Writing on the iPhone is a very different thing than writing on a computer. On our desktops, word processors do virtually everything we ask, with menus and tool bars we never fully learn; but on our iPhones, we don't spend a lot of time with our virtual keyboards. We want to get our thoughts down quickly and easily. 

The App Store is filled with ways to do this. Some are clean and quick, others are overly designed digital notebooks with features that mostly get in the way. None of them are perfect. I use several writing apps throughout the day depending on my mood and need, and judging by the overlapping reviews in the App Store, it would seem I'm not alone.

It's not terribly inconvenient, but at least one iPhone developer was fed up enough to do something about it.

"I've personally been a user of Elements and iAWriter and then Drafts," said Tanmay Sonawane, developer of the upcoming Write for iPhone. "Elements/iA Writer had all the features for being a good writing tool and Drafts had all the elements of quickly sharing what you wrote effortlessly. 

"I actually kept switching between them on an as-per-need basis. There are literally hundreds of Dropbox-based notes app, but none offered a good balance between design, writing and sharing. Here is where I felt there's a gap that needed to be filled."  

iA Writer, also one of my go-to writing apps, has a fantastic, minimalist interface that literally gets out of the way as you type. Sonawane's Write — which has been submitted for review and should be available in the App Store later this week — has a striking white-and-gray design with a singular purpose: focus on the writing, not the app's bells or whistles.

"From the beginning, I wanted to keep the look clean and simple. Too many variants of color spoil the clean look, so I thought it would be best to keep it shades of gray and white.

"When you think from a pure writing perspective, ultra-minimalistic writing apps make a lot of sense mainly because of the distraction-free environment they provide. ... Clogging the interface with unnecessary options actually seems distracting and causes the person's train of thought to deviate."

But Sonawane wanted more than a pristine interface for Write. When he decided on Dropbox integration — iCloud "wasn't consistent enough" for his purposes — Sonawane also understood that some users feel comfortable with the desktop concept of saving. So he developed a slick way to bring it back to iOS.

"I feel providing user with feedback that his file has been saved successfully on the server is more important than just keeping the user guessing or hoping that it must've been saved. ... Providing a 'pull to' mechanism is just an added feature which I think many users will love and prefer."

So as you're writing, you can give the title bar a gentle tug to save. (When you're not in editing mode, the same gesture will delete the file.) And you'll find similar subtle animations all throughout Write. Like the fold-out drawer with a bevy of sharing and exporting options. Or the sliding panels for accessing your files. They all make the app seem powerful without cluttering the interface with buttons you seldom need.

"Animations play a crucial role in providing the user with a better experience and to some extent connect with the user on an emotional level. That's why even though this is a notes app, I wanted it to have a bit of animations here and there like the paper folds or the pull to save. These tend to enhance the user experience and make using the app fun."

Find Michael Simon on Twitter or App.net @morlium.