QWERTY keyboard

You will notice that modern computer keyboards are comprised of jumbled letter arrangements. This jumbled arrangement is popularly called the QWERTY keyboard. Based on that name, every keyboard in this arrangement has the letters QWERTY on the upper-left of the keyboard.

In 1874, the QWERTY keyboard was originally patented under the name of Christopher Sholes. Christopher Sholes was the inventor of the typewriter. In the same year, the patent was sold to Remington. It was also in 1874 when the first batch of typewriters were released.

The QWERTY keyboard has an interesting fact in it. If you observe closely, all the letters found in the word “typewriter” are located on the first upper row of letter characters. Some believe that Sholes intended such arrangement to show off the invention as it was first integrated with typewriters. Others believe that the arrangement was just a coincidence.

It is still unknown as to how the QWERTY keyboard arrangement was designed. One of the existing theories is that the design slows down the user’s typing speed and prevents jamming. General perception, on the other hand, points to the idea that common letter pairs are placed on opposite sides of the keyboard to facilitate easier typing.

Alternative layouts have been presented to take over the existing QWERTY keyboard. These alternatives promised superiority and efficiency in typing. Despite that, the QWERTY keyboard survived. Too many people have gotten used to the layout and are not willing to go through a steep learning curve just to adjust to another keyboard layout.

The popularity of QWERTY keyboards has been carried over to new inventions such as personal computers and laptops. The emergence of other electronic devices such as mobile phones and game consoles show the popularity of the layout as these devices have adapted to the design as well. Mobile phone manufacturers incorporate the QWERTY keyboard as a standalone typing layout or as an alternate typing option. You might even see some touch screen phones employing the use of QWERTY keyboards.