Types Of Keyboard – A normal keyword has 104 buttons or keys, which includes the control key, function key, LED indicators, arrow keys, and keypad. When one of these keys is pressed, an electric signal is closed, and the keyboard sends this signal to the computer that shows the letter on the monitor screen. The keyboard is the most used device as it is needed to enter data into the computer.
The major types of keyboard available – Many types of the keyboard that are widely available some of them are:
- Qwerty Keyboard- It is the commonly used keyboard. It has a comfortable layout, ideal for everyday typing needs. This keyboard is ideal for the first-timers who are learning to type, and as this is the oldest form of keyboard and is usually cheap and mostly used in households and small offices, it has only one drawback that it takes so much of space.
- Ergonomic Keyboard- These keyboards are designed so that it reduces your body strain during any typing work so that you can easily rest your arms around the keyboard. These keyboards are ideal for those who are concerned about their posture or are suffering from back pain or any other related disorders.
- Wireless Keyboard- These are the modern keyboards that are available in the market which do not have any connecting wire. It has antennas which use radiofrequency or infrared signals, which can send an instruction to the computer screen and are more portable as you can take it anywhere with you.
- USB Keyboards- These keyboards are connected through a dongle in your computer or laptop, and it does not require any wifi or Bluetooth connectivity and these keyboards use rechargeable batteries as their power source, which means you can easily connect your device any time.
- Bluetooth Keyboard- These keyboards are connected through Bluetooth that don’t have any kinds of wire or dongle, which make it more portable and easy to carry in bags as these are wireless so there will be no issue of tangling of the wires inside your bag.
- Numeric Keyboard- These keyboards are ideally used when you need to work with digits and not any alphabets or arrow keys.
- Virtual Keyboard- These keyboards are particularly used in smartphones where the keyboards appear when you need it and get disappeared when your work is done. This can be set according to the user choice; users can also modify these keyboards according to their needs.
- Backlit Keyboards- These keyboards have a light source fitted in each of the keys so that the user can easily work in any dark environment. These keyboards come in many varieties like wired, wireless, Bluetooth, etc.
- Gaming Keyboard– Professional gamers use these keyboards; gaming keyboards are made in a way so that it can run for a long time so that it does not cause any interruption during the game.
- Mechanical Keyboard- These were used in the olden times and are not used now. They had buttons for every action like a typewriter and also used to make a lot of noise and took a lot of time to type anything with these keyboards.
- Multimedia Keyboard- These keyboards consist of multimedia buttons like play, pause, volume up, volume down, and also have buttons for launching any browser or any other applications.
How to choose the right keyboard?
Now that it is pretty clear that there are several types of keyboards that one can choose from. Every type of keyboard has its use and objective. Now, let’s see what are some features that one should consider while buying a keyboard.
- Wired/wireless: Some like to have the ability to move the keyboard around the table without worrying about the wire. While some, like to believe in wires and not shaky Bluetooth connection. It all depends on what one wants.
- Ergonomics: Every keyboard has its design and style. Some are for gaming purposes, and some are for typing. One should pick based on what feels right under the fingers and what keeps the hand untired. Also, keep in mind that every keyboard has a certain learning curve, and therefore, one might take some time to get comfortable with it.
- Size: Look for a keyboard that is of optimum size. Not too big or not too small. Some people like to carry their keyboards for better working experience, then they should choose smaller keyboards. Also, some people like to have bigger keyboards for faster working speed.
- Usage: Keep in mind why one is buying the keyboard. Is the keyboard for typing, for data entry, for gaming, for general use, etc. this will give an idea about what type of features to look for in a keyboard.
There are so many types of keyboards available, but it is very confusing which one to choose. If you are thinking of buying one, make sure it fits according to your need and is also durable so that it can run for a longer time.
