May the ErgoForce Be With You

Over the years, PC keyboard manufacturers have tried to perk up sales of keyboards by adding speakers, scanners, and Internet navigation buttons to the boards. With the release of Windows 95, the basic 101-key device expanded to 104 keys. But despite all these changes, the only features that matter much to users are typing comfort and price. And beyond a few nods to ergonomics (such as the introduction of raised and angled keys), keyboard comfort levels haven't really changed for years. Until now.

Key Tronic's $25 ErgoForce revolutionizes typing comfort by varying the force required to press each key. On most keyboards, it takes about 55 grams of force to activate any key. But common sense tells us that the thumb can exert more pressure on the spacebar than the weaker pinky can when it reaches for the P or Q keys. Accordingly, the 104-key ErgoForce requires just 35 grams for outlying letter keys, 45 grams for inside keys, 55 grams for the function keys, 65 grams for Enter, and a full 80 grams for the bottom row with Ctrl, Alt, and the spacebar.

In my test of a shipping unit, I experienced a palpable improvement in typing comfort, especially after spending a couple of hours at the keyboard. Because I tend to inadvertently press the spacebar on conventional keyboards, I particularly appreciated that the ErgoForce's bottom row required more pressure.

For hunt-and-peck typists, the varied key pressures won't make much of a difference--the ErgoForce keyboard was clearly designed with touch typists in mind. And its reasonable $25 price tag should make it easier for them to handle the "pressure."