A Brief History of QWERTY

In 1878, Qwerty was invented to slow down the typist so that the typewriter won’t jam. Although it served its purpose, as type-writers stopped jamming when typing slowed, it had also been known to be difficult to learn and use, and has been associated with carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injury. These were known as early as the 30s, but the typists, mostly professionals then, who had spent monthsand years training on Qwerty resisted any change to an alternative keyboard. Besides the main alternative provided, the Dvorak, proved to be just as difficult and tedious to learn and prone to errors. Hence, Qwerty became the defacto standard input system – even for the later word processors and computers.

The Next Generation

Times have changed. Today’s electronic keyboards don’t jam, and typing is no longer the preserve of professionals. Users want a keyboard that’s easy to learn and use. Besides, there is now better awareness of the importance of touch-typing, ergonomics, and workplace health, efficiency and productivity. Variations in input systems are beginning to show up – eg. in mobile phones and TV remotes.

Finally, the convergence of consumer electronics, information technology, and telecommunications, where platforms are being bridged to allow for seamless and continuous cross-applications, calls for an integrated input system that enables users to learn one system and apply it across platforms, without having to switch one to another.

Hence, abKey, the next generation input system : a crucial tool for Covergence – the new frontier.