New Standard Keyboard Review - Testing and Conclusion
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For my testing, I thought it would be most fair if I tested the keyboard in two ways. First, I would test the keyboard in day to day use for a couple of days. I honestly don't believe this test to be the fairest, since I've been using the QWERTY keyboard for well over 20 years, and am highly accustomed to it.
The second way I would test the keyboard would be to let one of my children try it out. I chose my son, as he is in third grade, and has just begun using the computer for more than just games.
Here's a picture of my hand on the New Standard Keyboard. To be quite honest, most of the time I was using the keyboard, I kept feeling like I lost it. It is so small, it is practically engulfed by my hands.
The keyboard itself worked well. The keys responded nicely, and our computer had no problem identifying it. The hard part, though, was the totally alien layout of the keys. Not only are they arranged in alphabetical order, but each key has three and sometimes four different functions, and there are a variety of buttons to hit to access them. Call me old school, but I'll stick with the QWERTY keyboard, myself.
As I said before, I thought it only fair to get the opinion of a non-biased user. My son is by no means a seasoned computer user, and has not generated any kind of fluency on a QWERTY keyboard, so I considered him a likely candidate.
In the above picture, you can see his hands on the keyboard. The keys are positioned in easy reach, and he can strike them with minimal effort. Do keep in mind that he is only eight, so his comfortable fit on the keyboard may not be indicative of how well it would fit you, depending on the size of your hands.
For his testing, I had him use each keyboard for his class work for two days each. At the end of the second day, I had him type a sentence for me, three times:
"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
This phrase has long been used to test typewriters and keyboards, because it contains all of the letters of the English alphabet.
After a couple of days of using the QWERTY keyboard, my son was able to touch-type his way through the above sentence in 145 seconds. That is a bit over two minutes. To his credit, he tried really hard to do it as quick as he could.
When I first gave him the New Standard Keyboard to use, his eyes lit up and he had a grin on his face. Seeing the letters arranged alphabetically was a great treat for him. After two days of using this keyboard, he was able to touch-type his way through the above sentence in a mere 55 seconds. This is a HUGE improvement over the QWERTY keyboard.
When I asked him which keyboard he liked better, he overwhelmingly chose the New Standard Keyboard. Granted, he didn't try to use any of the weird key combinations (remember, each key has 3-4 uses), but as far as layout is concerned, he claimed it is much easier to learn, and much more comfortable to use.
So, as always, here are the PROs and CONs for this keyboard:
PRO:
- USB interface, works on most PCs.
- Easier for new users than QWERTY layout.
- Small, ergonomic design. Minimal finger movement.
- USB cable stows away, making for easy travel.
CONS:
- Hard for QWERTY users to become accustomed.
- Small footprint can be too small for large hands.
- Can be complicated to use the same key for multiple purposes.
- Packaging a bit on the flimsy side.
- Costly for a keyboard ($70 at the time of this writing).
I must say, I had a really hard time judging this keyboard. While I believe that it is a good step in the right direction, it cannot truly be a viable alternative until it is accepted on a larger scale.
But, since I like to judge a product solely on its merits, I gave this keyboard a 7 on a scale of 1-10. While it had its list of CONs, it is a solid product, and for those who are sick of using a QWERTY keyboard, a good alternative.
Sadly, I put back the QWERTY keyboard on our home machine. While my son was able to get better use from the New Standard Keyboard, he has already expressed a little confusion from having the New Standard at home, and the QWERTY keyboards at school. Since he has a limited amount of time on the machines at school to perform school work and tests, I did not want to diminish his capacity by causing keyboard confusion. Maybe if schools started stocking alternative keyboards for their users, I would consider switching back. But until then, I feel my family is tied to QWERTY.
I would like to thank the folks at NSK for sending us the New Standard Keyboard for review. If you would like more information on these keyboards, you can reach their website at http://www.newstandardkeyboards.com/.
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