Tom Hanks has been well-known for decades as a movie star, writer, comedian, and director. You likely know him from Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Big, Apollo 13, and so many more. He also wrote, acted in, and directed “That Thing You Do!” which is a musical comedy drama. But did you know he also creates apps? That’s right.
Tom Hanks is a huge fan of the manual typewriter and he just launched an iPad app called “Hanx Writer” on the App Store on Thursday. Since then it has climbed to the top of the charts in free iPad apps. It currently has over 2100 customer ratings, with 4.5 out of five stars. It’s free, but of course there are in-app purchases ranging from $2.99 to $4.99. Looking at the screenshots on the iTunes Preview page, it looks and sounds impressively like a real manual typewriter, with the added bonus of all the cool things that come with using an iPad. It comes with just one typewriter, font, and color, but of course you can change those with the upgrades.
According to Hanks, he’s an avid collector of typewriters and started in 1978 when he took a plastic one in to be fixed and instead brought home a Hermes 2000. He suggests that perhaps Hanx Writer isn’t likely suitable for college papers or legal papers, but would be great for love letters or journal entries.