-
ORDER OUR BOOK TODAY
Now available in paperback.
Save space with half a keyboard
The Matias company makes a computer keyboard that works well for single-arm amputees, people who suffer from carpel tunnel in one arm, and those looking for a completely unconventional way to save desktop space — The Half Keyboard:
Try out the demo software to get an idea of how it works. (Warning: The demo is addictive, like a video game.) Unlike other one-hand keyboards, this one is based fully on the QWERTY system so you don’t have to learn a new method of typing. Simply hold down the space bar when you want to switch to the keys on the alternate side of the keyboard. I think the Matias Half Keyboard is really cool and efficient, and I would love to use something like it on my work surface, but …
unfortunately, it costs $600.
I’m not really sure how half a keyboard can be so expensive compared to a traditional full-size keyboard, but my guess is that eventually the price will fall and/or single-hand QWERTY competitors will enter the market. Matias claims that with practice a typist can usually type “up to 88% as fast as your two-handed speed.” I love the space-saving qualities and productivity benefits — hold the mouse continuously in your right hand, while you type with your left.
I’m eager to see what the future holds for single-hand typing. Anyone out there already own and use one?
24 comments posted
Posted by Adventure-Some Matthew - 06/05/2010
I’ve never seen one of these, but I know that I sometimes wish I could type with one hand and mouse with the other (is mouse a verb?).
You’re right, I can certainly see where the demo would be rather addicting. It would be handy if they produced a digital keyboard map, instead of a physical keyboard. The map could be sold relatively cheap, since it would only be software, and people could try it out to determine if they would like it or not.
Posted by Eric W - 06/05/2010
It’s not qwerty, but the frogpad looks interesting. http://www.frogpad.com/
Posted by KateJones - 06/05/2010
I wonder if they have the software available so that you can one handedly use a regular keyboard? I know two people who only have the use of one arm (and if it speeds up my typing I’ll try it myself too!) and I’d like to point them to this, but neither one has anywhere near 600 dollars to spare.
Posted by Claudia - 06/05/2010
To be honest, I think this would cut my productivity in half. I’m a quick typer but only because I use all 10 fingers and don’t need to look down at the keyboard to type. So while this may save space, I think I’d end up spending far too much time searching the keyboard and relearning how to type.
Posted by Ed Eubanks - 06/05/2010
I’ve always heard that keyboard alternatives were on the way based on “chording” rather than a traditional typing system like QWERTY. But I’ve never seen one even in prototype.
Our QWERTY typing system was based on two simple factors: we had to type one letter at a time (because typewriters could only work on that principle), and we use some keys more than others (thus the arrangement of the keys the way that they are). While “peek and peck” typists will complain about the apparently-odd order of the keys, for those who learn touch-typing it is very efficient– if you must type only one letter at a time.
With computers, though, that limitation is a false one. Utilities like TypeItForMe and Typenator (and others) are showing that there are clever software-side solutions for typing more efficiently; why couldn’t hardware-side solutions work cooperatively with that idea?
With a five-finger chording possibility, the combination possibilities would be a huge number– far more than the 103-character keyboard that most of us are used to. There could be chords for, say, the 100 most-common English words, and a set of customized chords for your name, your spouse’s name, your e-mail signature, and other common things that you type often. Then there could be dozens– if not hundreds– of combinations that you use in tandem with a software tool like TypeItForMe.
Ergonomics are helped here, too: such a device could come in a variety of sizes to fit naturally in a hand, with alternatives for left or right hands. It could even be set up to attach to the end of a desk chair’s arm, etc.
The real questions are three. The first is one of cognition: how many combinations can the average person remember and recall? The second is one of willingness: how many people who have been touch-typing for years (I learned 25 years ago) would be willing to completely re-learn how to type? The third question is ubiquity: will people be willing to learn and use two typing systems until a new system becomes ubiquitous as current keyboards are?
My guess is that the answer to the first question is far higher than we might guess. But the answers to the second two is simply, “no” which is why we haven’t seen a better alternative to the traditional QWERTY keyboard.
Posted by Guilherme Augusto - 06/05/2010
This guy did just about the same thing when he was recovering from surgery:
http://blog.makezine.com/archi.....mming.html
I wonder how the function, enter, backspace, Ctrl and such keys work.
Posted by LaToya - 06/05/2010
Am I the only person who thought this was a unitasker joke? For a limited population (amputees, persons suffering with unilateral carpal tunnel, ect.) I can see this being helpful. For the rest of the population, it is wasteful junk. A full keyboard costs less than 20 dollars and requires no additional time to learn. $600 for a half-keyboard is just crazy!
Posted by Mike K - 06/05/2010
Also, the price will not drop. Half keyboards have been on the market for a decade. Almost all specialty keyboards are outrageously priced.
I have long watched this market because I suffer from carpal tunnel and have wanted a standard size keyboard with the arrow keys and number pad on the left. I never found one under $250. It’s not any different from manufacturing a normal keyboard, they keys are just moved.
