Alright, so I don't typically do reviews, so here goes nothing. I own both the Freewrite "Smart Typewriter"(Limited "Ink" Edition) and the "Cosmic Alpha". Here are my observations:
Obviously, the Smart Typewriter feels more premium. The body is almost completely made out of metal, the toggle switches to swap between folders and the wifi on/off/new function are satisfying, and the keyboard is arguably (note: I said arguably... my personal opinions will be noted later) better. The Smart Typewriter also has a bigger display; fitting more lines of text for you to view if you are into that sort of thing.
The Alpha, despite its premium 3D preview on the website, definitely feels plastic-y when handling it. I mean, the device itself is made from plastic, so that should be pretty obvious right? It just feels a little bit on the cheaper end construction wise (the seams on mine flex when pressed which, at this time, seem to be the only visually descriptive example I can come up with regarding that opinion). I personally love the color way on the device itself. The fact that it comes with the carrying sleeve is pretty sweet too, as I had to buy a separate case with the Smart Typewriter. With everything I've said, you might be inclined to lean towards the Smart Typewriter. The value for money seems moreso in that direction; right?
Heck no.
I love the Smart Typewriter, don't get me wrong, but you can bring the Alpha literally anywhere and it's not inconvenient. The keyboard on the Alpha is 100% better. It's quieter, the keys have just a tad bit of weight to them(one review on youtube describes them as "thocky", which I would say is appropriate), and there are less errors in typing. I'll give an example. Let's say you are a knucklehead like me, and instead of clicking the shift button to capitilize the first letter of the first word of your sentence, you click the caps lock button. You type the first letter of the first word in your sentence, then click the caps lock button again to uncapitalize your keyboard, allowing you to finish typing out the rest of your word normally. The Alpha does this no problem! The instant refresh rate of the LCD might be one of the reasons this is possible(my knowledge on the way technology works is pretty limited, so I'm not quite sure). When I do this same method on the Smart Typewriter, however, it always ends up capitalizing both the first and second letter of the the word before the button registers that I had already uncapitalized the keyboard. A small, but annoying issue that I felt I should mention.
What about the super small, hard to read, "only 4 lines of text" display? I think it's great! So many people on reddit try to find whiny baby things to complain about, but in reality, you can see the display just fine. If you can't, wear glasses. If that doesn't work, increase the font. If your new complaint is that you can't read more than two lines of font at a time on a drafting device because of your own physical limitations...this device isn't for you bud. I would recommend you the Smart Typewriter, but even that thing has some annoyances with the display. It lags by almost 1 second per button press. That alone isn't particularly an issue; it's the "sticking" e-ink that frustrates me. Every once in a while, i'll type a letter that ends up sticking on the display and the only way to remove it is to refresh the screen, or go back over the letter and type it again, somehow "unsticking" it. I don't know what the hype is surrounding e-ink displays on devices outside of reading tablets, but I personally think it is the only major downside (and area of malfunction) of the Smart Typewriter and Traveler. One thing I missed regarding the comparison of the keyboard between both devices earlier, was the experience as a whole when typing on them. The Alpha's keyboard, in my opinion, is significantly better. The Smart Typewriter has a great keyboard, but it feels like underneath each key is a tiny piece of parchment paper--and every press of a key just smacks that scratchy parchment paper, making a loud typing experience. The Alpha feels like the keyboard that you wish they would've put into your Macbook Pro.
All in all, I believe the Alpha is the way to go. Understand that there are sacrifices to any device you use to write with, and try to use what little ramblings I gave here (ramblings that I wrote using my Freewrite Alpha) to decide which sacrifices are worth it for you.
Respectfully,
- SirBootiusClapsimus
