Most of us will mull over hard drives, RAM and all sorts of other technical details for days before parting with our money for a new computer. When it comes to the keyboard, we tend to take the first that’s on offer.
Well, that shouldn’t happen. We were recently browsing over lookwhatscool.com and noticed some of the coolest keyboards they are showcasing. It made us look into the hardware more and suffice to say, there certainly isn’t a one-fits-all approach here.
In other words, depending on the type of user you are, different keyboards will serve different people. Let’s now take a look at these various types of users to show what we mean.
The gamer
If you’re the type of user who lives in a virtual world and can’t get enough gaming, it should go without saying that there are certain keyboards designed for this.
In fact, this is probably the most “specific” type of user we’re going to look at. These users require features that most typical users don’t even need; we’re talking about backlighting, integrated LCDs and a whole host of other features that can just enhance the gaming experience.
Sure, you’ll pay more money for this, but it does make a difference.
The data junkie
If you live on Excel or Word, this next section is for you. In fact, to broaden the category somewhat, it’s probably a group that will count most office workers in the country.
It’s these people who will be hunched over their keyboard for hours on end – pressing the same buttons over and over again.
Bearing this in mind, an ergonomic keyboard is absolutely essential. Some will just have curved keys to make the typing experience more comfortable, while others may provide rests for your wrists. The extreme versions even allow you to customize how much space you want between the keys on the left and right. There are a whole host of options when it comes to ergonomics and it can save you a lot of future pain.
The traveler
You probably know what’s coming on this one; a traveler has quite basic demands. In short, they want a keyboard that is lightweight and portable – with some of the more modern ones even being foldable to make things easier.
The portability-factor means that media keys and other “extras” are out of the question – this is effectively a no-frills keyboard and you’ll be saving as much space as possible.
The music enthusiast
We’re going to bet that this is going to cover a lot of readers; the era of using our computers for music and video is well and truly upon us.
It could be argued that the demand for a “suitable” keyboard isn’t quite as high in this group, but it can still be helpful. Media keys are again the go-to features and being able to quickly hit play or pause on your keyboard just makes life a lot easier.
Additionally, don’t forget the wireless factor. Particularly if you like to link your computer to your TV to watch movies, having a wireless keyboard can be invaluable.