The ergonomics industry does itself a disservice by not dropping price to get a wider adoption.
Posted by Duane - 06/05/2010
I’ve never used a half keyboard, but I do know how to touch type with only my left hand using the Dvorak-left layout. I have yet to test my words-per-minute, but it feels similar to my normal speed – plus I can use the mouse with the other hand (another plus is that it really screws with anyone who tries to use my computer).
Posted by Jen - 06/05/2010
For those interested, the “Happy Hacking Keyboard” series is aimed at folks who are tight on desktop space.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8361
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPj9UDfcguk
It is not as compact as the Half Keyboard, though.
Posted by Shayne - 06/05/2010
For those interested in trying out this functionality on your own keyboard, try this AutoHotkey script.
http://www.autohotkey.com/forum/topic1326.html
It has the bonus of working exactly the same way with your right hand, if you want to.
Posted by adam - 06/05/2010
@Shayne I was going to suggest that exact thread. I played around with the idea a year or so ago so I could keep my right hand on the mouse for CAD stuff. It takes some getting used to but it’s kind of a neat trick.
Posted by Ann - 06/05/2010
I think this is a cool idea with some practical applications. When I was nursing, I learned to type with only my left hand and was almost up to my normal speed after about a month of that. It would have been kind nice to have a special keyboard to assist me with that. The “chord” idea is nifty too. Arthur C Clarke wrote about it years ago in The songs of distant earth ( a pretty good read, too). I think any technology introduced to the young’uns that is advertised as faster and cooler will eventually become the standard. Just like texting.
Posted by Ann - 06/05/2010
really though, what I want is a brain hookup. let me wear a goofy hat that lets me think what I want the computer to do and make it happen!!!
Posted by Nancy - 06/05/2010
No LaToya, you aren’t the only one.
Seriously. How much space does a keyboard take?? One of the reasons to declutter is to free up space for better use. If my desk is in such need of free space, I’m going to end up losing my teeny keyboard.
While I will agree that there would be some practical application, in particular to those with a physical need for better keyboard layout for one handed typing, I think as a “general use” item this lands squarely in the UniTasker file.
Especially for those of us who don’t HAVE a keyboard. More to the point, our little laptops have their own and don’t take up the space a desktop takes up ANYWAY.
Or we use an iMac as the desktop. Now THERE is an efficient use of space.
There’s a reason this is going to remain at this price. Most of us type at blazing speeds with two hands because we simply do not think about what our fingers are doing anymore. This would require thinking again.
Posted by Jim Cee - 06/05/2010
I love your site, but I kinda found this to be in bad taste. What’s next, prosthetic legs as plant stands? “They keep your plants at waist height for convenient watering and best of all take up less than a square foot of precious space…”
Posted by Reader - 06/05/2010
I think I’ll go blow $50 on that ice pop machine you mocked. It seems like a bargain.
I once taught myself the Dvorak, so I’m interested in typing and keyboard design. But this one would definitely slow me down. Also, I would not be able to get the image of an amputee out of my head.
I have an Asus Netbook, which has a keyboard that is 90% the size of a regular keyboard and it was $400.
Posted by Reader - 06/05/2010
typo
“the Dvorak keyboarding SYSTEM”
Posted by Sarah - 06/05/2010
This just makes my head hurt to think about it. I’m a devoted laptop user and I have no issue mousing with my right index finger and then moving my hand a WHOLE INCH back to the keyboard. And their top speed is 64 WPM? Yeah, that would never ever cut it for me – I routinely type in the upper eighties.
Posted by Heather - 06/05/2010
Mike K, what you need is a USB numeric keypad that can be moved independently from the keyboard. Try searching for the keywords USB keypad, and you’ll find a selection for around $10. They were designed for faster number entry with laptops, which usually don’t have a numeric keypad. I bought one when I had to enter tons of numeric data for my thesis research, and it made data entry so much faster. Most of them let you toggle between number entry and arrows.
Posted by Courtney - 06/06/2010
This just opens up to all *kinds* of lewd comments…”one handed typing” indeed.
Actually, I think better suited is a keyboard without the keyboard, a la the “virtual keyboards” that were all the rage a while back. In a sense, the ipad’s virtual keyboard does just that.
Eventually, I’d just like to use my desk top, and do away with the keyboard all together.
Posted by klutzgrrl - 06/06/2010
it looks right-handed.
Posted by JJ - 06/06/2010
To me this seems like an excellent solution for those who NEED to type with just one hand (for various medical reasons).
But for me, I’ll find some other way to declutter my desk. 2 handed touch-typing took me a long time to acquire, and now at 60 words a minute, I don’t feel like changing to something that will slow me down.
Posted by Erin Doland - 06/06/2010
Thanks to all those who have left productive and interesting comments. Unfortunately, some people filled with anger and hate are trying to take over the comment thread. Am closing comments to this post as a result.
Comments are closed for this entry.