has had this problem with this device. Would you urge caution at this point in buying one of these things, setting the price aside?? Hope the book is going okay. Best!

[@alexanderwrites_]

This is a fantastic question! And thank you for checking back after your initial watch. I should really post an updated review to walk people through my thoughts about the Freewrite going forward. The company did address the issue and was able to recover part of the draft. However, part of it was lost. Being that the device I own is the original model, there are few things they could do. I believe the newer models have better technology and more support than their first iteration. As far as for someone thinking about a device like this, price aside like you mentioned, I would say I fully think this is an excellent product. It has been tremendously useful in developing my writing craft and I have seen real growth in building a daily habit. There are always ways to urge caution with any device used to write on. (Laptops crash, notebooks get lost, and data can become corrupted.) But having said that, this device is still a wonderful thing, I would recommend to anyone.

[@MrDcrules]

@@alexanderwrites_ thank you. All the best!!!

[@MuslimInAbby]

Freewrite is a money grab. The fact that there isn't massive internal storage potential considering the bare bones nature of the device and the amount of storage one can fit into a small space these days, there is no excuse. Why are they storing to their cloud and syncing files? The fact that they are charging a monthly fee to have extra access to that storage and to transfer files back and forth is proof that their best interest is not in helping writers but in helping their pocket books. I will wait until someone comes up with a completely self contained device with a hard drive that can be accessed and manipulated by me without the company's "support".

[@vermontmike9800]

Does this allow an external monitor or iPad for viewing?

[@alexanderwrites_]

I do not believe so. You’d have to login to their online website to view work saved on your device.

[@Yanxie]

The fact that it's not saved into the device itself with storage has already turned me off from it. I've been on the fence about getting it, but I didn't know there was no storage in the device itself. :( Edit: AND you can't update it!? wtfffff

[@mr.holgersen]

Three words. Optical character recognition. Software has gotten great about scanning text on hard copy and transfering it to a doc.

[@anthonymccarthy4164]

I can the Jane Austen image does nothing to make me feel better about it.

[@animula6908]

That’s horrifying

[@alexanderwrites_]

It was.

[@JessicaFEREM]

I really don't think this should need a monthly subscription....

[@alexanderwrites_]

I agree but it seems everything is moving in this direction. I believe for those purchasing the device (given the price tag) should have the service for free.

[@aaliyahlunan876]

You said this was the 1st Gen version right?

[@alexanderwrites_]

That is correct. I believe there have been several other iterations after this one.

[@aaliyahlunan876]

@@alexanderwrites_ there have yeah. I think they’re on gen 3 rn, which is the one I’m hoping to get. Have you had any issues with versions of your work disappearing since? Also, does the version you have receive firmware updates still?

[@alexanderwrites_]

I have had work disappear but I’m in the habit of syncing my work all the time. Mine does not receive firmware updates anymore. That said, the device is still working fine. There’s a whole Reddit forum dedicated to these devices, I’d recommend you check it out!

[@PedalBikerUK]

Only the Gen3 version will accept firmware updates, according to Astrohaus. Your experience is certainly sounds alarming but it also seems that you thought A,B, and C were documents rather than folders. Also I understand that you hadn’t got to the bottom of the facility to page through individual drafts within folders. My concern, probably unfounded, is that you hadn’t properly investigated and mastered the way the machine works before putting in a substantial volume of material, that seems risky to me no matter what you are using. Could this have contributed to the issue you experienced? I just don’t understand how you can say there is no memory in this device, when there is, and that there is no facility to get data off the device onto another medium, which there is.

[@alexanderwrites_]

I had to contact freewrite directly to recover my draft. It wasn’t on the device. I plugged it in via usb to my computer and there was nothing. Freewrite had to locate the draft.

[@MrDcrules]

It would be good if they gave you a new one and committed to changing how it saves. Maybe I shouldn’t get this. Thanks again. Peace

[@alexanderwrites_]

In a perfect world, that would be great. But, unfortunately it’s just the way things are. I would do some extensive research before pulling the trigger. They’re are certainly benefits to using this device. But do the negatives out way the positives?

[@patrickhenley3446]

the very fact that there's a glitch that'll delete all your stuff is reason enough for me not to purchase this product. thanks for the save, does look gorgeous but I'll wait until there is a reliable, cheaper alternative.

[@BJNT-it5lt]

Have you considered the pomera dm30?

[@rumel02]

I feel like you want this device to work for you so bad that you're willing to risk your hard work. Be disciplined and focur on your wip on a laptop, it helps if you're really into what you're writing.

[@blackstter6317]

Don't bore-us, get to the chorus.

[@bhoqeem1975]

Paid subscription??? After the $500 purchase??? And the effin delay when typing???

[@alexanderwrites_]

😅

[@imran4239]

It supports Tamil language or not ?

[@alexanderwrites_]

Not sure about this.

[@CZpersi]

You need a subscription to upload data to your own device? I am not touching that. I am sick tired of this subscription BS. When I buy something, I want to own ir. If I have to pay subscription to use it, then it is not ownership. It is overhyped rental.

[@alexanderwrites_]

I’m with you on that. It feels like the wrong move.

[@SomePeopleCallMeWulfman]

I agree, an obligatory subscription just to save your files is a no-go. But I'm pretty certain you can upload to to your own Google drive or Dropbox as well.

[@jordantimothy7701]

You don't need a subscription at all. Postbox is a completely free software that is very easy to setup and use.

[@greblaksnew]

Just bumping across this, but why would you buy and waste your time and words with such a horrific product?

[@alexanderwrites_]

I will admit, this product isn’t for everyone. Several products exist just like it and have found success, this ones seems to be finding the same thing. For me, the freewrite is a very niche product. I’ve gotten a great deal of enjoyment using it, but I understand the drawbacks (having experienced them myself). Having said all of that, I wouldn’t consider the product horrible by any means, but rather different. For those of us who have found enjoyment from the product, it can be hard to describe to those who haven’t used it yet. Hope this adds some clarity to a convoluted product.

[@fcf8269]

LOL you sell a 500 dollars device and need to pay extra to put actual files ON it? And nobody boycotted this company yet or jailbroke the device? This must be the first case in existence of such positive sentiments towards such horrible consumer practices.

[@jackkn.killington5814]

I can't see why you would spend 700 plus on a FreeWrite, when you can buy a chromebook or laptop for two hundred and keep the internet turned off.

[@teddybearisms2505]

This is fisher price garbage.