After waiting eight months for this product, I was overwhelmed with impatience. Holding off writing for that long was disheartening and frustrating. The long wait beside, the Alpha is great! The feel of the keyboard is nice and using it in my lap was easier than with the traveler (Freewrite’s other model), which was almost too difficult to write that way (I made it work).The keys are sunken in, so you have to press harder than you might first think. I was missing letters as I was typing, but as I got used to it, pressing harder became natural, and the text showed up as intended.The wrist rest made this my preference before I even received it. The angled kickstand on the back made the angle of the screen just right, although the actual screen itself was difficult to see. There was either glare or the words didn’t have enough contrast from the background, but with proper lighting, it was fine. I stuck with the medium text size and got three lines on the small screen to work with. You can switch to smaller or larger font by holding the power button down. I was thinking the compromise of a small screen for more wrist space would be too great, the screen too small to see or use, but it was plenty, and actually made me zone in more on just the words at hand. It kept me writing longer and made it easier to focus on the thought I was getting out. I thought I’d miss the bigger screen, and the mini stat window (like on the traveler), but the hidden info was easy to pull up by holding the space bar for a couple seconds, and limited the distraction that having that info at the ready created. Before, on their traveler model, I’d be checking again and again to see if I had met my word count goal or time goal. I know the traveler allows a change of the info on screen, but not having it obviously viewable with the Alpha made me just write, and I actually got more written on this than the traveler.I love this device but I’m not sure why it was marketed as a ‘beginner’ device. This thing gets the words out as good, or better than their other devices.The one thing that bothered me was the lag that often showed up (much better than the traveler) which I think is due to the device saving and syncing with postbox (freewrite’s syncing website) . One of the reasons this device appealed to me was the speed the text showed on screen. Instant response was a goal I missed while using the traveler. The delay was mostly easily overlooked and the response was nicer than the traveler. There will definitely be updates of the firmware soon to address this.I love the look of the device. I got the raven black and it’s great. The feel of plastic is maybe not as nice as metal, but not a dealbreaker for me. That stuff lasts a long time. It didn’t feel too cheap, but the lower price point was a draw that hooked me. I think I may change the keys out at some later point, but it’s not an immediate need. I will definitely get some good writing done with this device and I am enjoying the process so far. Maybe worth the wait, but I hope the delays on future products will be handled better. Maybe Freewrite needs a more realistic goal when putting new devices out there. After eight months of delays, I was thinking I’d never get it, but it came through. This company is very friendly to users and are very attentive as well. I had a few emails exchanged in the past, and they solved my issues with prompt responses.I am glad they sent a felt sleeve case for free. That was a good gift to assuage the pain of a long wait. It is nice and well made of course. I wish the whole case was felt rather than adding a small amount of leather. I am allergic to leather so I may have to avoid using it. A screen protector that limits glare would be a nice addition.