Keyboard
Enhanced keyboard
An enhanced
keyboard has 12 or more function keys along the top and a set of arrow and
additional keys between the typing area and the numeric keypad.
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With media buttons
Keyboards with media control buttons allow you to control your media player program, access the computer’s optical disc drive, and adjust speaker volume.
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With internet buttons
Internet controls allow you to open an e-mail program, start a Web browser, and search the Internet.
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Keyboard Layout
A variety of options are available for typing on a smart phone. Many can display an on-screen keyboard, where you press the on-screen keys using a stylus or your finger. Some smart phones have one key for each letter of the alphabet, often called a mini-keyboard.
Other phones have keypads that contain fewer keys than there are letters in the alphabet. For these phones, each key on the keypad represents multiple characters, which are identified on the key. |
Mouse
A mouse is a pointing device that fits comfortably under the palm of your hand.
Most desktop computer users today have some type of optical mouse, which uses devices that emit and sense light to detect the mouse’s movement. Some use optical sensors, and others use a laser. The latter, often referred to as a laser mouse, usually is more expensive than the former.
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Air Mouse
An air mouse is a newer type of motion-sensing mouse that, in addition to the typical buttons, allows you to control objects, media players, and slide shows by moving the mouse in predetermined directions through the air. For example, raising the mouse up might increase the volume on your media player
Trackball
Touchpad
A touchpad is a small, flat, rectangular pointing device that is sensitive to pressure and motion.
To move the pointer using a touchpad, slide your fingertip across the surface of the pad. Some touchpads have one or more buttons around the edge of the pad that work like mouse buttons. On most touchpads, you also can tap the pad’s surface to imitate mouse operations such as clicking. Touchpads are found most often on notebook computers, including netbooks and many Tablet PCs. |
Pointing stick
A pointing stick is a pressure-sensitive pointing device shaped like a pencil eraser that is positioned between keys on a keyboard.
To move the pointer using a pointing stick, you push the pointing stick with a finger. The pointer on the screen moves in the direction you push the pointing stick. By pressing buttons below the keyboard, users can click and perform other mouse-type operations with a pointing stick. |