LOS ANGELES: Oscar winner Tom Hanks has collaborated with Hitcents to launch ‘Hanx Writer’, an app that emulates the experience of typing on a genuine typewriter for iPad users.

The app mimics the noises made by a manual typewriter and visually replicates the process of each letter being hammered onto the page. However, Hanks' app includes one improvement on the original typewriter – a delete button, as well as the traditional option to strike mistakes with an ‘X’.

The app, which was launched on August 14, has proved to be an immediate success, reaching No. 1 in the App Store with an average rating of 4.5/5.

'Hanx Writer' mimics the appearance and function of a typewriter. – Courtesy Photo

According to designtaxi.com, Hanks said that, “With Hanx writer, you’ll hear the rhythm of your work with SHOOK SHOOK or FITT-FITT.”

He emphasised the joy of the physical experience of using a typewriter, particularly its melodic quality:

Hanks appealed to the nostalgia and romanticisim in people through this app, suggesting how customers may use it:

Hanks’ passion for typewriters began in the 1970s and he subsequently began collecting them, with his collection now boasting over 150 models, as reported by collectorsweekly.com

In an article written by Hanks in The New York Times, he explains, “I use a manual typewriter — and the United States Postal Service — almost every day. My snail-mail letters and thank-you notes, office memos and to-do lists, and rough — and I mean very rough — drafts of story pages are messy things, but the creating of them satisfies me like few other daily tasks.”

The app comes in a default version which consists of one typewriter keyboard, one type of font and colour, but more can be unlocked with a payment.

The app can be used to write documents that can be saved, emailed or shared.