The Most Essential Writing App For Your iPad Is Coming Soon To Your iPhone
March 8, 2012
After the announcement of the new iPad, the latest edition of iOS, the avalanche of updates for Apple's own iOS apps, and a significant increase in the download size limit for installing apps over a cellular network, you may be forgiven for thinking that we've exhausted our cache of good news for today. Nonetheless, we're more than happy to prove you wrong, as we have another bit of pleasant news to share with you, courtesy of our friends at Information Architects.
Information Architects' iA Writer has long been a favorite among critics and regular consumers alike. It's truly a groundbreaking product that redefined what a writing app could do. Perhaps more accurately, it redefined the category of writing apps by demonstrating what writing apps should not be doing in the first place. It does away with a bevy of things found in most other writing apps, and by doing so it strips the all-important writing experience of distractions and unnecessary features. The unqualified writing app of choice by many users, myself included, iA Writer is available only for Mac and iPad. But that's about to change a couple of days from now, when iA Writer finally comes to the iPhone.
I have been using iA Writer for a long time on both my MacBook and iPad, and it delights me to learn that soon I'll be able to use it on the go on my iPhone. Indeed, there's plenty to be delighted about, as the upcoming iA Writer for iPhone is, as expected, equipped with the same features I and my fellow iA Writer fans have come to love in the existing versions of the app. Foremost among these is, of course, the no-frills, noise-free environment that iA Writer provides. The very minimal use of buttons and menu items means you can focus more on what you're writing rather than be sidetracked by what's around it. Watch iA Writer for Mac, iPad and iPhone in action below.
If you can't see the embedded video above, please click here.
Another key feature that I'm excited to see on the iPhone version is the keyboard extension mechanism pioneered by none other than the developers of iA Writer. This extension, made up of navigation buttons and punctuation keys, is conveniently situated right on top of the regular keyboard to facilitate direct access. You no longer have to awkwardly use your fingers to put the cursor on a nearby location and you no longer have to tap the "123" and "#+=" keys to use some of the most common punctuations.
The complete absence of a settings menu is another thing which iA Writer is famous for. On the iPhone version, you'll see no place to specify your preferences, too. The people behind iA Writer believe that it works perfectly as is, monotype and all, and as someone new to the app, you might find yourself agreeing with them sooner than you think.
Wireless printing of documents via AirPrint and file syncing via iCloud and Dropbox are also supported in iA Writer for iPhone. The app is slated for a Mar. 9 release.
One more thing… iA Writer for iPhone is actually a universal app, so there'll be no need to repurchase a separate iPad version once you purchase the app for your iPhone. This is even better news for us who already have iA Writer for iPad, since iA Writer for iPhone will be downloadable at no additional cost. The soon-to-be universal iOS app is available now for only $0.99. Pretty awesome, write?