writerlywitterings

Astrohaus Freewrite Give Away

Posted by writerlywitterer on 13/12/2017 · 4 Comments 

This is a quick post about the Astrohaus Freewrite.

Those who have followed my occasional witterings in the last few months will be aware that I have developed a fixation with the Freewrite. I’m writing this on it now.

What do I love about the machine? It is robustly built from aluminium, with a keyboard that anyone who types a lot will adore. There is a load of memory – well, enough for many thousands of pages (in fact Astrohaus reckons “millions”). The main thing is, it is exceedingly simple to use. There is nothing to learn. Users do not need to clutter their minds with a load of instructions. Instead, you turn it on and type.

The downsides? Well, the machine is heavier than a tablet, it has no cover (which I think is a serious failing), and there is no editing. Literally none. The only means of editing is to backspace, deleting characters or words. And don’t think that this little computer will allow you to email, put up tweets, log in to Facebook or any other form of work displacement activity. It won’t.

Many people reckon the price is its biggest problem. With respect, I think that’s bollocks. This machine costs some four hundred pounds or so. For me, that’s good value. The alternative would be to buy a laptop. I could get a laptop for less money, but, and it’s a big but, I’d then have to buy a decent keyboard. I’m a writer. I need a good quality keyboard. So I may save a hundred pounds by getting a cheap computer, but it wouldn’t do the job as well, and it wouldn’t work until I’d spent another hundred pounds for a keyboard. And then I’d have two boxes to lug around, rather than one.

Now, not everyone wants to use a second machine, I know. That’s fine. Not everyone has the money to buy one of these devices. That too is fine – now! There is a special offer on from Astrohaus – two, in fact. First, if you have an elderly AlphaSmart, apparently Astrohaus are offering you a fifty dollar trade-in. That would equate to a bit more than a twenty percent discount. Not too bad. There is a link to a form for it here.

They have also had a bit of a brain seizure. Like the original Model T, Astrohaus have stuck to a policy of “You can have any colour you want, so long as it’s black”. But now they’ve tested the water with a new colour: cream. It does look rather lovely. And they are giving one away. Please note, I do not work with or for Astrohaus, and I’m not paid to market their gear. However, when I find a product or business that seems really good, I like to promote them Astrohaus has been a brilliant firm to buy from, and so I have no hesitation in putting them forward. And I do believe that this little typewriting toy is going to be a significant writing aid to any serious writer, be they novelists, playwrights, journalists or PhD students. So, if you want to give one a go, entering their competition for a free one would be a good way to test the water. The link to the relevant page is here.

Again, I have nothing to do with these promotions. However, both to me look like good possible deals. The discount based on an old AlphaSmart is a good idea; the potential of a free limited edition machine is even better. So, try them for yourself!