Stephen Drivick's Blog - Posts Tagged "japanese"
A Novel On Your Cellphone
I am going to a car show next weekend, and will be away from my computer for a few days. Because of my shoulder problems lately, I feel like I have fallen behind on my work in progress, Sometimes We Ran 3. Not being able to work on it for a few days was going to put me further behind.
My laptop is more a stay-at-home computer these days, so I scoured the mighty Amazon website for a cheap solution. I considered small notebooks, a new Kindle Fire HD, or even one of those cheap Android tablets with attached keyboard. Most of these solutions were either too expensive or had horrible reviews on the mighty 'Zon.
I then remembered my cellphone. I have a Samsung Galaxy Express with Android 4.1.2, a 4.7 inch screen, and a Bluetooth connection. It's not a real fancy phone, but it does work well in everyday life.
But could you write a book on it? I decided to try it out.
I went back to Amazon, and purchased a portable Bluetooth keyboard, a foldable, reasonably-priced one in white from a company called iwerks, and downloaded an app called text edit from the Play store - Google's app store. After waiting a few days for delivery, the keyboard arrived in good shape.
I charged it from my computer for a few hours, then fired up my phone's Bluetooth. The keyboard paired, and almost like magic, the words I typed appeared on the screen. I could now write on my phone.
It's not perfect. The screen is kind of small, but increasing the font size helped. File sizes could be a problem, so the whole master file of Sometimes We Ran 3 will remain on the laptop. I'll copy a few lines from the last paragraph to my phone, and type from there. Any thing I write on the phone will be copied to the computer.
In all a pretty neat solution. I can still write a little and not have to lug my laptop around. Actually, it might be cool to write a whole book on your phone. Imagine composing a novel while waiting in line, riding a bus, or lounging around in a vacation hotel room.
Sounds like a challenge to me.
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After a little more web-surfing, I found out this cellphone novel thing is nothing new. The Japanese have been enjoying cellphone novels for a while, and many people have written bestsellers on their phones while commuting. I may just have to give a cellphone novel a try.:)
My laptop is more a stay-at-home computer these days, so I scoured the mighty Amazon website for a cheap solution. I considered small notebooks, a new Kindle Fire HD, or even one of those cheap Android tablets with attached keyboard. Most of these solutions were either too expensive or had horrible reviews on the mighty 'Zon.
I then remembered my cellphone. I have a Samsung Galaxy Express with Android 4.1.2, a 4.7 inch screen, and a Bluetooth connection. It's not a real fancy phone, but it does work well in everyday life.
But could you write a book on it? I decided to try it out.
I went back to Amazon, and purchased a portable Bluetooth keyboard, a foldable, reasonably-priced one in white from a company called iwerks, and downloaded an app called text edit from the Play store - Google's app store. After waiting a few days for delivery, the keyboard arrived in good shape.
I charged it from my computer for a few hours, then fired up my phone's Bluetooth. The keyboard paired, and almost like magic, the words I typed appeared on the screen. I could now write on my phone.
It's not perfect. The screen is kind of small, but increasing the font size helped. File sizes could be a problem, so the whole master file of Sometimes We Ran 3 will remain on the laptop. I'll copy a few lines from the last paragraph to my phone, and type from there. Any thing I write on the phone will be copied to the computer.
In all a pretty neat solution. I can still write a little and not have to lug my laptop around. Actually, it might be cool to write a whole book on your phone. Imagine composing a novel while waiting in line, riding a bus, or lounging around in a vacation hotel room.
Sounds like a challenge to me.
----------------------------------------
After a little more web-surfing, I found out this cellphone novel thing is nothing new. The Japanese have been enjoying cellphone novels for a while, and many people have written bestsellers on their phones while commuting. I may just have to give a cellphone novel a try.:)
