If your office keyboard or gaming keyboard is getting old, you might take some time to find a new one. Choosing a keyboard is not always an easy thing to do, as there are several features you should to look at:
- 1. Ergonomics. This is maybe the most imporant one, especially if you are to spend hours on your computer, typing unending documents or simply chatting with your friends. A keyboard can take various shapes, and some keyboards split the keys. These keyboards are a bit hard to manage at first, but you get used to it pretty fast. But in the end, it is you wrists and hands that will end up winners since ergonomics will reduce the efforts needed to type. Finally, some keyboards have wrist rests and some have the possibility to raise the device.
- 2. Wireless or Wire keyboards ? Exactly as for mice, keyboards can either be wired or wireless. The benefits of a wireless keyboard are obvious: these keyboards take up much less space will allow you to keep it organized with less effort. Some keyboards like the Logitech K780, as reviewed by Jason L, have a 10m wireless range, which is not bad at all. But you have to keep in mind that wireless keyboards need to be connected to your computer, either through USB or Bluetooth technology. Indeed, wireless keyboards generally come up with a small USB adapter that you will plug in a USB socket on your computer, so it means that you will usually need a USB slot to connect your keyboard to your computer! You can of course circumvent this problem by buying a multi-USB port , which will multiply the USB sockets available. Another disadvantage of wireless keyboards is that you will need batteries to make it work. Well, Keyboards always are the best choice but you will be in need of a mouse with your keyboard too. Checkout the list of the best gaming mouse.
- 3. Keyboard size. The keys generally have the same size, no matter the size of the keyboard. Consequently, smaller keyboards (which are heavily used by travellers and tablet users) will sacrifice some keyboard space, like the pad or additional buttons which are not crucial for the casual computer or tablet user. While it’s true that most keyboards use the exact same keys, some keyboards are built for portability so you can easily pack it away when it’s not in use. You can also find larger keyboards, with many more hotkeys and media keys. These are mainly used by gamers, which need easy shortcuts for their game and more media buttons.
- 4. AZERTY or QWERTY. Did you know that there are countries that do not have the same key placement as in the US? Yes indeed, that is the case ! So be cautious if you buy a keyboard or a laptop in countries like France or Belgium, as they use a keyboard with keys starting as “AZERTY”, in contrast with the “QWERTY” used in the rest of the world. German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, ..) also have their own particular key placement for keyboards: their keyboard starts with a “QWERTZ”. You can find more info about this key placement on wikipedia.