My WEIRDEST purchase - Freewrite Traveler REVIEW!
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- The Freewrite Traveler is supposed to be a distraction-free writing device. But how does it work, and is it any good? Watch to see how the keyboard feels and how you can use this odd little device to increase your concentration. I review the Traveler to let you know if it's worth buying.
I was always intrigued by this product, but I think the screen is way too small. The price point is also a dealbreaker for me. For that price, you can pick up a lot of other interesting things, especially for $600. Good review. I like that you are honest about the drawbacks.
Well written, accurate and generally fair assessment of the Traveler which I also own. The one factor you didn't mention in your comparison with laptops is eye-strain; the e-ink display is generally kinder on the eyes over long periods. My quest for an ideal writing tool has included the original Freewriter, the Boox Max 3 and the Pomera. They all have flaws. There is a real niche, in my opinion, for a product that is similar to this but with more flexibility, a dedicated writer's work-horse. I live in hope.
Thanks! And great point. E-ink screens *do* help with eye strain. I wonder if enough writers could come together with a hardware manufacturer to develop a more flexible tool... It's worth thinking about.
There are eInk monitors being introduced with more or less acceptable size and resolution. Connect that to a minimal laptop/PC setup without internet connection and you get what you need. I dont think it will make anyone forget that we dont live in the 1950s anymore but whatever. Ultimately if you wanna write and not worry about editing, just get shitfaced before writing. Worked for others too. That being said, it wont help your mental health.
My dream setup is an e-ink monitor, a nice wireless keyboard and Scrivener in it.
Good review. I own a Traveler. I got it as a gift. All of those items that are lacking in the Traveler, like spellcheck, going to and correcting the beginning of a document, could have been added on. After all, similar old word processors like Neo and Alpha 3000 had those built in.
Traveler did correct the type delay. That was driving me crazy.
Thirdly, the cost. I travel all over, and if I dropped that machine, I’m up the creek.
Excellent review. You did good.
Now it’s time for Freewrite to do better.
I appreciate the honest, nuanced review. You've helped give me some good information to consider while deciding whether to purchase a Freewrite product.
Thank you. I was on the fence, but the refresh rate is a dealbreaker for any professional writer. Plus, editing is something I often do on the go as well. I would end up throwing the device out of the window. I also don't buy the distraction-free argument. My MacBook has a "concentration" mode where I can switch off all notifications. From my experience with e-ink devices I am guessing there is a trade off between refresh rate and screen resolution and they did not want to push it further. But the result is simply unacceptable. Even more at that price. And, as David says below, it is eye-strain (not distraction free) what draws people to e-ink.
I had one. Agree with all your points. I'm honestly considering going to pen and ink for first drafts. Seems llike a lot of really good writers go that route. eg. Ben Franklin!
Philip Pullman does that as well! He writes in ink, then edits as he types the draft into the computer.
Thanks for the review! I'm intrigued by "distraction-free" versions of smart devices, but there seems to be a pattern: They're too expensive, and they don't hit the sweet spot of functionality vs. simplicity. Like the limitation you point out of relying on the page up button to go back over your work - I think it would feel like writing with boxing gloves on. And of course, at the price point, a lot of other options become more attractive (at least for me), like just getting an old typewriter.
You wouldn’t use this tool to go back over your work. This is drafting tool, not a reviewing tool.
This is like criticizing a hammer for being the worst screwdriver you’ve ever had.
@@johnhinkleman9757 I don't get it.
@@paramanandsingh2755 just to the point of how you can’t use this to go back over your work conveniently. That’s not what the tool is for. It’s so you get all the words down without overthinking what you are writing or have written. There is no need to go back over your work with a drafting tool.
For what this tool does, it is great.
I’d recommend to writers (especially ones who aren’t as productive as they think they could be or experience writers block) to have dedicated drafting time and dedicated reviewing time separately. They’re two different brain muscles at work. It’s common for writers to overthink in their drafting time and be too in their head which causes their writing to be inhibited. This tool helps with that.
@@johnhinkleman9757 That's cool. I think all I'm saying is that I think it's expensive and that I wish it did more than it does.
