Astrohaus has announced that it will begin shipping the cheapest digital typewriter in its Freewrite lineup, the Freewrite Alpha, in mid-January 2023. The Alpha can be pre-ordered now for $349 in either black or white directly from Astrohaus’s website.
The Freewrite Alpha represents the third generation of distraction-free writing devices from Astrohaus. It follows the original $649 Freewrite launched in 2016 and the portable, $499 Freewrite Traveler introduced in 2020. Like its predecessors, the Wi-Fi enabled Alpha aims to help writers focus by eliminating web browsers, notifications and other digital disturbances. Documents typed on the Alpha are wirelessly synced with the user’s Google Drive, Dropbox or Astrohaus cloud account.
By utilizing a reflective LCD monitor instead of an E Ink display, Astrohaus has significantly reduced production costs for the Alpha. The tradeoff is that the LCD is not as crisp or paper-like as E Ink. Astrohaus claims the LCD enables a remarkable 100 hours of battery life, over 4 times longer than the original Freewrite. The Alpha charges via USB-C and retains the multi-day standby time that Freewrites are known for.
Gone are the dual screens of the original Freewrite—the Alpha sports a single screen. At 1.6 lbs, the new model sits right between the heft of the original (4.0 lbs) and the lightness of the Traveler (1.6 lbs). Users of the Alpha will enjoy the return of mechanical key switches, which provide springy tactile feedback lacking on the Traveler. Astrohaus has opted for low-profile Kailh Choc V2 switches over the bulkier Kailh Box Browns. Like the Traveler, the Alpha enables moving the cursor to edit within a document.
Astrohaus raised nearly $447,000 to develop the Alpha through a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that concluded in March 2022. Early backers of the project secured the typewriter for $269, a substantial discount off the retail cost. After fulfilling the initial batch of preorders, Astrohaus is now accepting direct orders for mid-January shipment.
The Alpha completes Astrohaus’s lineup, providing writers with a range of digital distraction-free typewriters to match their budgets and needs. With the new year approaching, January looks to be an ideal time for writers to hit their creative reset button with the assistance of the latest Freewrite.
