Apple keyboard concept
When Apple released the bluetooth keyboard and the magic trackpad, it seemed quite obvious they could fit together quite well. Not least because they'd share a set of batteries so overall battery life should be longer. I made a mockup of what a wired version might look like but one important change I made was the key layout:
The ideas behind the layout change are the following:
- w,a,s,d and i,j,k,l keys are often used together so it makes sense that they are aligned
- a number pad is way more useful than the numbers in a row
- punctuation is easier to find when it's all in a row rather than scattered about the keyboard
- characters that are more commonly used with calculations are grouped near the numpad whereas punctuation is grouped near the letters
- pageup/pagedown (arrows near eject key) double as home/end and use the fn key to switch function. This way you don't accidentally hit home/end when doing a page skip
- there's a .com on the keyboard simply because people browse websites so much that it makes sense to have a shortcut for it, it's very useful on smartphones
- minimising redundancy was also important. On current keyboards, there are often multiple keys to do the same thing. The only redundancy here is with the command-key but it is used so much for shortcuts that it makes sense to have one on the right
The length of the keyboard would be about the size of the current wired keyboard minus the last 2 columns of keys on the right. Use of the trackpad wouldn't be mandatory, a mouse can be used too but the pad is there for gestures when you need it for zoom, rotate, swipe, pan, expose, spaces etc.
I also feel that instead of having a wired and wireless version, they should make a single model with a micro-USB connector and a sealed-in Lithium Ion battery using the same technology as their laptop batteries.
When it needs charged, you simply plug it into the machine. The USB ports typically on the wired model would just be unpowered when unplugged from the micro-USB so devices plugged into them would not power up. A Lithium Ion battery the length of the small rectangle at the back of the wired keyboard should last a good 3 months without a recharge.
I'd expect the price of this device to be $69-$99 and bundled by default with the iMac and Mac Pro. The Magic Mouse could be an optional extra but quite honestly, I think they need to stop making mice and just offer 3rd party options. The Magic Mouse improved on the last one but it's still not a great mouse. By contrast, Apple's trackpads are the best in their class.
The ideas behind the layout change are the following:
- w,a,s,d and i,j,k,l keys are often used together so it makes sense that they are aligned
- a number pad is way more useful than the numbers in a row
- punctuation is easier to find when it's all in a row rather than scattered about the keyboard
- characters that are more commonly used with calculations are grouped near the numpad whereas punctuation is grouped near the letters
- pageup/pagedown (arrows near eject key) double as home/end and use the fn key to switch function. This way you don't accidentally hit home/end when doing a page skip
- there's a .com on the keyboard simply because people browse websites so much that it makes sense to have a shortcut for it, it's very useful on smartphones
- minimising redundancy was also important. On current keyboards, there are often multiple keys to do the same thing. The only redundancy here is with the command-key but it is used so much for shortcuts that it makes sense to have one on the right
The length of the keyboard would be about the size of the current wired keyboard minus the last 2 columns of keys on the right. Use of the trackpad wouldn't be mandatory, a mouse can be used too but the pad is there for gestures when you need it for zoom, rotate, swipe, pan, expose, spaces etc.
I also feel that instead of having a wired and wireless version, they should make a single model with a micro-USB connector and a sealed-in Lithium Ion battery using the same technology as their laptop batteries.
When it needs charged, you simply plug it into the machine. The USB ports typically on the wired model would just be unpowered when unplugged from the micro-USB so devices plugged into them would not power up. A Lithium Ion battery the length of the small rectangle at the back of the wired keyboard should last a good 3 months without a recharge.
I'd expect the price of this device to be $69-$99 and bundled by default with the iMac and Mac Pro. The Magic Mouse could be an optional extra but quite honestly, I think they need to stop making mice and just offer 3rd party options. The Magic Mouse improved on the last one but it's still not a great mouse. By contrast, Apple's trackpads are the best in their class.
Comments
I'll buy it, especially if it offers backlighting when needed.
Yeah, backlighting on the desktop keyboards would be nice. The Macbook has it with white keys and it works well.
You moved the Return key. The keyboard is instantly rendered useless.
If you mean replaced its function with an enter key, the key marked as enter can be set as a return key by default and alt-return or fn-return can be enter. If you mean the key position, it can be switched around with the +/- keys without too much trouble.
Edit: like so
It's still missing the numpad clear button but fn-delete could be used to clear a calculator or fn-. can be set as clear. Having the arrows bottom-right should make them easier to use without accidentally hitting the enter/return key. The slashes are also closer to the letters now, which is better for typing filesystem path names.
What's this π and ± nonsense? And I didn't even notice you moved Delete until now.
Absolutely no reviewer would recommend this. Absolutely no one would buy it.
You. Can't. Move. Keyboard. Keys.
Holy frick, you even removed the numbers. Seriously, is this a joke at this point? It has to be.
I hate to admit this, but in 30 years of using a computer, I have never been able to master using the top line numbers accurately without looking where I type. I need the number pad to do that. When I got my 2009 iMac, I opted for the laptop size wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse. Same problem: dratted top line numbers. I didn’t like the Fn key placement either.
Then I bought the full sized keyboard and a Magic Track Pad. I like the keyboard, but am having a problem with the MTP: Highlighting is a pain. I haven’t mastered the rhythmic double tap and the quick movement necessary to highlight. I have to try it several times before I get the right tempo. Clicking the MTP also leaves something to be desired. The MM is the better way to go. So I find that I’m using all three input devices.
