Tom Hanks Seeks iTunes Stardom With Typewriter App打字机强迫性的,曾经有一个贴画ction numbering 200, has created an app that mimics the look, feel and sound of the bygone gadgets.

ByGeoff Weiss

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

With a brand-new typewriter app, Oscar-winner Tom Hanks marks the latest celebrity to leap from the silver screen into the world of tech.

Hanx Writer, which launched yesterday exclusively for the iPad, seeks to "recreate the experience of a manual typewriter" -- complete with look, feel and sound.

As a vintage-typewriter obsessive boasting a collection that once numbered 200, HankstoldUSA Todaythat the machines inspire a clarity of mind when he's writing letters to friends or notating scripts.

"I find it's like music that spurs along the creative urge," hetweetedto his nearly 9 million followers yesterday. "Bang bang clack-clack-clack puckapuckapuckapucka..."

Related:Struggling to Write? Take a Break from Modern Tech, Like These Famous Writers Do (Infographic)

The app was helmed by Kentucky-based tech firm Hitcents -- whose other notable creations includeDraw a Stickman: EpicandBattlepillars-- in collaboration with Hanks' management, Creative Artists Agency.

Users can email, print and share documents written via Hanx. A selection of three total keyboards is available, each of which produces a slightly different font. While the basic typewriter is free, subsequent models cost $2.99.

Hanx Writer arrives on the heels of another celebrity-madeapp store sensation, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, which analysts claim is on track to garner $200 million in its first year.

Rather than aiming for big bucks, however, Hanks toldUSA Todaythat the project stems from his abiding love of a bygone gadget. "Hanx Writer is just my little gift to the future Luddite hipsters of the world," he said.

Related:Laugh All You Want: Sales of Kim Kardashian's Much-Mocked App Are Astronomic

Wavy Line
Geoff Weiss

Former Staff Writer

Geoff Weiss is a former staff writer at Entrepreneur.com.

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