508 One-Handed and Two-Handed Keyboard
by Matias Corporation
The 508 Keyboard gives you the best of both worlds - one-hand and two-hand typing
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Comparable access for one-handed and two-handed typists
The Matias 508 Keyboard is a standard desktop keyboard that has been enhanced to allow both one-handed and two-handed touch-typing.
Ideal for one-handedness, hemiplegia, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other hand-related injuries
Matias’ innovative one-handed typing technology provides one-handed typists access comparable to two-handed typists, without undue burden.
It offers greater accessibility for disabled users, as well as productivity gains for other office workers. The added convenience of typing with one hand is ideal when using a mouse or a telephone with the other hand.
The 508 Keyboard is specifically designed to satisfy all compliance requirements for keyboards, under Section 508 (U.S. Rehabilitation Act).
Comparable speed, comparable skills
One-handed typing speeds in the 30 to 60 words-per-minute range are easily achievable using the Matias 508 Keyboard. This range is comparable to the performance of most two-handed typists, and more than sufficient for typical clerical tasks.
The Matias 508 Keyboard allows the same touch-typing skills used for two-handed typing to be used for typing with one hand.
Click here for a speed potential graph
How does it work?
The one-handed typing technique used in the Matias 508 Keyboard is very similar to the standard two-handed touch-typing technique.
You place your hand where it would normally be if you were touch-typing – that takes care of that half of the keyboard.
To type the letters of the other half, you hold down the space bar with your thumb and do the same finger movement that you would normally do with the other hand. It’s that easy.
Tapping the space bar still types a space.
508 Keyboard Layout
The relative finger movements used for one-handed typing are the same as those used for two-handed typing. So, if you’re already a touch-typist, you already know them. You should be typing one-handed in a matter of minutes.
Click here for more details about one-handed typing.
Click here to launch the one-handed typing demo (Opens in a new window. If the Flash movie does not play you may need to download and install free Flash player plug-in)
To try it out for yourself, download the software demo for Windows | for Mac OS X.
Use either hand – or both hands
The Matias 508 keyboard allows one-handed typing using either hand, left or right, or both hands, just like a standard keyboard.
The one-handed typing capability can also be switched on or off by the user, as desired, using the “matias” key.
The industry standard
Matias has proudly served the needs of the disability community for over 10 years. Its technology is the de facto standard for one-handed typing in the industry.
The 508 Keyboard continues the Matias tradition of offering high quality keyboards at lower prices to help keyboard users with special needs.
How is it different from the Half-QWERTY Keyboard?
The main differences between the 508 Keyboard and the Half-QWERTY Keyboard are as follows:
- Keyswitches: The 508 Keyboard uses high-quality rubber dome keyswitches that provide a quiet tactile feel, yet offer enough resistance to hold the weight of your hands and reduce long-term fatigue. The Half-QWERTY Keyboard uses high quality mechanical tactile keyswitches. The Half-QWERTY Keyboard gives you a superior typing experience.
- Key frame: The 508 Keyboard is a light keyboard with a plastic key frame. The Half-QWERTY Keyboard has a heavy duty metal key frame. The 508 Keyboard is lighter so it can be moved around with less effort.
- Cables: The 508 Keyboard comes as PS/2 or USB, and you must specify in advance. The Half-QWERTY Keyboard comes with a hydra cable that has PS/2, USB, and ADB connections all included.
- Warranty: The 508 Keyboard comes with a 5 year few-questions-asked warranty, but should last much longer. The Half-QWERTY Keyboard warranty is 10 years.
Testimonials
“…The first one-handed keyboard that doesn’t require learning a new way to type.” WIRED
“…I was blown away… almost no thought required to adapt to typing on it… From the get go, my fingers
knew how to type…” THE-GADGETEER.COM
Related Products
508 One-Handed and Two-Handed Keyboard is targeted at the following age ranges:
- Mid Primary
- Upper Primary
- Secondary School
- Adult
508 One-Handed and Two-Handed Keyboard is designed to foster development in the areas of:
- Access to computers
For answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and technical support visit:
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