Turn your iPad into an old-school manual typewriter with Tom Hanks' Hanx Writer
In addition to being an actor, comedian, producer, writer, and director, Tom Hanks is a proud typewriter aficionado. And now, the two-time Academy Award winner has released an iOS app that recreates the experience of a manual typewriter — from the faux paper roller to the “ding-clunk-fripp” sound at the end of a line — on an iPad.
That’s right. Hanks is so mad about typewriters that, in collaboration with Draw a Stickman developer Hitcents, he’s created an app that looks and sounds just like one. It’s called Hanx Writer.
“I suppose some people who get the app may just be looking for a different sound, but really it’s for people searching for a more personalized experience when writing on an iPad,” Hanks tells USA Today. “There’s also the opportunity here to take your iPad to a coffee house and be really obnoxious with all the clickety-clacking.”
Hanx Writer
But fret not: Unlike the writing machines of yore that it pays homage to, Hanx Writer comes with a delete key, so you won’t have to apply correction fluid on your typos. It also supports AutoCorrect and provides options for sharing and printing your works. It works with wireless keyboards as well.
Compatible with iPad and iPad mini running iOS 7.0 or later, Hanx Writer is available now on the App Store for free, with in-app purchases offered for unlocking additional typewriter designs and features.
To celebrate the launch of Hanx Writer, the official Twitter account of the App Store is set to hold a Twitter Q&A session with Hanks tomorrow, Aug. 14:
World, meet #HanxWriter for iPad. Join us for a live Q&A with @TomHanks tomorrow at 9 am PT http://t.co/Abl3u5bhvp pic.twitter.com/OXKvJslue4
— App Store (@AppStore) August 14, 2014
A week ago, a different Tom Hanks-related app was launched on the App Store in the form of Run Forrest Run, an endless running game released in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of “Forrest Gump,” for which Hanks won his first Oscar.
