Keyboard Builders' Digest / Inspiration
TiPY one-handed keyboard
TiPY Keyboard's weird one-handed contraption is actually flippable.
Published April 2, 2022
TiPY Keyboard is an Austrian company with a surprising one-handed keyboard design.
Founder Matthaeus Drory had been working on this concept for four years before starting production in 2021.
TiPY combines all the functions of a conventional keyboard in a new concept for humans and their computers – TiPY Keyboard.
We've seen one-handed keyboards before: both DIY projects (e.g. Onehand, Mist, Trochee) and actual products like the one-handed Maltron. However, TiPY is unique in one sense at least: it's flippable.
Flipping the TiPY reveals there are actually two different keyboards built into a single product: by removing the palm-rest and attaching it upside-down you can change between a right-handed and left-handed layout.
(Speaking of flippable keyboards, there is the crazy Monterey MK-9500, but that one reveals something totally different on flip. :))
I'm pretty sure this is not the most cost-efficient approach. Not many users will change the layout so one half is probably totally unnecessary. However, this is a rubberdome keyboard so at least switches are not wasted.
I'm not sure what to say about the layout. To cram everything onto one side, the designers came up with a fan-shaped physical layout resulting in a 6x5 grid in the middle for the alphas. For someone with a penchant for logical layout optimization this seems to be a real disaster.
We usually aim for 1u distances and try to minimize finger movement, row changes and especially hurdles (skipping the middle row). And here? While the less frequent consonants are located on the bottom row, this layout still forces the user to hurdle a lot – which is not only one of the slowest and least comfortable things while typing but also the number one reason to lose your homing position (increasing the number of typing errors).
All in all, the TiPY showcases an interesting concept but I can't really imagine any real-life situation this layout would come in handy – unless of course you lack one hand and refuse to get familiar with the concept of logical layers.
Otherwise I'd be tempted to smash some modelling clay on my desk to fix the TiPY on it's edge. That would result in a still weird but at least two-handed experience resembling a split with 90 degree tenting angle.
Published on Sat 2nd Apr 2022. Featured in KBD #72 (source).