I don't get it. I bought a Neo2 almost 10 years ago, for $170 or so, and it still runs. It has 700 hours of battery life, and a screen which does not lack. It rocks, except for the size. Weird that something using a similar technology as the Neo2, but smaller, isn't available today.
This. I've been wanting a word processor without the rest of the pc/tablet, and this product came up in the search results and I could not believe my eyes when I saw the price. I wish a company would pick the Neo2 back up and bring it back. It was originally designed for schools... a lot of students could really benefit from this tool. idk that's just my 2 cents.
@@Magpiecheek My Neo2 is still running. Only 3 things doesn't make it perfect: 1) The size, 2) the lack of changing the keyboard layout to e.g. Danish and 3) the slow transfer of files to a computer. All of these issues ought to be easily solved with the technology of today.
@@stefanhansen5882 Yeah those all sound like reasonable fixes. Hmm, what makes the size imperfect? Do you mean the display or the keyboard itself?
@@Magpiecheek The Neo2 is "huge". The keyboard and display has a good size. However there is a lot of frame which serves no purpose, e.g. about 1 inch below the keyboard and on each side of it. Also, the whole thing could be made significantly smaller if the display was closer to the keys and as wide as the keys, but only half the height.
It is available today, on ebay, there are usually quite a few good secondhand ones there for around £50 with shipping, cheaper if you're in the US.
I like that they're built solidly - I know they won't break. And the battery lasts for an estimated 700 hours. Neos are the best for distraction free, away from home writing.
No screen light for $500 ? Dealbreaker for me
The original Freewrite had a mechanical keyboard and wasn't much heavier than most laptops. In fact, the worst thing about it is that since I bought it I switched from writing mostly journalism from hand-transcribed notes to mostly content marketing with in-line links, so it just takes up space right now.
I do wish they'd managed to fit a mechanical board in the Traveler, even a shallow one like they have on some thicker Alienware gaming laptops.
Love the mechanical keys. The bulky anachronistic typewriter look, not so much. (I've already got a real typewriter that I love.)
Is the original intended to be portable or is it more of a desktop device?
There is no excuse for the e-ink screen to be so slow and _small_
What if I have some eyesight issues and want to use larger letter? I have a large external screen hooked up to my MacBook exactly for this purpose and I use the Kindle's capability to enlarge font in e-books.
This is a very interesting device, but the cost is ghastly. For a similar experience I recommend: An AlphaSmart Neo2 word processor, often $30, with a screen that is just as friendly to eyes and a surprisingly good keyboard. Alternatively, an old laptop and FocusWriter can give you a similar experience.
Aplhasmart keyboards are cheap and widely available. The 4 line screen is small but you could dip your toe in distraction free writing for $40 and stop e-waste 🤷
I am looking forward to see a review on Remarkable2... Thanks for the video...!
I was curious about these, but for the price and given the cons you're described so well here, I don't think this one is for me. So the quest for "the ultimate distraction-free writing device" continues...
I highly recommend it. I write for a living, and my production level has already tripled. It’s a strange purchase because we’re brainwashed into thinking more features means more value, but the value is the simplicity. I love mine and take it everywhere with me.
Hey I really enjoyed your review! Can you make a video about your novel writing experience on an iPad?
Well that's an interesting product however navigating around in text with out arrow keys is a missing feature I think. And the third of a width screen seems like it would've been better to have a full with screen and they definitely have to do something about that refresh. Otherwise a modern reincarnation of the typewriter is kind of neat. And even after the mechanical typewriter success there was a long history of digital variance which still serve the purpose In the computer age even if they were almost a Computer.
Using the Freewrite actually made me want to try a traditional typewriter again. Maybe for a future video!
I wanted to love this device. So bad. I funded their kickstarter. And the device has it’s own issues when it’s working. But every time they put out a new update, it fails and requires a factory reset and a software reset. And even then it still might not work. You have to keep doing it until it works. Which could take days. If it works. So it’s become a $500 paperweight. And because they want you to pay $150 to repair it and their is no fix at the time of me writing this. So if it get it working again, I won’t be able to update it. And everything you said is still an issue. When it does work. And that four week battery life is based on using it 30 minutes a day. So it’s misleading as hell.
