It keeps getting stranger and stranger around here when it comes to keyboards.
The Advantage 2 was kind of like a gateway drug with its key wells and thumb clusters.
Then came the safe type keyboard with its freaking rear-view mirrors.
As for today?
Well, we're clearly screaming down this slippery slope at an ass-waxing rate because we've arrived at the Orbi Touch,
a keyless keyboard.
And it also works as a mouse.
Somehow...
Wait, what?
How even do-
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Okay, so like the other ergonomic keyboards that we've checked out, the Orbi Touch takes two hands to operate,
but not this time because the letters are physically separated.
This time, it's because both hands are actually related.
And the keystrokes are the only ones that are required to register a single keystroke.
So, to type a letter then, you need to coordinate the movement of these two domes in a process called cording.
The dome on the left points at one of eight symbol clusters while the dome on the right is used to specify the particular character you want to type based on its position within the cluster.
The end result then, is that each letter basically has its own associated shape.
has its own associated gesture.
And unlike a regular keyboard where some letters
like Z and P are more difficult to strike than others,
on the Orbi Touch,
all the gestures are equally easy to perform.
Though with that said,
some are more difficult to memorize than others.
More on that later.
Now, I wanna talk about what it's like
to actually type on this thing.
Surprisingly, it's actually kind of fun.
According to Orbi Touch,
most users can type at 60% of their QWERTY typing speed
after about five hours of practice.
And believe it or not, I believe it.
Now, of course, at first,
you have to stare down at the keyboard
to do anything at all.
And it feels like it takes days
to string together a single bloody sentence.
But even within just a couple hours of practice,
James had most of the letter gestures memorized.
And,
when he was telling me about it,
I got kind of this weird vibe.
Apparently, that feel when you finally write a word
with complete fluidity is like totally a huge rush.
Whoa.
Whatever floats your boat, dude.
Then though, once you really get the hang of it,
you can start to do some serious power moves.
Cause, get this one.
After typing a letter,
you only need to return one of the domes to center
before typing the next one.
That means that if consecutive letters share,
the same cluster or color,
then you can bang them out by moving just one hand.
It's, again, I'm going from someone else's
breathless account here,
about as exhilarating as stringing together
a fatal combo in Mortal Kombat,
but much more productive.
On the subject of Mortal Kombat,
according to Orbitouch's unmanual,
because the Orbitouch performs all the functions
of the keyboard and mouse,
it can be used to play games.
Well, how about that?
Let's try it out, shall we?
Okay then.
First, we slide down twice to enter mouse mode.
Now, we use the right dome to control the mouse
and the left dome to click.
All right now, we switch back to type mode
so we can reload and try walking around and,
hmm, we're not moving.
And there's no way to actually hold a key down.
So I can't actually walk anywhere.
And even if I could,
I wouldn't be able to aim at the same time.
So, okay.
You can't win them all.
Let's get back to typing.
This is pretty cool.
Even though it only has two moving parts,
you can still do advanced commands
like Control-Alt-Delete
and highlighting an entire row of text
using the Shift and End keys,
albeit at a much slower pace.
All right then, Linus, enough's enough.
If it's so limited and slow,
who's gonna buy this thing?
Ah, I'm glad you asked.
Like our other Ergo keyboards,
the Orbitouch is designed to be able to play games,
and it's also designed to be able to play games.
The Orbitouch design does eliminate the three musketeers
of repetitive stress injuries,
pronation, extension, and ulnar deviation.
Unlike them, however,
it's really made for folks with hand or ARM prostheses,
arthritis, spinal injuries, cerebral palsy,
and other finger dexterity impairments.
It's also been found to be really appealing
to people with autism
because instead of being laid out randomly,
the letters and colors are both arranged in a logical way.
According to this chart,
many autists can actually type faster using the Orbitouch
than they can with a QWERTY board,
which doesn't mean we don't have
some constructive criticism.
It definitely slides around on the desk too much during use.
Its build quality is unexceptional given the $400 price.
We think the num lock mode, while well-intentioned,
is pretty difficult to use flying blind with no backspace.
And while there are gestures for arrow keys,
we really think a dedicated keyboard like this one,
a dedicated D-pad,
would make navigation easier in many cases
and possibly make gaming slightly less poisonous.
With that said, though,
we still think the Orbitouch is a home run.
It's surprisingly easy to learn.
Our only comfort-related grievance
is related to palm sweat after extended use,
and they will even make you a left-handed version
or adjust the actuation force
according to your particular needs.
Plus, it comes in a tube filled with rubber duckies.
I'm touched.
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