Astrohaus Freewrite Smart Typewriter.

My current Freewrite Smart Typewriter. I love the keyboard, weight, and e-ink screen.

Astrohaus Freewrite Tips

I own an Astrohaus Freewrite Smart Typewriter. This is actually my third Freewrite. Originally, I bought a used Freewrite Smart Typewriter, identical to this device. I sold it to get the more portable Traveler. Sold that so I could get the Smart Typewriter again. The Traveler is nice, portable, and a decent typing experience, but it pales in comparison to the Smart Typewriter.

The Smart Typewriter is heavier, bulkier, and vastly superior for long typing sessions. It sits solidly on your lap with the keyboard raised to an ergonomic height for typing. On a desk or table, it doesn’t move around—ever. The keys are full height and amazing to type on. The Traveler—and now the Alpha—are more portable, but slide around too much. I prefer the Smart Typewriter.

There are basic keyboard shortcuts everyone should know on these machines. I know these work on the Typewriter and the Traveler. I have no experience with the Alpha.

Most of the shortcuts are documented in Keyboard Shortcuts (Smart Typewriter). There are a few, undocumented, shortcuts published by u/Bastian_S_Krane.

[NEW][SHIFT][B] is a useful undocumented shortcut. It brings up a debug screen with details on firmware, IP address, capacity, and much more. Hint: “battery soc” is the battery charge percentage.

The most useful combination for me is [NEW][BACKSPACE]. Where [BACKSPACE] will delete one character, [NEW][BACKSPACE] deletes the whole word. If I’m typing and realize I just made a mistake, I hit [NEW][BACKSPACE] and retype the word. It’s so fast I often beat the screen refresh.

I type using the Dvorak keyboard layout. To add this layout—or any keyboard layout—visit Postbox Device Settings. Start typing your preferred keyboard layout where it says “more languages”. For me that’s “Dvorak (English).” Hit [NEW][SHIFT] to rotate layouts. The name of the active layout appears in the status window.

Note that these keyboard shortcuts are sometimes, but not always, dependent on the keyboard layout. For example, [NEW][SHIFT][B] uses the Dvorak location for “B”, but [NEW][SHIFT][L] to toggle the light requires the QWERTY “L” location.

# Tested with firmware
2.0.3

# New document in current folder
[NEW][NEW]

# Delete entire word (USEFUL)
[NEW][BACKSPACE]

# Battery status, sync status, keyboard layout
Hold [SPACEBAR]

# Open drafts navigator
Hold [SPECIAL]

# Manage a Draft
Hold [SPECIAL] then hit [SPECIAL] again

# Menu for Manage a Draft
B. Bookmark
A. Archive
S. Shred
M. Move

# Cycle through documents
Hold 
[NEW] then press [PGUP] or [PGDN]

# Toggle info/debug screen on/off
[NEW][SHIFT][B]

# Cycle keyboard layout
[NEW][SHIFT]

# Toggle display backlight
[NEW][SHIFT][L]

# Settings
Hold [POWER BUTTON] for 3 seconds

# Settings Menu
1. Log Out
2. Font Size
3. Brightness
4. Firmware Update
5. Shutdown

# Hard Reset
Hold [POWER BUTTON] for 15 seconds

# Quick Power Off
Hold [RIGHT NEW][POWER BUTTON] for 3 seconds

# Cycle status bar under main screen
[SPECIAL]

# Status bar cycles
1. Folder / Date / Language / Email / WiFi Status
2. Reading Time / Word Count / Character Count
3. Analog Clock
4. Bubble Hour / Day / Date / Bubble Minute
5. Timer
6. Blank

# Email document as TXT and PDF to self
# Premium feature will ask for email address to send to
[SEND]

Drafts Only

Some people expect the Freewrite to be a word processor. It isn’t. It’s not supposed to be. The lack of a spell checker, complex file system, or easy editing capabilities are features. Not bugs.

My advice. Use the Freewrite in the manner it was indended. It is a drafting machine. Write first. Edit later. Don’t force it to be a word processor. Just write.

I’ve drafted content where I went for paragraphs before my mind kicked into what I really meant to say. I don’t backtrack to fix what I’d written. I mark my location with a few astericks and a note saying that this is a better version and then type what I’m thinking.

Move forward. Never back.

And learn Markdown. It is a powerful, easy-to-use, plaintext syntax. Keep it simple. Focus on basic formatting like italics, bold, headings, etc. You are writing a draft, not polishing the book.

When you finish your draft, bring it over to a real computer to edit and incorporate into your regular workflow. I never leave content on my Freewrite. I draft, transfer and shred.

Postbox Plus

There is a premium service available as Postbox Plus (everything is “plus”). I don’t use it. I don’t need to sync to multiple cloud services nor do I send emails from the Freewrite. Basic Postbox supports synchronizing with one cloud service like Dropbox or OneDrive. If you need more, the price isn’t bad.

WiFi-less Workflow

The Freewrite securely transfers data to Postbox, but it appears the data saved in Postbox is unecrypted on their servers. What does that mean in practical terms? People at Astrohaus can read your content. Do they? No. Of course not. Who has the time. I’m not nervous about them storing my data.

However, if you don’t want to upload content to their servers, it is possible to use the Freewrite without WiFi—mostly. Use WiFi to set up a Postbox account to configure the device—like adding a keyboard layout or requiring a password to unlock the device.

Then, turn off WiFi and leave it off. After you draft content, connect the included cable to your computer. Turn on the Freewrite. It will appear as a drive on the computer. You can transfer the plaintext files directly to your machine.

When that’s complete, on the Freewrite, manually shred the document.

It’s not as convenient, but it works.

Or, trust Postbox.

Factory Reset

The following are the steps for a full factory reset. I do mean a complete reset of the device all the way back to the original firmware on the date it was manufactured. Even for machines purchased recently, this original firmware may be quite old.

One day, my Traveler somehow turned into a brick. The factory reset brought it back to life so there are times when it is necessary. Most of the time—if you are having problems—perform a hard reset or shut it completely off and turn it back on. That will fix most problems, but just in case, here you go…

CAUTION: USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

  1. Plug in charger.
  2. Hold down the E+X+L keys on your keyboard.
  3. At the same time, hold down the Power button.
  4. After 15-30 seconds, you will see screen turn gray. Then, it will ask if you want to perform a factory reset.
  5. Let go of the other keys. Press Y to perform factory reset.

It takes a seriously long time and when it restarts it will say, “FIRST BOOT, DO NOT TURN OFF - WAIT” in both English and Chinese. Be patient. When it’s finished, you will be back to the original firmware. You will likely need to complete two or more firmware upgrades before the device is current.