Keyboard features to consider

Today, there are a lot of keyboards available in the stores with different features. As far as I’m concerned, equipping your computer with feature-filled hardware should always be based on how many of these features you can actually use and help you become more productive.

Here are some features that I take into consideration when taking a look at keyboards.

Ergonomic design. You might have seen a lot of these keyboards with the keys divided into two main groups and are slanted. Some might even have wristpads attached to them. They’re slanted so that your wrist can maintain a straight angle with the rest of your arms. The reason for these is to lessen the stress on your wrists and prevent repetitive stress injury (RSI).

Button depth. How hard do you type? As for myself, I prefer a light touch on the keyboard. Having a shallow button depth allows me to type quicker than on a keyboard with deeper keys.

Noise. Some people like having very quiet keyboards while some love to use those “clacky” ones. While it’s a matter of preference, there are a lot of advantages to having a quiet keyboard. For one, it minimizes ambient noise just in case you need to record something using your computer’s microphone.

Shortcut buttons. Keyboards with shortcut keys help you deal with repetitive tasks such as launching web browsers, putting the computer to sleep mode, or even powering your system off. Some keyboards even now have programmable keys so that you can launch applications and execute functions within applications with just a touch of a button.

Connectivity. Wire jutting out of the back of your CPU can get messy but not with wireless keyboards. Wireless keyboards allow you to place your keyboard practically anywhere. One issue with wireless keyboards, though, is the battery. While they don’t usually eat up a lot of power, using rechargeable batteries is highly recommended.