Having to operate a keyboard with only one hand may seem a bit of a handicap but not to Californian Dianna L Erickson who has set a new world’s best performance of 85 words per minute on her Maltron single-handed keyboard on February 2nd at the First Step Career Academy in Modesto. Dianna was a skilled two-handed keyboard user with a top rate of 80 words per minute but found she had to convert to a single-handed board after an accident which left her left elbow traumatized.

A local Vocational Rehab Counsellor recommended that Dianna should try a Maltron single handed keyboard (they are available for left or right hands) and so she took delivery of a keyboard and the training manual a few days later. She started what seemed the unusual business of keying with only her right hand and only six weeks later she took a test at the Modesto Acadamy where she reached a new world record rate of 85 words in a minute in a standard Mavis Beacon test.

Apart from the fame resulting from her new found speed and skill Dianna has noticed that she experiences less stress and strain than she used to with a conventional flat two-handed keyboard. One part of her working life which she has noticed has become simplified is when producing number-intensive documents such as billing reports and accounting records. She says, “The design is superb”

The special shape and letter layout of the Maltron single-handed keyboard have been very carefully planned to take into account the limited number of keys that can be accessed quickly and comfortably. The company’s self paced training course, which was so successful for Dianna, is paper or screen based to ensure that learning is quick and easy. These single-handed keyboards offer push-on-push-off keys for Shift, Control and Alt functions. They measure only 305 x 225 x 115 mm and weigh in at just 0.9 kg.