TypeMatrix 2020 Ortholinear Ergonomic Keyboard (JME-2020DE)

One of the first releases "ortholinearizing" computer keyboards by TypeMatrix!

You're looking at a keyboard that defines comfort. The thought of having to type in a way that may not be conventional but has brought and trailblazed a path that challenges the "keyboard status quo" is a great thing to do. Founder of TypeMatrix since 1997 is none other than the great Henry Webber who had this passion in helping people with comfort and joy in typing (thank you, Henry!). This TypeMatrix 2020 was the company's first keyboard into the market, and by the looks of it, this is as retro as you can get. (If you're a keyboard collector, this is also very rare and hard to find.)

Starting with connectivity, this keyboard has a PS/2 connector, but can be plugged into a USB converter and works nicely on today's modern systems. For the keyboard itself, if you've never used an ortholinear keyboard before, this will take some getting used to. Give yourself about a week at the very least, though some people adapt faster than others, and see if you feel a difference. This keyboard was built with scissor switches which is great for those who love that flat profile and the gentle sound when typing (in terms of sound, and depending on your setup and surroundings, the keypresses sound like marbles gently hitting each other). For compatibility, this works well on Windows and a Mac, though we haven't tested it on Linux, but we'll take a shot in the dark and say it'll likely work (unsure about BSD Unix, which is a system we haven't used and dabbled with since 2012).

Talking about the build quality, it's a little flimsy. Either the keyboard is showing its age or that's originally how it was manufactured. Either way, you may want to be careful and take care of this thing; Don't abuse it, especially if you're someone who types and depresses the keys aggressively.

Looking at our variant of the keyboard, you can tell how busy it looks by the printing on the keys. This comes in the QWERTY> layout, but ours included printing for DVORAK as well. Those who own, or previously owned this, may have the regular QWERTY without the DVORAK printing. Anyway, you can see there are two BACKSPACE keys placed in the center for either hand to press with your index finger. Why is that? On a regular keyboard, your hand usually has to tilt "outward," away from the keys just to press BACKSPACE which many of us take for granted, but in terms of pain and discomfort, it could add up over time. With the BACKSPACE keys in the middle, you can press them without having to have your hand twist outward and keeping them inward, thus reducing pain. Better yet, you also have the ENTER key in middle as well. With enough time and practice, you'll adapt to this arrangement so well, you may never use a regular keyboard ever again. Also, the keyboard itself is quite wide and should accomodate your arms and shoulders without having to feel cramped or tight while typing (ever notice how close yet cramped people's arms and hands are when typing on a regular keyboard?). Now, let's look at the ortholinear arrangement which is what made this keyboard stand out from the others.

To this today, there are talks and debate about comfort and ergonomics of an ortholinear layout whether it eases pains from fingers, wrists and arms when typing. Some swear by this arrangement so much, one of them wishes for ortholinear to be mandated worldwide in terms of future keyboard design. Whatever the case, you will find that this arrangement makes typing much easier. How so? Given that you're familiar with the keyboard layout of your choice, whether you use QWERTY or DVORAK, by muscle memory, you can tell what and which keys you intend to press as they are laid in a predictable pattern, geometrically speaking. In other words, if there's a key you intend to press, you just bring your fingers upward, downward, left, right, adjacent or diagonal. This seems almost effortless and much easier on the fingers. Being that the movement of your fingers when typing are very minimal, that means less strain on your hands and fingers. The finger travel is so seemless, and relatively neat given that its arrangement resembles that of an x- and y-axis plane, you'll wonder why there aren't enough keyboards like this (there are, but can be very pricey compared to this, depending on brand, condition, switches etc). If you happen to touch type or not, typing on this keyboard will be a very comfortable experience without having to worry about pains again. This is one of the most humble ergonomic keyboards to ever grace the market, and we are impressed to be big fans of it.

