dlachieze wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2020 1:18 pm
I'm not a lefty so my question may seem naive: is it harder to use the Enter key on the left side than any of the keys above or below Enter (such as the operator keys on the 41 and RPN calculators before)?
Forgetting the left/right handedness preference for single handed use, the reason I've always preferred the classic HP calculators layout is that I've always felt that the enter key should be placed on the same side of the keyboard as the operator keys from a pure UX perspective (I'm a design strategist by trade). With RPN, the operator is at the end of each key sequence and the Enter key comes next so close placement and large hit area adds to the fluidity of the action.
Single handed use is a side benefit of the 43s/41x design (for someone who's right handed) but my preference for that design over the 42 layout is purely a UX thing. Interestingly enough, the master stroke on the 41x over the original 41 is the placement of the Gold and Alpha keys, which are very balanced for a UX where alpha entry is so prevalent. I'm still not a total fan of the stiffness of the DM... keyboard, but I far prefer a little stiffness over the typical flimsy keyboard action of most modern calculators.
I'm able to put up with the 50g keyboard for much the same rationale. even though the Enter key is tiny and the operator keys are on the right hand side of the layout, at least the enter key is still positioned in the same vicinity as the operators.
Having said all that, the engine room of interaction design is habit so regular use of most reasonable device layouts create a positive bias for it's idiosyncrasies. Someone with years of 42 style layout experience will more than likely have to overcome habitual interactions to adapt to something different. At the end of the day there will be some who want their 43 to more closely follow the 42 interaction conventions whilst others will have a preference Paul and Walter's original design.