Do you know how easy it is to make a video nowadays? Technology evolved so far that we can now film, edit and upload a video with an amazing image and sound quality from our smartphones. One can almost say that technology evolves faster than our understanding of the means we have to exploit our creativity. Since the phones got bigger, with better screens and better software I kept asking myself: “Can I freelance with a smartphone and a smartphone alone?”. After all, if there are content-creators out there posting videos every day using only a smartphone why can’t I do my writing directly from my pocket?
In this article, I chose to talk about mobile devices meaning smartphones. Some people consider Ipads and other tablets mobile too. In my opinion, the only reason you would want to write on a mobile device is for you not to carry anything in your hands when you leave the house. So as pretty and lightweight Ipads are, I didn’t consider them for this article. Now that we’ve established what we’re talking about let’s see the pros and the cons.
PROS:
As I said before, technology evolved like crazy in the past years. 20 years ago who would have thought that you will have all the information you need in a day only on your phone? You don’t even need a wallet nowadays because you can attach your credit cards and pay with your phone’s NFC! Writing texts on a phone’s keyboard became much easier with touchscreens getting bigger. So the mobility factor of having everything with you on your phone is very important. You can write an article while riding the subway and listening to musing in the meantime.
More important, as a writer you can not only find online jobs using mobile phone but also get in contact with the person hiring you and even send them the piece you’ve written after finishing it. Staying always updated with the help of your internet connectivity is a huge plus.
Seeing live the news you are writing about or being able to access information when you reach to your pocket is amazing for any creator with ideas flying through his head like bees in a beehive. Freelancing is about not having to be somewhere to do your work. Nothing supports this more than taking mobility to a new level and writing from your phone. As a college student, having a free period in your schedule or having a class that’s been canceled by the teacher can be a drag. Writing in college helps you gather knowledge and increases your imagination.
Our colleagues attending college do a lot of freelance writing from their phones for papers hiring young creators or for essay helper EduBirdie, services that require their writers to reply fast on their tasks and to keep the employer updated with their progress. So when you have a very active and nomad-like lifestyle, leaving home with your hands in your pockets sounds pretty attractive.
CONS:
On the other hand, a full-size keyboard sounds nice. You are much faster as a writer with the right and proper-sized tools for your job. Not only you can do your task faster but it’s also more comfortable and almost relaxing writing a freelance task on the right keyboard. Another problem regarding writing only on a mobile device is the necessity of switching between windows and apps. Either if it’s about checking your spelling or about tracking your article progress, a mouse and a taskbar make your work much easier.
Even without all of these practical arguments, the choice of a computer seems more adequate for the fact that sitting down at a computer, it being in a coffee shop or in a library, the act of sitting at a desk in front of a computer makes me more productive than anything else! Not being distracted by texts and calls while doing my freelance work is something I definitely need.
Conclusion:
Having a larger screen on your phone and good keyboard software with word suggestions and spellchecking is amazing. Using speech to text apps is also a very good option. So doing your freelance writing only on your phone is possible.
Is it the best option out there? In my opinion, it is not. Or at least not an ONLY option of writing. I don’t think I’ll be able to leave the comfort of a full-sized keyboard anytime soon, not even for the absolute amazing mobility that using only your smartphone gives you. But if your
lifestyle is about getting from A to B and actively doing everything while travelling, writing on your mobile device is a very good option!
