I think I’ll stick with my torrented copy of Word, but if you find you spend more time tinkering with the various viewing options and being niggled by the constant auto-correct/blue squiggly lines/Clippy notifications, iA Writer might tickle your fancy.
They call it a “digital writing tool”, but really, it’s a text editor that has:
1. Character: No preferences. It is how it is. It works like it works. Love it or hate it.
2. Signal vs Noise: Focus mode allows me to think, spell and write at one sentence at a time.
3. Speed: Writer works without mouse. Automarkdown formats semantical entities such as headlines, lists, bold, strong, block quotes written in markdown.
I do like that you have two choices though – full-screen mode, or “focus mode”, which Japanese creators Information Architects has applied for a patent for. Like with the $6 iPad app, it fades all sentences except for the sentence you’re currently writing, to avoid the distraction of editing. If you’re trying to write a book – in the Latin or Russian alphabets – it could be just the ticket to help you focus on getting as many words down as possible, but honestly, Write Or Die is free and looks much more effective than this overpriced app. [iTunes via The Next Web]