OrbiTouch Review: A Keyless Keyboard

Editor's note: Back by popular demand, our Keyboard Krazy author visits one late-entry in our quest for the most "out there" design. For a recap of the wild input devices we've already reviewed (vertical keyboard, gesture sensitive keyboard, cyborg system, etc.) check out Keyboard Kraziness and Mouse Madness. Note: There are some important considerations to keep in mind before you purchase any ergonomic keyboard.

Imagine a keyboard with no space bar, no letters, no numbers… no keys at all. In fact, forget the entire idea of a keyboard, as you know it, altogether. Just reach down with both hands and grab your knees (assuming you have two knees), and close your eyes. Only subtle differences exist between this sensation, and the experience of first lowering your hands and gripping the OrbiTouch Keyless Keyboard (pictured below).

But why would anyone design a keyboard like this? In one simple word, comfort. But comfort comes at a very steep list price of $695 in the case of the OrbiTouch, so its appeal will likely be limited to a specific class of users that cannot use standard keyboards without pain. Of course, there will also be the early adopters with excess discretionary income who must have the coolest new gadget. And for users who master the device, they will most certainly impress friends and coworkers.

The standard equation for typing has always been, Typing Equation:    Wrist movement + Finger pressing = Keystroke

Even the entrants in the first round of keyboards we reviewed rarely dared to rework this basic equation. It's as simple and accepted as, Yellow + Blue = Green

The OrbiTouch completely removes finger movements from the process of typing, while significantly reducing the amount of wrist motion. With Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as a leading claim for Worker's Compensation, a lot of people are not only interested in reworking the current typing strategy, but developing a whole new typing equation.

Hey, if any of us want to keep on typing for our entire careers (let alone typing our whole lives), we should be interested.

It's a completely new idea in computer input devices--but is it a good idea? That's what we're here to find out.

First we'll take a look at how this odd device works, and we'll take a peek under the hood. Then, we're going out for a test drive. Now, it's not our style to keep our opinions to ourselves, so next we'll give you the lowdown on what we liked and what we didn't like. Is the keyless keyboard a keeper? Read on to find out…

Installation is easy as the OrbiTouch keyboard connects to both PS/2-compatible keyboard and mouse ports simultaneously which is to be expected since it handles standard mouse and keyboard functions (only available for PCs at this time). Note: An Apple-compatible version is reportedly in the works right now.

Weighing in at 4.5 pounds and sizing up to virtually the same dimensions as a standard keyboard, it fits on just about any keyboard tray and desktop keyboard slot -- and the slick black design will make even the most anachronistic desktop look simply space-age.

The "keypad" is comprised of two domes upon which the hands are intended to rest. Each dome can slide in up to eight different directions, allowing movement of up to seven millimeters in each direction-- so the movements are fairly easy to make, and don't require a large range of motion.

Keystrokes are composed of simultaneous movements of both domes in sync. For instance, moving the left dome to the left and moving the right dome to the right will create a letter 'd'. Learning the repertoire of chords will be challenging early on, but shouldn't prove to be an ongoing obstacle. Think how many of us have learned to write in the Palm OS Grafitti language, with its unique keystrokes, and this is somewhat analogous, though is certainly far more challenging and will take more coordination with both hands in use. Maybe those of you who are ambidextrous, play the piano, or switch-hit will have an easier time!

A close-up of the key map legend arranged in a standard QWERTY design is below. Note that the yellow arrow signifies the left dome, and the blue arrow signifies the right dome (yellow and blue colors can be seen better in the close-up photo).

Clicking the Domes Each of the domes can be "clicked" like a mouse button. A gentle push downward will accomplish this click (it's very easy). Shift, caps lock, and number lock modes are entered by a specific sequence of clicks: Shift: press and hold left dome Caps lock: single-click both left and right domes simultaneously Number lock: double-click left dome

Mousing is also accomplished via dome movements. To enter the "mouse mode", single-click the right dome. Movement of the mouse is then controlled by the right dome, and clicking is controlled by movements, not clicks, of the left dome. It's very simple. Moving left dome left results in a left-click Moving left dome right results in a right-click Moving left dome up results in a middle-click

To click-and-drag an object, you would first position the pointer over the object, and then move the left dome to the left (and don't let go!)--this results in a left-click. Then, you can drag the object by moving the right dome. Just let the left dome move back to center when you want to release the object.

Goal of the OrbiTouch The true purpose of the "out there" design of the OrbiTouch is to effectively eliminate finger movement and reduce, as much as possible, motion of the wrists. According to the manufacturer, Keybowl Inc., the OrbiTouch reduces repetitive strain injury (RSI) motions by up to 82% over standard flat keyboards. In so doing, Keybowl is attempting to level the playing field for those with hand/wrist pain. While not completely removing barriers for those with typing-related pain, the OrbiTouch comes closer than any keyboard, or other input device, we've seen yet.

