Chiclet keyboard
A chiclet keyboard is a computer keyboard with keys that form an array of small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys that look like erasers or "Chiclets", a brand of chewing gum manufactured in the shape of small squares with rounded corners. It is an evolution of the membrane keyboard, using the same principle of a single rubber sheet with individual electrical switches underneath each key, but with the addition of an additional upper layer which provides superior tactile feedback through a buckling mechanism. The term "chiclet keyboard" is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to island-style keyboards.
Since the mid-1980s, chiclet keyboards have been mainly restricted to lower-end electronics, such as small handheld calculators, cheap PDAs and many remote controls, though the name is also used to refer to scissor keyboards with superficially similar appearance.
History[edit]
The term first appeared during the home computer era of the late 1970s to mid-1980s. The TRS-80 Color Computer,[1] TRS-80 MC-10,[2] and Timex Sinclair 2068[3] were all described as having "chiclet keys".
This style of keyboard has been met with a poor reception. John Dvorak wrote that it was "associated with $99 el cheapo computers".[4] The keys on ZX Spectrum computers are "rubber dome keys" which were sometimes described as "dead flesh",[5] while the feel of the IBM PCjr's chiclet keyboard was reportedly compared to "massaging fruit cake".[6] Its quality was such that an amazed Tandy executive, whose company had previously released a computer with a similarly unpopular keyboard, asked "How could IBM have made that mistake with the PCjr?"[7]
Legacy[edit]
The term "chiclet" has also been used to describe low-profile, low-travel scissor keyboards with simplified, flat keycaps separated by a bezel. The first laptop to feature this style of chiclet keyboard was the Mitsubishi Pedion in 1997 (rebranded as the OmniBook Sojourn by Hewlett-Packard).[8][9] Sony popularized the chiclet keyboard in laptops with the release of the Vaio X505 in 2004.[10]