One of the things that takes getting used to with this keyboard is its integrated NumPad—number pad. Pressing F3 key will activate the NumPad, strangely lighting up the LED light marked "1." Once activated, the bottom right, gray area, acts as a full NumPad at your fingertips! You're wondering, why have this integrated into the keyboard and not release a separate one? If you, or anyone you know is a programmer, efficiency is key. What TypeMatrix did was to reduce the "clutter" by consolidating as much as they could into one device, to ensure that by switching or activating modes, you can perform tasks in no time. Another benefit of this is not having to "swing" your hand/arm from reaching, pressing some keys here and there, then bringing your hand/arm back to the main area. With this, you'll be keeping your hands within bounds of the keyboard itself. Again, this will take time getting used to but once you do, you'll see and appreciate what TypeMatrix had in mind making this. This is not a compact keyboard in the least, you're looking at a full keyboard with enough bells and whistles for both the casual and power users of today and tomorrow. Yeah, it's all a lot for such a keyboard whether it has features you're looking for or not, but as this grows on you, you'll fully understand why TypeMatrix made it this way.

One of the cons about this keyboard is that there is no arching 'feet' on the bottom. While typing on an angle is generally not recommended ergonomically speaking, there are some that are comfortable with such feature. Everybody is different, and there are those that prefer typing with a little arch on their keyboard. As for the NumPad, the LED labels on the top right look confusing for the new user. Even though we, ourselves, understand what each one does when activated, it doesn't come out too clear and may have been lazily done or rushed. Another weird thing is having two Tab keys, one of them in the middle. I would think that the big buttons in the center are duplicates of each other, but on the left, you get a BACKSPACE and TAB instead of the ENTER key. Granted, this isn't a big deal since my right hand is more dominant than my left, but it's still an oddball thing since one TAB key is enough. Since we have the version that includes DVORAK printing with it, the keyboard overall looks too busy. There are too many keys able to do so much at one time and while we respect TypeMatrix for efficiency, it can be hard to keep up what keys do what, even for us. Visually, it's too cluttered.

Fun fact: Founder and creator of TypeMatrix Henry Webber himself was a huge fan, advocate and user of the DVORAK layout. It all makes sense, if you all are wondering about this "unusual" fascination with alternate layouts like DVORAK.

(Although not a con but more of a personal preference, we would've loved this keyboard with blank keycaps. We didn't think there were many who used blank keyboards back in the late nineties and early 2000s, and because this was TypeMatrix's very first keyboard in maximizing comfort over style, it's understandable. Again, not a con, but we wished there was a blank version of this keyboard without the need to use blank stickers or anything.)

We can talk and rave about its comfort and ease of use, but because we correlate keyboards to clothes, talking about it can only do so much. This is one of those instances where you, the user, has to purchase, or borrow, and try for yourself. Because it's ortholinear, it may not be for everyone nor for you, but if regular "staggered" keyboards aren't doing you any justice in terms of comfort, it's either the keyboard layout, which we wrote a blog post about via Desk Stem, or the keyboard itself. Again, some swear by the ortholinear arrangement and how comfortable it is, while some didn't find any benefit. It's up to you, the reader, whether this is a fit for you or not. We can talk and rave about how comfortable Adidas shoes are compared to other brands, and whether you believe what we say or not, is up to the consumer to try for themselves; The same holds true when talking and reviewing keyboards.

This is the very first keyboard created and released by TypeMatrix, and given its age, it's been out of production since. Because of that, and due to the fans' interest in vintage keyboards, this 2020 version is a rare find. Once it's listed for sale on online markets, it will sell very quickly. As quiet and humble as TypeMatrix is, they've garnered a quiet customer/fan base which proudly includes us here at KCU Network. We are proud fans and owners of the TypeMatrix, and while it's not perfect, it serves and promises its purpose as we are incredibly gracious for that. Thank you for making this great keyboard, and thank you for being in business, TypeMatrix!

(This review is dedicated to Henry Webber, the company's founder and owner who sadly passed away in July 2023. Mr. Webber and family, as fans, we plan to go ahead and spread the word of your company and your awesome keyboards! We will remain fans for life! We hope fellow visitors and fans of our website will do the same!)

(NOTE: We may not be open to answer everyone's concerns and complaints about electronics like these, but if you have any questions or need some help, you are welcome to contact us!)

Kris Caballero

Founder of KCU Network and KCU Plus, Kris has been writing since he started blogging in late 2005. Officially back to doing computer programming, Kris enjoys reading books on Mathematics, Quantum Computing, Philosophy, plus playing old video/MS-DOS games, digital video archiving, listening to sports, public radio and classical music.

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