I've been interested in the development of the digital keyboard since it was removed from the older mobile phones which used the tactile physical keyboards below the screen. With the revolution of touch technology, it appears it still wasn't the right time to introduce a new keyboard layout which would be more optimised and easier to use for the user.
The original QWERTY layout for keyboards originated from the days of the typewriters, the layout was originally in alphabetical order. This setup allowed the user to type extremely efficiently due to the pre-existing knowledge of the alphabets order; it caused problems for the mechanic design of the typewriter as the way in which they functioned could not keep up with the key-press rate of the users and caused it to stop (jam).
Christopher Latham Sholes invented the QWERTY keyboard as a means to slow down the pace of the user by spacing common keys at specific distances from each other to give 'breathing space' for the typewriter to perform the previous keys operation. The design was roled out on to a huge number of typewriters and because they no longer seized up made production faster (even though they were typing slower).
The keyboard layout became standardized, and naturally progressed on to the personal computer as the input system for text, at this time nobody considered redesigning the layout of the keyboard as computers were not seen to be something that would be used to such an extent that it would need an ergonomically designed keyboard.
It appears the same trend has occured from the transition from physical to digital, when the innovative new touch-based systems emerged they came with the exact same QWERTY layout which has been around for the last century and a half. Perhaps this was because it would have been a bad move for the mobile market to not only have a transition between physical to digital input, but also a complete new learning curve for the keyboard layout?
Windows 8 seems to be pushing forward the layout of the keyboard to better suit its tablet devices. The keyboard is divided in to two, re-ordered and placed on the left and right side of the screen meaning the user no longer has to take either hand away from holding the tablet. This appears to be the beginning of ergonomic design being implemented for the modern tablet devices.
