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Thumb shift keyboard “FMV-KB232” (Source: Fujitsu “Access” specialty store)
The sale of Fujitsu’s thumb shift keyboard quietly ended at the end of January 2021.
According to Fujitsu Client Computing and Fujitsu, the “LIFEBOOK FMCKBD09H thumb shift keyboard model”, a custom option for business notebooks with thumb shift keyboard specifications, will be discontinued in late 2020. External corporate options “Thumbshift Keyboard FMV -KB613 “(PS / 2 connection) and” Thumbshift Keyboard FMV-KB232 “(USB connection) will be discontinued at the end of December 2020. For individuals, the WEB MART direct sales site was no longer available at the end of January 2021.
Fujitsu has provided thumb switch keyboards and Japanese word processors / input software products since the announcement of the Japanese word processor “OASYS100” in May 1980, but the JIS layout keyboard has become the de facto standard and the functional superiority of the thumb switch. Until now, we have taken steps such as improving operational efficiency and increasing product prices to continue our business, but we have no choice but to end sales and support for the thumb switch related products. It was decided “.
The May 2020 release announced the end of sales after March 2020.
On May 19, 2020, the company announced a release titled “Discontinuation of Thumb Switch Keyboard and Related Products.” The “LIFEBOOK Model FMCKBD09H Thumb Switch Keyboard” was discontinued in March 2021, and it was announced that the “Thumb Switch Keyboard” external option would be discontinued in May 2021.
However, the sale appears to have ended earlier than planned.
In the same statement, the sentence “There is a possibility that the time of inventory depletion (end of sale) is earlier. Please order as soon as possible”, and the sale will end earlier than originally planned. It means that.
However, the external “thumb switch keyboard” option may still be available for purchase from Fujitsu sales representatives or partners if it is absolutely necessary for business purposes. Also, it seems that some stores are still in stock.
Thumb switch so far
The thumb shift keyboard is an original keyboard developed in conjunction with Fujitsu’s “OASYS 100” Japanese word processor release, and was developed by Yasunori Kanda, the creator of OASYS.
For personal computers, thumb shift keyboard models are also available for the FM16 and FM TOWNS series. Adopted in the FMR series of January 1987. Since October 1993, it is also included in the FMV series.
The feature is that it is equipped with a unique key called “thumb key”, and you can directly input Japanese (reading) by pressing the “thumb key” and “other character keys” at the same time. Two kana are written on top of the key, and when you enter the top engraved character, just press the key. In the case of characters engraved at the bottom of the top of the key, you can enter by pressing the thumb key with the same hand at the same time between the two thumb keys. Also, the voiced and handakuon characters are entered by pressing the thumb key at the same time with the hand opposite the character key.
Many people use it as a keyboard that can enter Japanese efficiently, and many writers used it as well. Also, it was once considered the number one keyboard in the word processor test pass rate, and OASYS, which adopted a thumb-switch keyboard in the word processor contest, sometimes dominated the top.
According to Fujitsu, “Romaji input requires that the sound (reading) of the words that come to mind be converted to Romaji in the head, but with the thumb scroll keyboard, that is not necessary, and by adopting the method Simultaneous input, the keystrokes There is an advantage that the number is small. Also, compared to the input of kana, the character keys are grouped into three upper and lower stages, so you can enter hiragana without moving the hand from home position. You can also enter with a simultaneous keystroke. Also, you can enter the number at the top without switching to alphabet mode, which is very convenient when you don’t have a ten “key.
In March 2010, “OASYS 100 and Thumb Scroll Keyboard Prototype” were certified as heritage information processing technology by the Information Processing Society of Japan.
Mr. Yasunori Kanda from Fujitsu, who devised the award-winning thumb switch at the Information Processing Technology Heritage Award Ceremony in March 2010
Information Processing Technology Heritage Certificate for OASYS 100 and Thumb Shift Keyboard Prototype
The thumb scroll keyboard has been loved by many, but its 40-year history has quietly ended since its launch in May 1980.
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