This is as much a message to myself, as a review for the Alpha. Within
the context of a piece of technology, the Alpha is at best a strange
beast, and in a harsher reality quite a terrible piece of tech.
The screen is too dim, even in broad daylight. The key caps are flat,
have quite a bit of wobble, and I consistently type less accurately on
them (I even tried swapping out for key caps that were not flat
chiclets). The built quality is okay, but not exactly premium. The
technology definitely leaves more than a lot to be desired, and for
such a premium price if you just look at that and don't use it, you'll
definitely be disappointed.
Here's the thing though, I keep going back to the Alpha, and I write
more on the Alpha than I ever did on any other device. Decidedly more
than I could ever write by hand (that ship has sailed as I now just
give myself cramps trying to hand write anything longer than a
paragraph or two). So I started to ask myself, why the hell is this
working? And then I stopped, because it was working. I was writing
more, and that was the point. I kept trying to find the value in the
technology, when the true value was in giving me an avenue to write. I
wish there had been a bit more effort made in some areas (the screen in
particular is jarring), but the bottom line is it works.
If you bought any Freewrite device, and feel disappointed I implore you
to just start using it every one in a while. It doesn't make sense, I
can't clarify anything for you, but it definitely works.
