CharaChorder LC has just started shipping a new product which was Kickstarted at +1000% funding almost one year ago. The CharaChorder Lite is a simple yet powerful twist on the traditional keyboard. In addition to the ability to output individual characters, users can also press many keys together simultaneously to output entire words or phrases in a single keystroke. This ability allows users to type faster than is physically possible on any other keyboard! For example a user can chord "word" by simply mashing w+o+r+d simultaneously instead of typing out w, then o, then r, then d individually.

Though the devices have just started shipping, multiple users have already broken their all time personal records using the device, reaching speeds as high as +250 WPM. (The average qwerty user's speed is only 40 WPM) This is especially noteworthy, because the mission of CharaChorder is to raise average human text transmission speed to 250 WPM. This speed, which corresponds to the average adult's reading comprehension speed, is also how CharaChorder defines 'the speed of thought'.

Hey remember this thing from CES last year? I left my meeting with CharaChorder quite impressed by also with a lot of questions, and wanting answers that I am still curious about. Fast forward an year and some change, and it appears that the CharaChorder is actually up for sale somewhat? The render there is different looking from the original retail renders, and there is a 2-month lead time as well, but this has not stopped the company from putting up a more relatable keyboard form factor on Kickstarter.

Dubbed the CharaChorder Lite, it is a 60% keyboard that manages to squeeze in arrow keys in there too. But the most interesting thing here is no doubt the adoption of the company's patented "chorded entry" system that allows for chords and phrases to be typed in simultaneously, and not one one character at a time. I will reserve judgment on how easy it is to adapt to this system until I test a unit in person if possible, however the company is promising training modules for owners to help reduce the entry barrier. The CharaChorder Lite has already met its funding goals on Kickstarter, and comes available at a much more attainable price too compared to the original CharaChorder.

Attending CES is a mixed bag even before you arrive there, and it comes in the form of about a billion marketing emails invading your inbox. Amidst all these, however, was one from this US-based startup company that interested me in more ways than one. Perhaps because I handle keyboard duties here on TechPowerUp, among other things, but I have always been fascinated with products aiming to enable a more ergonomic and efficient typing experience. These products tend to take the form of smaller form factor, split or otherwise, keyboards that still adopt the staggered columns of keys. Layers are the name of the game here, with customization in the form of key mapping enabling people to position keyboards with a combination of tent, tilt, and height adjustments- especially for split keyboards. But all these still rely on the end user typing on, say, a QWERTY layout with 2-4 fingers simultaneously nearly every single time. CharaChorder wants to rethink the keyboard, and offer a product that helps you type with all 10 fingers.

The company sought inspiration from the humble stenograph, as well as arguably more efficient typing layouts such as Dvorak over QWERTY, and had a prototype for demo at CES that showcased their "3-dimensional" typing via sticks that can be assigned to a different function for each axis. I admittedly was skeptical with the emails, as well as the rough plastic casing they initially showed, but then they pulled out the working PCBs as part of the two connected halves, and typed my name and affiliation on a connected laptop at ~200 WPM. There were also only two errors throughout, which is impressive given these were words and sentences they had no way to practice before, and the speed comes in the form of them having practiced ~30-60 min a day for a month in "chorded" mode which allows simultaneous presses instead of one character at a time, which is the recommended training schedule for new users. The CharaChorder is also ambidextrous enabling users to quickly use this alongside a mouse, or even a joystick, with applications ranging from typing, to gaming via macros, and more. The company has the product up for pre-order already for $199.99 with expected delivery in December 2020 provided they hit their funding goals. Check out their website, as well as this demo video, to get a better idea of how the product works.