Examining Keyboard Shape and Arrangement Effects for Younger and Older Adults

Abstract

This research investigated the effects of keyboard shapes and letter arrangements for text entry with a rotary input device. In Study 1, we examined movement of a cursor across four different keyboard shapes. Shape and age had significant effects, and the interaction of the two variables was also significant. Compatibility and movement simplicity were key features of the better shapes. In Study 2, we examined visual search across three different letter arrangements on the same four shapes among the same participants. Age and arrangement were significant, but shape was not. Only the shape by arrangement interaction was significant, so the benefit of arrangement familiarity may be limited to specific virtual keyboard shapes.