If you're impressed by official kudos, take a gander at a few of the technology/innovation awards that Keybowl has raked in lately, including: IEA/Liberty Mutual Prize in Ergonomics and Occupational Safety 2003 Consumer Electronics Show "Innovations" and "Best of Innovations" Awards February 2000 Semifinalist in the Discover Awards

Not bad, eh? Well, we like awards over here at ExtremeTech, but once a product hits our lab, we apply our own testing methods and will generate our own ratings. So, let's go for a test drive…

Despite--or maybe because of--the OrbitTouch's similarity to the female anatomy, it's very comfortable to use. Your hands rest very naturally on the twin domes.

First off, the mere appearance of the domes implies that they should be turned and twisted. Every person who stopped by while I was testing attempted to turn one of the domes--I quickly had to slap their hand and point a finger toward the ominous, and obvious, warning label directly on the front of the keyboard (pictured below).

Notice the warning label--do not twist the domes!

With the idea now firmly planted in our heads that the domes should only be slide in the eight directions, not twisted, we were able to proceed unhindered.

Taking Baby Steps Upon booting up my computer with the OrbiTouch keyboard plugged in (although according to the directions this reboot isn't necessary, I tend to do it anyway with any sort of install), I failed miserably to type in my network password. With only one attempt left to type in my password correctly before my account was frozen (our security setup freezes an account after a certain number of unsuccessful login attempts), I had to temporarily plug in the TouchStream ST in order to get the job done.

Needless to say, the first few sentences with the OrbiTouch were hard won. Learning a completely new key map is never easy but strangely enough, the OrbiTouch map is somewhat intuitive. After a couple of hours, typing became a little more natural and speed started to increase, but not much. Here's the key map again to refresh your memory:

Being a big fan of shortcut keys, I use "chords" (typing more than one key at a time) to accomplish quite a few of my daily tasks. Typing chords on the OrbiTouch can be a challenge, as an example, I have the chord Control-Alt-Z set up to launch the trusty ol' Notepad (no better application for writing HTML). In order to type this chord, I need to first set the keyboard in "control mode", then set the keyboard in "alt mode", and finally do the motions to create the letter 'z'.

Now, before I can type in Notepad, I need to exit the "alt" and "control" modes with the same sequences given in steps 1 and 2. Put simply, it just ain't easy--but that doesn't mean it's bad--it just means there's a steep learning curve. You'll really need a load of desire to climb this curve, take my word for it.

Mousing without a Mouse Mousing with the OrbiTouch is a snap! As we stated earlier, the right dome moves the mouse pointer and the left dome controls the clicking of the mouse buttons. It's very simple from the get-go.

What We Liked What an innovate design! The OrbiTouch breaks all boundaries that I've ever seen set for an input device. It's smart, it's clever--and it even looks cool. And for those that need to minimize finger and wrist movements, it's heaven sent.

Plus, the company seems very cool. There's a discussion board on their website on which users have posted a few interesting questions. The staff seems very responsive, and seems willing to tackle tough questions. Check it out here.

As we said during our Test Drive, mousing is very natural on this keyboard. In fact, the mere resting of the palms on the domes is very comfortable. I could imagine becoming very accustomed to this keyboard if given enough time to surpass the immense learning curve. That brings us to our next point…

What We Don't Like Climbing this learning curve is like climbing Kilimanjaro, on a daily basis, without ever leaving your office. It's not easy. Enough said. On the flip side, anything worth learning takes effort. So there, I refuted myself.

Dislike number two is the price, a whopping $695. Keep in mind that you could buy/build a fairly nice computer for less than the retail price of the OrbiTouch--for proof see Loyd Case's Attack of the $50 CPU.

Be ready to expend loads of effort to become efficient on the OrbiTouch. That said, in my mind, the OrbiTouch doesn't have to be easy to learn to have accomplished its goal. In fact, it's safe to say it efficiently tackles the goal that it set out to accomplish. The OrbiTouch is designed to minimize movement of the fingers and wrists, and this keyless keyboard does exactly that. It drastically minimizes hand and finger movements.

While it may be difficult to learn this system, for those users who cannot type on a regular keyboard due to pain or injury (or for those with a strong desire to avoid pain & injury due to repetitive stress injuries), the OrbiTouch fits the bill perfectly, albeit with a steep price.

Coming Full Circle The only competitor to the OrbiTouch that I've reviewed that even comes close to this sort of innovation is the DataHand System. The DataHand system does a good job of limiting wrist movement, but in so doing, it requires the fingers to compensate by handling most of the work. On the flip side, the OrbiTouch eliminates finger movement completely, but does leave some motion for the wrists and shoulders.

With either of the OrbiTouch Keyless Keyboard or the DataHand System, a beginner will encounter a steep learning curve. However, for those readers out there who experience pain when typing--well, let's just say thanks to both manufacturers for leveling the playing field.

Product: OrbiTouch Keyless Keyboard Web Site: Keybowl, Inc. Pro: Minimizes finger and wrist movements without sacrificing functionality in a significant way. Opens doors for people who experience pain when they type. Con: Difficult system to learn as it's a whole new system of typing. Plus, it's expensive. Summary:       This innovative design is a winner for those who can't type on a standard flat keyboard. It minimizes movements to lead to, or aggravate repetitive stress injuries. Price: $695, Available from Manufacturer Score:

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in ExtremeTech.