The Ernest Hemingway Freewrite Signature Edition, a.k.a. "Hemingwrite," pays homage to the most iconic literary personality of the last century.
The Hemingwrite is an officially licensed collaboration with the Ernest Hemingway estate.
An explorer at heart, Hemingway lived a rich, legendary life. He won a medal for his bravery in WWI, was adopted into the “Lost Generation” writers’ circle in Paris, ran with the bulls in Spain, and caught giant marlins off the coast of Cuba.
Beyond his worldly travels, Hemingway whet his appetite for adventure through the written word. On the Hemingwrite, the only limit to your exploration is your imagination.
Now, there’s no need to travel to Paris to create a distraction-free atmosphere. Hemingwrite is designed to help you focus, so you can enter writing flow wherever you go.
Hemingway wrote directly and concisely. His perceptive style became known as the “iceberg theory,” influencing subsequent generations of writers. The principle of minimalism is at the very core of Hemingwrite. Its clean aesthetic, minimalist features, and singular purpose as a drafting tool will help you do what you do best: just write.
To conquer the blank page, Hemingway advised writers to first “write the truest sentence that you know.” From that first sentence, the Hemingwrite encourages you to embrace authenticity by focusing on productivity over perfection – let your story emerge.
Control where your drafts sync, change device settings like font size and lock screens, and enable new languages and keyboard layouts, all from Postbox.
I have to split this review in to two sections: A review of the Gen3 Freewrite, and a review of the Hemingway Edition styling.
For context, I owned a Gen2 Typewriter for about six months before selling it. The Gen2 did exactly what was advertised, but it was missing a few features that I personally considered workflow dealbreakers—namely, an offline file manager and the ability to move the cursor around the document to make small edits. Fortunately, Astrohaus has implemented solutions to both of those problems in the Gen3 while throwing in a few other improvements, like the (IMO) luscious new key switches. My only remaining gripe is that they really should add a bi-colour frontlight that gives you a warmer colour temperature for writing at night. Right now the frontlight is limited to a very blue 5600K'ish, and I would love to be able to toggle to an amber 3200K. Can't imagine much more I'd change, although I do occasionally miss the Copy/Paste functionality from my Alphasmart. Two things I am specifically noticing about my unit are that the spacebar key gets very sticky sometimes—to the point where pressing it lightly is enough to jam it in its depressed position—and it is also extremely picky about what USB chargers it will work with. For some reason I can't get it to charge from my 20W OEM Apple USB-C charger, which seems odd because it will charge from the old 5V2A USB-A charger...
As for the Hemingway styled model, I am (mostly) glad I sprung for this version. To be clear, there's nothing functionally different about it but I'm a sucker for the bare metal; the Brunswick Green keycaps with their pronounced font; the tan leather case. It's a gorgeous package, which makes all the little things that do bug me more pronounced. For starters, I think there's a harder edge on the inside of the attache case because the plastic on the back of the Hemingwrite was worn down on a spot that was roughly the same height as the point where the top and bottom halves of the case meet. Support has been following up with me about this though, and I am hoping there will be a resolution to this soon. Otherwise, one thing that is very clear when you see one of these up close is that when they say they're hand polished, it definitely looks that way. There are a lot of spots on the device that seem pretty rough compared to how smooth other features are. Specifically, the surface around the Freewrite logo and the space underneath the Folder and WiFi switches don't look like they got very much attention, which is a little distracting if I'm being honest. Lastly, I respect Hemingway and his work but I wish I could get this model without the Hemingway branding. Most of the time it's not visible, especially while you're writing, but it's kind of weird to have Ernest's signature there when I am not, like, a fanboy or anything.
Oh! I also want to bring up the case. It's a beautiful piece, and I love the colour of the leather. The Freewrite fits in to it nicely, although it definitely draws attention to itself. That aside, something I wish they had designed in to it were feet on the narrow edge of the case. Four brass nubs would go a long way to protecting this case, so I'm a little shocked those are missing here. I definitely feel a little uneasy resting it directly on the leather when I put it down.
So would I recommend it? Eeeehhhhhhh... Look; you know why you're here. We're talking about a digital typewriter that costs as much as a washing machine. If you're one of those people who knows that a Freewrite will be a beneficial addition to your workflow, then you've really got to think about how you want to look while you're doing it. For a pretentious dweeb like me who likes to have pretty things, it was worth it because I have no self control. If you don't suffer from that character flaw, then I would recommend saving several hundred dollars and just going with the vanilla Gen3 Typewriter.
I have struggled with protectionism in my writing for years. Wanting to get every line perfect before moving on has kept me from finishing drafts many times. With the Freewrite… this issue goes out the window.
I have been able to write steadily for days and days, getting all the good ideas out of my head with ease and pleasure as I let loose on the keys. What a joy it is to write, free of distractions and need for perfect structure. This is the appliance I never knew I needed.
Ernest Hemingway Freewrite Signature Edition
The free-write has allowed me to hone in on my craft distraction-free. It takes some time to get used to, but overall it's an amazing piece of equipment.
Fantastic keyboard with limited yet adequate functionality (ability to sync with cloud for storing texts) is just what I needed to focus on writing. There are too much distraction, temptation to check emails, being open to chat messages etc, with using PC, tablet or smartphone when I need to focus on writing texts. Mechanical feel of the keyboard with good tactile feedback is something I had missed with today's thinner laptops (or worse yet with touch devices). The leather case was also a nice premium & nostalgic touch.
| DIMENSIONS | h = 33.5cm [13.2 in] w = 26.7cm [10.5 in] d = 9.6cm [3.8 in] |
| MATERIALS | Cognac Genuine Leather Velvet Sherpa Lining |
| WHAT'S INCLUDED | Microfiber Cloth |
Write passionately and explore the world of Freewrite drafting tools.
Hemingwrite features a raw aluminum chassis that will develop a completely unique patina over time. Each unit is finished by hand, so no two are exactly alike. This, along with Hemingway’s official signature on the body, makes Hemingwrite a one-of-a-kind collector's piece.
Hemingwrite ships with a gorgeous customer leather attaché case, a monogrammed microfiber cloth, and booklet.
The Smart Typewriter Hemingway edition is an official collaboration with Ernest Hemingway’s estate. Each device features Hemingway’s official signature on the body. We’re proud to be able to offer this stunning device from a literary great.
Yes.
