Japan M-Type keyboard
The Japanese are truely the pioneer of keyboard design. All these are symmetric.
M-system
NEC Keyboard based on a then new Japanese language input system, called M-system or M-type.
Note that the M-system layout for English, has all vowels {E, U, I, A, O} for left hand. This is similar to Dvorak Keyboard Layout.
M-system is designed by Dr. Masasuke Morita at NEC in the early 1980s.
Here's the translation (by Google translate)
Former Japanese electrical special adviser Morita Masanori M-type keyboard that Mr. devised ( '83 ~) . Vowel to the left , and remember the ease of key arrangement to place the consonants to the right , by a composite key in which you can enter the left and right alternately typing and multiple string with a single keystroke , that was realized a high-speed Japanese input . In addition to that it has been mounted on a great writer , for the PC-8801/9801, is for Windows was released
More info about M-type keyboard:
- 写真で見るＭ式キーボードの歴史 @
http://qpress.jp/morita/m_keys.htm - 【NEC】 Keyboard based on new input system (M system) By Information Processing Society Of Japan. @ http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/word/0027.html
