What Does Qwerty Stand for?
Computers, cell phones, PDAs, smartphones and other devices utilize QWERTY keyboards for convenient texting and typing. According to PC World, the move to add QWERTY keyboards to cell phones to make texting easier began in 2004. QWERTY keyboards now appear in fixed or slide-out versions on phones from major manufacturers.
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The Facts
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The first six letters on the top row of letter keys on a QWERTY keyboard spell out Q-W-E-R-T-Y. The word does not have any meaning beyond its use as a name for a keyboard design. The configuration of the keys helped deal with the mechanical limitations of early typewriter models. According to the "Wall Street Journal," new smartphones and other tools for communication continue to use QWERTY because the majority of users prefer to use a standard keyboard arrangement.
History
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According to the website The Classic Typewriter Page, the QWERTY keyboard first appeared on an early typewriter, the Sholes & Glidden, in the 1870s. Other early typewriter keyboard layouts competed with QWERTY. However, QWERTY eventually became the dominant design.
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According to "Wired," the QWERTY keyboard is not the most efficient design. The QWERTY keyboard layout kept the keys of early lever-style keyboards from colliding with each other. Proficient typists using the Dvorak keyboard design can type faster than QWERTY users, "Wired" says.
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- Photo Credit qwerty image by Han van Vonno from Fotolia.com
