What is an Ergonomic Keyboard

Best Ergonomic Keyboard

A poorly designed keyboard can not only make it more difficult to type, it can actually cause undue stress on your fingers, hands, and wrists. Over time, typing with a poorly designed keyboard can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, which is a numbness and tingling in the hand and arm caused by a pinched nerve in the wrist. By using an ergonomic keyboard, you help alleviate stress on your wrists and hands – it is more comfortable, more efficient, and less likely to result in long-term damage.

Select Lenovo laptops, including ThinkPad E Series laptops and P Series Mobile Workstations, have been designed with ergonomics in mind. Offering ergonomic features such as concave and well-spaced keys, these laptops are comfortable and easy to use, making them ideal for individuals who use their laptops for both work and play. Understanding the basics of keyboard ergonomics can help you decide which device best suits your needs the next time you go shopping for a laptop (or desktop keyboard).

What is an ergonomic keyboard?

An ergonomic keyboard is a keyboard designed for comfort, ease of use, and reduced strain on the user. Such keyboards may include features like concave or tapered keys, keys that are well-spaced, or keys that separate and angle out from a central pivot point (you are likely familiar with these keyboards, as they look like an inverse letter "V"). All of these features are intended to aid the user in his or her typing experience by making the process more efficient, more intuitive, and more comfortable.

Intro to keyboard ergonomics

When shopping for an ergonomic keyboard, you will find that they tend to fall into one of three camps:

• Contoured Keyboard – A contoured keyboard features a wave-like shape with a slight peak in the middle. When viewed from above, it looks like a wavy pathway or sidewalk.
• Split Keyboard – A split keyboard features a pronounced split in the middle, resulting in the two sides angling away from each other. This is intended to help in hand spacing, wrist comfort, and fluid typing motion.
• Angled Keyboard – An angled keyboard features some degree of gradient, creating a slight slope from the front of the keyboard to the back. This design feature is intended to help keep the wrists straight and the hands cupped while typing.

Each of these keyboards has a different form factor, though they all aim to accomplish the same goal: improved comfort, reduced stress, and greater efficiency. You should try each in person before deciding on which type of keyboard is right for you. It's also worth noting that contoured and split keyboards aren't offered on laptops, for space considerations, though angled keyboards are.

Ergonomic keyboard benefits

By definition, something that is ergonomic is optimized for comfort and ease of use. One could say that "Ergonomics 101" is the principle of making something better by designing it with the user in mind. This holds true for keyboards, too. Ergonomic keyboards are more comfortable, easier to use, result in less stress on the hands and wrists, and more intuitive and natural-feeling in their design. They provide for a more fulfilling, comfortable, and enjoyable experience, and can reduce stress, pain, or discomfort considerably.

For further ergonomic computing solutions check out our full lineup of Lenovo keyboards and laptops today.