Originally posted by Dnj:
What does the freehand do that a laptop can't?
1. Display is aprox 13" high by 10" wide, that makes for a good fit of lead sheets. My laptop is 14" wide by 9 high. Sheets don't fit as well. You can view the screen in portrait or landscape mode.
2. Ability to create playlists. There's no limit to the number of times a single copy of lyrics/leadsheet can be used on playlists. More than likely you'd have to have multiple copies of a leadsheet on a laptop.
3. Built in jack so that you can use an optional foot pedal to advance pages. Or you can just use the touch screen feature to advance pages.
4. A touch screen that allows you to write on the screen with a stylus. Color choice for what you write on the screen is pretty much unlimited.
5. You can create repeats of your lead sheets. If a lead sheet requires you to return to page 1 after reaching the 3rd page for instance you can simply create a repeat to get back to page 1 while advancing forward. In other words you don't have to touch the screen to go back.
6. Show look ahead pages. While on the current page you get a preview of what's on the next page.
There's a few more, but I find these very useful.