Children’s keyboards are compact and portable with 84-89 keys. IBM designed the first PC/XT keyboards in the 1980s, leading to the 101-key Enhanced keyboard. There are various models of children’s keyboards available, including multimedia and programmable keyboards. They are widely available online and start at around $30 (US).
A kids keyboard is a miniature computer keyboard that offers a more compact design for portability. Children’s keyboards, more often referred to as “mini” keyboards, usually have 84-89 keys with 101-104 key functionality and are commonly 13 inches (33 centimeters) or less in length. By comparison, standard keyboards are closer to 18 inches (46cm) in length. Technically any keyboard with a very small footprint like that of a children’s keyboard, no matter how many keys it has, is a “mini” or “kid’s keyboard”.
In the early 1980s, IBM designed the first commercial PC/XT keyboards with 83 keys, although the footprint was comparable to today’s full-sized keyboards. IBM improved the keyboard layout and key shape with the release of the first PC/AT computer. This new PC/AT keyboard looked similar to modern keyboards, except that the F keys (function keys) remained grouped in two columns to the left of the board, and there were still only 84 keys.
When IBM introduced the latest PC/AT model in 1986, it also introduced the 101-key Enhanced keyboard, the standard model around which modern keyboards are based. This keyboard included function keys on top, added cursor keys, a number pad, and other function keys.
Keyboard design eventually flourished into 104-key keyboards with Windows special function keys, multimedia keyboards, ergonomic keyboards, programmable keyboards, and keyboards with integrated trackballs or touchpads.
Children’s keyboards have answered the need for greater portability, particularly in proliferating LAN environments. Since then, advancing technology has given them a place in meeting rooms, classrooms, courtrooms, and more. Network engineers, administrators, sales representatives and mobile executives can easily fit a children’s keyboard into a briefcase to carry between office terminals, workplaces or mobile presentations. Some home users also prefer them simply because they take up less desktop space.
There is as much diversity between the different models of children’s keyboards as can be found among standard keyboards. Layouts vary from model to model and there is no such thing as a “right” design. Satisfaction depends on personal preferences. There are multimedia kids keyboards, hacker-style kids keyboards, programmable kids keyboards, and even lighted kids keyboards. Most use USB or PS/2 interfaces.
A hybrid of a standard keyboard is a compact keyboard, which has 101 keys or more packed into a footprint ranging about 16 inches (41 cm) in length—not small enough to be considered a children’s keyboard.
Kids keyboards are widely available online and may also be available at your local computer outlet. Prices start around $30 (US).
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