Great review. Now you have to sign up to buy their newest device: The Alpha! It is supposed to get rid of some of the shortcomings of the Traveler. It does add in a few though. The ability to see even less of your text, being the biggest one.
If you sign up now, you might have it in 9 months, or so.
Great review!
7:08 Yay, an Aang Figure, that made my day. 😃
I have a cure for the lack of backlighting - a lamp.
Do you have a fix for the lag? And the debilitating updates that brick your device every time they’re released?
Given some time and demand for such a market.
As soon as a big manufacturer decided to develop such product. Kickstarter of such products would be gone in a matter of months.
The WASD keys act as arrow navigation keys.
Their earlier product with deeper keyboard is far more appealing. This doesn't seem like an upgrade.
I can't help but wonder if they might have been able to make the device a bit thicker and work in a mechanical board.
Yeah that seems crappy i miss my alpha smarts, and love my typewriter cliper even though one of the nobs are broken , i have a laptop and Samsung tablet with keyboard so put a cutting board under it and its seems way better , though a remarkable tablet looks interesting
Thanks for the review! I’m honestly just curious to use this for my “morning pages” type brain dump journaling and dream journaling. Do you think it’s still a good product for it? I really don’t mind the investment if it’ll be good for it. Thanks in advance for your input!!
To be honest, all freewrite lineups are just a novelty at this point. 400-600$ for the slow refresh rate and not-so-great-keyboard is just not worth it. For E-ink display, there are few choices you can get out there with less money.
I owned the Hemingway edition, do I love how it looks? Yes, I love retro feeling it gives. But do I like working with it? No, a big no. It's downright frustrating. And when I need to research something for my book, I always need to open up my phone, which is why I switched back to my old thinkpad.
Distraction-free is just something someone use to milk more money. There is no difference between using normal laptop and freewrite, distraction is everywhere. It's just about the matter of whether or not you are committed to the task you are doing.
I've been considering the Hemingway edition recently. Were there any specific issues you had with it other than the dubious advantages of Freewrite in general?
@@edwinford8553 great reply. Very helpful. Thank you.
Actually a solution to handwriting on paper and quickly scan and convert it to Word, would be a true revolution.
The fact it was called the Hemingwrite initially is a giveaway. It speaks to people who think they need some kind of device to become an accomplished artist. if you buy into the "distraction free" aspect- buy an ordinary used typewriter or write long hand. And dont fool yourself you'd be less distracted just because your writing device is limited.
But the advantage is the device is portable and can fit to your small bag. And it isnt heavy like your manual typewriter in a traveling heavy case
They keep trying to remake the Tandy 100 and failing...
Why dont you buy a typewriter ?
Idk if I'd spend the money on this myself. I own own, a Freewrite Generation 2, that I got in probably like 2018? Idk, this wealthy person I was dating at the time got it for me as a gift.
Really great review - thank you so much for your honesty and insight! As you say it is heavily overpriced, the screen lags and it can't be used in the dark, and worst of all - it has a keyboard which is no match for a ten year old Lenovo. So you'd be better off getting the second hand Lenovo at a cheaper price!
600 dollars for a Nintendo DS that only types on notepad 😂
Like the Rama u-80 :)
For me, there is no better tool than the mechanical typewriter. It uses 0℅ energy and is entirely distraction-free!
Go get yourself an old Brother word processor. It is both an electric typewriter and a word processor. It saves files to a 3.5 inch 720 KB floppy diskette. It is also a distraction free typing experience. Or just use an old laptop or PC and try to train yourself to stay focused on what you're doing. Turn off wi-fi to get better battery life. Dragon Speaking Naturally is a great software solution for people who want their spoken word to be translated into editable text. So get in the habit of talking to yourself as you narrate your next book.
I think is a very harsh review! Yes, it’s pricey. But the value is truly in the simplicity. I find the keyboard to be near perfect and the screen refresh rate is remarkably better after the latest firmware updates. My writing productivity has tripled!
You are buying the typewriter equivalent of Homer Simpson's car....especially the boxy table top version.
What can you buy with 500$? Just asking.
what is that device at 7:25???
It is called light phone
The problem with these devices is they never deliver a superior typing experience.
