Microsoft's Sculpt Comfort Keyboard Has A Dual-Purpose Spacebar

A keyboard made specifically for an operating system? Yeah, that's a thing now. Microsoft has just unveiled the new Sculpt Comfort Keyboard, a new typing apparatus designed with Windows 8 in mind. It's an ergonomic board that's sleek and subtle, with a litany of Windows 8-specific hot keys. However, the most prominent feature has to be the newfangled space bar. It's the first desktop keyboard to offer a split backspace-spacebar key. According to MS, it's research showed that "90 percent of typists use only their right thumb to press the spacebar, leaving a lot of unused real estate on the left side of the bar," and that the backspace key is the third most pressed key on the keyboard - behind the spacebar itself and the letter "e." Having to reach up for the "old" backspace key, however, is a real time waster. So, why not move it?

It'll sure be interesting to see how many people genuinely try to buck a habit that's developed over years, but you can be one of those when it ships "soon" for $59.95.

Research and Design
With the Sculpt Comfort Keyboard, Microsoft is introducing its first keyboard to feature a split backspace-spacebar key. This design choice is the result of internal research that showed 90 percent of typists use only their right thumb to press the spacebar, leaving a lot of unused real estate on the left side of the bar. Research also showed the backspace key is the third most pressed key on the keyboard - behind the spacebar itself and the letter "e" - but constantly striking backspace breaks a person's typing stride because of its location on the top right-hand corner of the keyboard. In response to these findings, Microsoft made two adjustments to help increase typing efficiency and speed:

- Increased the width of the spacebar to make the bar easier to strike.
- Split the spacebar to make use of the neglected left-hand side as an extra backspace key.

Ergonomics
The Sculpt Comfort Keyboard's advanced ergonomics are the result of many unique design features. In addition to increasing typing efficiency, the keyboard's split spacebar also improves ergonomics by virtually eliminating the awkward "pinky reach" to the standard backspace key, keeping wrists in a comfortable position. The keyboard also sports Microsoft's own Contour Curve design, which features a six-degree bend in the keyboard layout with a dome-shaped arc to help promote a comfortable, neutral wrist position while keeping keys within easy reach. Its removable palm rest can be used