Well it you visited the site yesterday then you got to see a review of a different kind of keyboard, the TypeMatrix EZ-Reach 2030. As promised in that review, today I have another product from TypeMatrix that goes right along with the EZ-Reach 2030, it is a skin that you put on top of the keyboard, but this one is special, it is the Dvorak key set skin. Know anything about the Dvorak key set? Well read on to learn a bit more about the Dvorak key set and the TypeMatrix Dvorak Skin.

TypeMatrix EZ-Reach 2030 Keyboard Skins (Dvorak Edition)

Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos

Sponsor: TypeMatrix

Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:

TypeMatrix EZ-Reach 2030 Keyboard Skins

This is the latest new product coming to you from TypeMatrix! These thin but durable silicone skins are molded to fit the EZ-Reach 2030 keyboard perfectly. The skin completely covers the keyboard top and sides. The material is very nice to touch and makes typing on the keyboard even better than without the skin.

They have many features, including:

-A protective covering for accidental spills and the normal accumulation of dust, animal hairs, and

crumbs under the keycaps

-A decorative covering to make your TypeMatrix keyboard completely black!

-The skin makes the keyboard almost completely quiet

-A quick and convenient way to have both Qwerty and Dvorak legends available on your keyboard

-Eventually we will be providing skins printed with many different languages (UK, French, German,

Spanish, and more), giving you the opportunity to convert your TypeMatrix 2030 keyboard to the

language of your choice

-They can be easily cleaned with water or a gentle cleanser

The choices available today are:

-a black, opaque skin printed with Qwerty (fits on any EZR 2030)

-a black, opaque skin printed with Dvorak (fits on any EZR 2030)

-a translucent skin printed with Dvorak (fits on any EZR 2030 – best on BLANK version)

-a translucent skin no printing as protective cover (fits on any EZR 2030)

More Features:

-The skins are very flexible and are easily put over the keyboard

-The cord exits through a small hole in the skin. Most users prefer to make a small vertical cut for easy access

-The LEDs shine through thin spots in the skin and are still easily visible

Before we get into the actual review I wanted to share with you a bit of information about the Dvorak keyboard that I found on Wiki or Wikipedia. This is just the basics from the article and the entire article is HERE if you wish to read it, it’s interesting and provides a lot more informations and links.

From Wiki:

The Dvorak Simplified Keyboard (pronounced /’dvork/) is a keyboard layout patented in 1936 by Dr. August Dvorak, a professor of Education at the University of Washington, and William Dealey as an alternative to the more common QWERTY layout. It has also been called the Simplified Keyboard or American Simplified Keyboard, but is commonly known as the Dvorak keyboard or Dvorak layout. It never achieved widespread use, and is used by a minority of keyboard users.

The Dvorak layout was designed to address the problems of inefficiency and fatigue which characterized the QWERTY keyboard layout. The QWERTY layout was introduced in the 1860’s, being used on the first commercially-successful typewriter, the machine invented by Christopher Sholes. The QWERTY layout was designed so that successive keystrokes would alternate sides of the keyboard so as to avoid jams. Some sources also claim that the QWERTY layout was designed to slow down typing speed to further reduce jamming.[1]

With improvements in typewriter design, key jams became less of a problem. However, when the electric typewriter was introduced in the 1930s, typist fatigue became more of a problem and, consequently, interest in the Dvorak layout increased.

Dvorak studied letter frequencies and the physiology of the hand and created the layout to adhere to these principles:

-It is easier to type letters alternating between hands.

-For maximum speed and efficiency, the most common letters and digraphs should be the easiest to

type. This means that they should be on the home row, which is where the fingers rest, and under the

strongest fingers.

-Likewise, the least common letters should be on the bottom row, which is the hardest row to reach.

-The right hand should do more of the typing, because most people are right-handed.

-It is more difficult to type digraphs with adjacent fingers than non-adjacent fingers.

-Stroking should generally move from the edges of the board to the middle. An observation of this

principle is that when tapping fingers on a table, it is easier going from little finger to index than vice

versa. This motion on a keyboard is called inboard stroke flow.

Excerpt from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard

Ok, well I hope that makes things a bit clearer about what the Dvorak key set or layout is. Let’s get into the review…

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A Better Look at Things

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The TypeMatrix Dvorak skin comes packaged in a nice and easy to open plastic clamshell. The only real identifying mark is the circular tag on the paper insert that tells us what the skin is exactly. Nothing else is provided in the package, no instructions are needed really, it just slips over the TypeMatrix EZ-Reach 2030 keyboard.

Taking an overview look, the first thing you will notice is the letters and characters are all different from what you are used to. That is the Dvorak layout, it is supposed to make typing easier and faster. Basically you will need to re teach your ‘hands’ though, and that can be a long process.

The following two pictures are close ups of the right and left sides of the Dvorak skin. If you didn’t read my review of the TypeMatrix EZ-Reach 2030 keyboard, then you might want to as it explains all of the keys that you may not be familiar with, that review can be found HERE.

The TypeMatrix skin is very flexible and very thin, flipping it over that really isn’t much to see, just some indentations for the keys.

I have to say that this is something for someone who has a whole lot of time on their hands to re-learn typing essentially. The TypeMatrix skin seems to be well made, it is very thin but it does not appear that it will rip very easily. It is waterproof and will just wipe clean, there are other skins availbe as mention above that can be used to just protect your TypeMatrix keyboard, which is something I would highly recommend.

Installation, Testing and Comparison

Installing the skin is very simple, just slip it over the keyboard and start typing.

The TypeMatrix skin stays in place very well, and fits fairly snugly.

Oh there is one other step in the installation process, that would be to cut out the cord hole so the skin will fit flush with the keyboard. This scan be done with a pair of scissors to make a slit or cutting out the hole entirely. There is a hole shaped thin spot on the skin so you won’t need to guess where to cut.

Well, using the Dvorak layout is something that I thought would take a very long time to get used to, but it wasn’t. After a few days of using it I was already getting used to it and typing faster with it, of course I still had to look at the keys quite a bit, but I expected that.

Using the TypeMatrix skin is actually more comfortable than using the keyboard without it, it quiets the keys and makes them softer to the touch.

The Dvorak layout is possibly something that could be very useful in the mainstream but the QWERTY keyboard is just so stuck in our society that there is little chance of it ever really going mainstream. It’s a shame really, imagine secretaries, or data entry personnel can actually, possibly become more productive. I believe the main reason that the Dvorak layout will never be widely accepted is money, it will cost quite a bit to re-train people on the new layout; even if in the end it could possibly make more money for the company through more productive employees, but most companies don’t see it that way.

It’s a shame really, with technology advancing so fast, why can’t the most basic of input devices change for the better as well?

Summary:

In closing the TypeMatrix skin is an excellent product, it seems very well made and like it will last quite a long time. The fact that it is waterproof is great, it does not interfere with the use of the keys like some skins do either. Overall the product is great, I think TypeMatrix should get into making skins for regular keyboard as well, they could make a lot of money with such a great quality and useful product. As for the Dvorak TypeMatrix skin, that is another story, yes it is very nice, but until it becomes more widespread in it’s use we won’t be seeing a lot of them sold. I have it set up on my second system now, and will leave it there so i can learn it some more just because I want to see what the differences will be while typing after i get more used to the layout.

DragonSteelmods gives the TypeMatrix EZ-Reach 2030 Keyboard Skins (Dvorak Edition) a 5 out of 5 score.

Pros:

-Water proof

-Well made

-Quiets keystrokes

-Makes keys soft to the touch

Cons:

-None

I would like to thank TypeMatrix once again fro the chance to review their products.