Types of Laptop Keyboard

Although laptops and other portable electronic devices which require user input, have built-in keyboards, a separate keyboard can also be attached to the laptop to make the user typing experience more pleasant and comfortable. These laptop keyboards can contain physical key switches as present in traditional laptops or virtual key switches as provided in the touch screen technology. In this post I shall just concentrate on the physical keyboard for laptop and leave the touch screen technology for later posts. Some examples of laptop keyboards are Toshiba laptop keyboard, HP laptop keyboard, acer laptop keyboard etc.

Standard Keyboards:

Standard keyboard is an input device where users provide inputs using mechanical switches, which concert the key strokes to machine instructions. The computer keyboard is based on typewriter keys, which were the first form of electronic input devices. Keyboards have come a long way from the initial rectangular versions. The latest keyboards have around 110 keys.

A standard computer keyboard has two parts namely the alpha numeric part and the numeric part. The alphanumeric part is used to write documents, to prepare presentations etc. The numeric part was developed later to help enter financial and other numeric data. The traditional keyboard is known as QWERTY which designates the first 5 letters in the first alphanumeric row in the key board. The QWERZ format is also used in some parts of Europe.

Wireless keyboards:

The basic idea behind the working of a laptop computer keyboard is that the key strokes are sent as signals to the computer. The traditional keyboards connect to the computer using an external cable through PS/2 or USB port whereas laptops have an internally connected keyboard.

photo credit: CC BY 2.0

On the other hand wireless laptop keyboard use some form of wireless technology to communicate with computer. The wireless technology could be infra-red or radio communication like Bluetooth. A keyboard using Bluetooth (i.e. radio wireless technology) to communicate with the laptop is called a Bluetooth laptop keyboard. The communication between wireless keyboard and the computer takes place through a transmitter which is attached to the keyboard and a receiver which is attached to the main computer.

Ergonomic Keyboards:

A lot of people have reported injuries due to continuous use of keyboards while working at office and home. To avoid these injuries different kinds of keyboards have been designed, providing ergonomic comfort. These keyboards, also known as ergonomic keyboards have keys separated at various angles to the table surface to make typing more easier and comfortable. Whether such designs reduce the probability of injuries or help the users in any manner is still debatable.

Gaming Keyboards:
The keyboard designs have continuously improved with the improvement in the semiconductor technology. Faster keyboards with additional keys became a requirement for playing increasing complex video games on computers. The latest generation keyboards now contain more keys than the traditional keyboards. Moreover, the new laptop keyboard keys are programmable so that the user can configure them based on their gaming and multimedia requirements.

Related posts:

1. Two Types of Mobile Touch Screen Computers