CES is in full swing, and we’re seeing all of the most interesting tech that our favorite companies have to offer. Among the sea of announcements, we have a new mechanical keyboard that has an interesting design and some neat features. The Astrohaus Freewrite Wordrunner will be able to keep track of how many words you write.
If you’re not familiar with Astrohaus, this is a company that never gave up on the typewriter. It sells standalone keyboards with little screens attached that display the text you wrote. Sure, you could just use a cheapo tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard. However, the thing about this device is that it eliminates distractions while you’re trying to write. Some people don’t want their work device to also be the device they have YouTube and other recreational apps on.
The Astrohaus Freewrite Wordrunner is a keyboard that keeps track of your words
This keyboard sits apart from the other Freewrite devices on the market. Those are standalone writing devices. The Wordrunner, on the other hand, is just a keyboard. It’s a mechanical keyboard, so you should expect a pretty good typing experience with great tactile feedback. While it is a mechanical keyboard, it has sound-dampening technology that will keep the volume of the keys down. This can be useful if you need to work in a quiet environment with the keyboard.
As for the keyboard itself, the chassis is made from die-cast aluminum. So, it’s a durable piece of tech that will last you for years. There are no media control buttons on the keyboard. Rather, there’s a red joystick at the top left corner of the keyboard. You will rotate it and push it in four directions to control your media.
Wordometer and timer
While the switches and the chassis are great and all, the main story with this keyboard has to do with the two components at the top. Firstly, there’s the Wordometer. It’s an electromechanical word counter. It’ll keep track of the number of words you type, and it’s a pretty unique addition to a keyboard. It will track your words until you press the Reset button. There’s also a Start/Stop button next to it.
The other component is a timer. It will count up as you write as a way of tracking your productivity. This is especially helpful if you tend to get distracted. You’ll be able to see how much time you actually spend typing. Just like the Wordometer, the timer has a Start/Stop button.
At this point, we don’t have any pricing information about this keyboard. Since it’s a mechanical keyboard with a metal chassis and extra components, you should be prepared to pay a pretty penny for it.