Ergo, I use the keyboard, the MTP next to it, and the MM to the right of the MTP. Takes up too much real estate and is awkward.
Marvin, your keyboard is JUST what I need. It would work splendidly for me. WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW can I get one? How can we poor mortals influence Apple to get their asses in gear and market your keyboard?
Further, your key placement would suit my typing ability. I especially like the Fn key placement. It makes more sense – e.g,, to be able to do a delete/backspace with one hand – or to change (most) of the F key functions with one hand. I like the punctuation keys in one line; however, I would have the same problem I do with the top-row number keys; Unfortunately, I cannot visualize any other way to place them without widening the keyboard again.
Evidently, you gave considerable thought to key placement, but, Marvin, now all I can do is drool over your keyboard concept knowing there isn’t much chance of having one; that’s cruel.
Ignore that last post. There are several other keyboard combinations out there.
None of which relegate the Delete or Return key to a position of uselessness.
Key placement is NOT written in stone. if no one innovated, we'd still be back carving in stone.
You're certainly right. Since QWERTY was created in the late 1800s, absolutely nothing has been invented and human communication hasn't changed in any way.
None of which relegate the Delete or Return key to a position of uselessness..
Matter of opinion.
You're certainly right. Since QWERTY was created in the late 1800s, absolutely nothing has been invented and human communication hasn't changed in any way.
Dvorak.
What's this π and ± nonsense?
They were free spaces for extra keys and those come in useful doing calculations. Pi and plus/minus are used in Maths all the time.
Absolutely no one would buy it.
You. Can't. Move. Keyboard. Keys.
Keyboard layouts vary between countries and even devices. Netbooks and touch screen smartphones move keys around without too much trouble. The keys haven't really been moved around all that much. The main qwerty layout is almost untouched. The return and delete keys are just a single column of keys further to the right and being still at the edge makes it pretty easy to touch type.
I hate to admit this, but in 30 years of using a computer, I have never been able to master using the top line numbers accurately without looking where I type.
That was my primary motivation for the design. I'm the same, I find it much harder to use the number line than the numpad for anything. It's one reason I don't like laptop keyboards and this design would probably fit on even the 13" so everybody gets a numpad.
Ultimately, if the layout isn't rethought, we will probably have to suffer the number line at some point. Thanks for your comments
How can we poor mortals influence Apple to get their asses in gear and market your keyboard?
From a young age we get taught the alphabet in order. Even after using computers and qwerty for 20 or more years, I think most people would be hard pressed to remember what key is to the right of 'b' without looking. Not that I'm suggesting changing the letter order but placement of the punctuation symbols should be easily changed because most people won't even know where they are without looking. At least when they are in a line, a quick glance lets you see them at once instead of hunting all over the keyboard.
None of which relegate the Delete or Return key to a position of uselessness.
You haven't explained why that's the case. It's only very slightly to the right - they would normally be where 6 and 9 are in the picture. You can still reach them if you place your first finger on the 'j' key, if it's really all that important that condition is met.
You haven't explained why that's the case. It's only very slightly to the right - they would normally be where 6 and 9 are in the picture. You can still reach them if you place your first finger on the 'j' key, if it's really all that important that condition is met.
I have large hands. Yours must be freaks. You can't reach the End key on the keyboard without stretching all of your other fingers out of place, and that's as far over as his Return key is now. The current layout allows for the contact of all keys without moving any finger other than the one doing the reaching.
I have large hands. Yours must be freaks. You can't reach the End key on the keyboard without stretching all of your other fingers out of place, and that's as far over as his Return key is now. The current layout allows for the contact of all keys without moving any finger other than the one doing the reaching.
You have a point. Maybe the return key should be between the alpha keys and the number pad.
You can't reach the End key on the keyboard without stretching all of your other fingers out of place, and that's as far over as his Return key is now.
Not quite. Like I said, there are currently 5 keys between the 'j' key and the return key (on the UK keyboard, US has 4). In my picture, there are 6. This means the return key is now situated where the metal gap is to the right of the return key on the wired keyboard. I have small, girly (but beautiful) hands and I can reach the delete key (not backspace) by having my first finger on the 'j' key. Give that the return key would be to the left of this, it's easily reachable.
I should have put up a comparison image first to make this clear but here it is:
The idea is simply to take the keys to the right of the wired keyboard and condense them onto the left to allow for enough room to fit the magic trackpad. Another option would be to emboss the numpad onto the trackpad, connect it to the wireless keyboard and have a modifier key like a numpad lock to enable it but it would disable trackpad functionality while you did this. For the sake of one extra column of keys, I think the middle image is a decent compromise.
- w,a,s,d and i,j,k,l keys are often used together so it makes sense that they are aligned ...
alignment of the letter keys seems quite the bold move. i wonder if people in the field of haptic technology played around with alternate keyboard configurations.
Well done for showing great ingenuity here. No one has bothered to question the basic design and layout of the keyboards in years. As I'm sure everyone knows, the QWERTY layout was designed to slow down typists using mechanical typewriters! Talk about state-of-the-ark!
Anyway, customer feedback for Apple doesn't get much better than this and I hope Jonny Ive and his team are taking note. Apple now has a critical mass that enables them to challenge keyboard fundamentals - something that they didn't posses the last time they launched a unique (and very sensible) deviation from the standard we know and hate.
My biggest want in the basic notebook keyboard is a delete key as well as a backspace key.
I wish Apple would make it.
C.