There is no point in going "distraction-free" if I'd rather type on my keyboard.
Along with the price, it's better to just get a great mechanical keyboard with Bluetooth, and pair it with a e-ink Android tablet (which have very fast refresh rate), and turn it's Airplane Mode on to not get distracted.
You get much much more value per $ spent, a customizable typing experience, and a much bigger and higher refresh rate screen.
Agreed!
what's that nice looking keyboard you're using around the 7:55 mark? And have you gotten used to the freewrite traveler with time, or did you give up on using it?
Hey Emily, that's Rama Works' U80-A. I haven't touched the traveller in a couple months because I've been deep into editing, but I'll be picking it back up as I start a new project.
Can you provide an update? Do you still use it?
@@evilphuk I know you asked the person who produced the video. I have a traveler and use it more and more. It is far from perfect. It’s distraction free, and the keyboard is much better than a laptop.
Unfortunately, it is only good for a first draft. That drives me crazy. It gets me started, but I have to do edits and refinements on my laptop.
@@saulchapnick1566 I just got mine and had it for 1 week so far good just waiting on one tickers and a decal to cover up that glossy black
Self control is a lot cheaper, anyone recall the Alphasmart?
@@Fifury161 all my alphasmarts and Neos broke down because of age. I miss them. The Traveler does not compare. I know, I have one.
Does it have a USB port, so you can back up to a flash drive?
Let's put it this way. The second someone ordered this dumb thing, the seller knew they had found a gullable person.
I bought it. And you are absolutely right.
Buy a second-hand NEO2 for $50.00.
"You're supposed to settle for less and and much, much more," said every fanboy of this piece of junk.
You could have sent me the same amount of money and I would send you a 386 PC running DOS with WordPerfect on it. Distraction free environment with crappy screen. And even a 386 laptop would have better performances and probably a better keyboard than that.
The failure of this company is the usage of e-ink. IF you use ONLY TEXT why not using a matrix LCD screen? Those you find on calculators and other low tech devices, that just print number, letters and basic ASCII symbols? Those draw virtually little to no power compared to a standard LCD screen, but have no issues with refresh rate and are as "paper like" as an e-ink for most part, if you get a screen that is large enough and of good quality.
This is another of those wacky ideas from kickstarter/indiegogo that are just made as oddity and not really with a specific userbase in mind. I want to see professional writers use this device as daily driver to write an entire book... Spoiler, it will never happen, so they are just catering at hipsters looking for another way to carry around something distraction free to then post about it on social media (talking about being coherent ).
As someone that write a lot, I was not joking about the 386 laptop.... If there was a company that would take the concept to the point where you get a good screen with refresh rate that can track what you type, an OS that support e-ink display natively, with appropriate UI designed for it and in a form factor that is easy to carry around without being a laptop; then they would have a killer product that many would buy.
Instead we get toys and weird devices that in the end are useless for most part, beside the original concept that started them. Of course people will scream "It works for me!"'; which is fine, but YOU are not everyone; so if the product is made for writers, YOU are not ALL the writers :)
I agree with pretty much everything you've said. My only tiny objection is the idea that no professional writer uses this as a "daily driver write an entire book." I know one (met her last year at a writers' conference. She's sold 70 million books worldwide and is very satisfied with her Freewrite.
Having said that, I'll stick with my Neo1.
@@fjtalleyauthor2242 I don't think I stated that someone would write an entire book with it.At most they could write a big chunk of it, but that is pretty much debatable since a book could be 100 pages or 1000.
I know people that wrote books with an old Tandy WP2, so it really depends from person to person
little trick, just activate flight mode on your Ipad. Thank me later…
I would take a $60 neo 2 over this $600 crappy keyboard every single day
My distraction-free device is an old iPad 1st gen with his dock keyboard, way more functional and less expensive than this bullshit
sry if i'm being obnoxious, but i rarely see someone selling the absence of functionality as something desirable and to be paid for. no twitter, no facebook? it's not a drawback, it's a FEATURE! it actually helps you! i dunno guys...
In my opinion that is a toy.
I can't disagree.
This was just another stupid overpriced scammy product.
Interesting but pointles
what a scam ...a raspberry pi zero can do better