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Features & Benefits

Introduction

Ergo-comp's Ergomatic Keyboard has found a market among those suffering from the ill effects of using traditional flat keyboards for data entry, even at its original price of $795.00.

Now, Tryon Technologies, Inc., the exclusive American manufacturer and distributor to North and South America of the Ergomatic Keyboard, has announced a significant price reduction to $175.00, making the Ergomatic Keyboard much more attractive to the general computing public, especially those suffering mild symptoms, those just concerned with the risk of Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI), and those wanting to learn a superior touch system that is both portable and permits switching with the old standard 'qwerty' layout.

Ergomatic's Design

Features	Benefits
Separated Hand Positions	Reduced Wrist Bending and Shoulder Pinching
Concave Key Layout Beneath Hands	Fingers are more evenly and less bent
Vertical Key Layout	Less stress from diagonal finger reaches
Integrated Palm Rests	Convenient, natural resting position
Tilted Keys	Reduced downward turning of wrists
Integrated Numeric Key Pad	Convenient alternative mode of numeric entry
Alternative Malt Key Layout	Optimized layout results in improved productivity and increased accuracy

"Designed to Fit Hands"

In use, Ergo-comp's Ergomatic Keyboard does not require its operator to bring his or her wrists together by pinching the shoulders and upper arms in. They remain in a normal relaxed position. The wrists do not have to be brought together and rotated outward as with the traditional flat keyboards. The user's fingers are not as severely curled and are much more evenly bent. The hands and palms are slightly tilted in a less stressful position than if horizontal. All of these features reduce the stress transmitted to the user's hands and body.

The reaches the fingers have to make to operate keys not directly under the fingers in the "home row" have been modified to further reduce the muscle stress associated with keyboarding. Mechanical typewriters were designed to slow the typist down so that the letter levers would not jam when two keys were depressed nearly at the same time and for ease of manufacture. The Ergomatic Keyboard eliminates most of these diagonal reaches by placing the keys in both horizontal and vertical rows. The reduction in finger movement and stress is quite significant.

Lillian Malt, the keyboard's co-designer with Stephen Hobday,, also invented a key layout placing the most commonly used letters in the home row below the strongest fingers and thumbs. It takes 40- 80 hours to learn, but those who do report up to 30% more speed with significantly reduced errors and less physical stress. To use this alternative productivity layout, one simply touches a key.

Physical Characteristics
• Dimensions: 17" x 8" x 3.5" (433 x 205 x 90 mm)
• Weight: 3 pounds (1.36 kilograms)
• Color: Black with White keys ('Malt' key lettering in lower case) & ('qwerty' in CAPS)

Ports and Switches
Ports and switches on the back side of the keyboard are set to either PC or Mac uses and appear when viewed right to left as you face the back side:

Left of the cable are: An extra PS-2 port for any other PS-2 device like a second keyboard; a switch directing control to the second PS-2 if moved in that direction or opposite to use the primary unit - the Ergomatic keyboard; PC reset switch for it; then reset for the ADB end of the cable for the Mac and finally the bit switches- all set to for Mac; or 1 & 2 up and for PC per factory setting. The other bit switches are for factory use or spares.