From responsiveness to accuracy, there are many reasons why silicone keypads are preferable over touchscreens. Yes, touchscreens seem to be the most popular option right now, especially when it comes to smart phones and tablets. But when it comes to keypads for medical devices, point of sale systems and offices, silicone keypads are the clear choice.
They hold a few major advantages over touchscreens when it comes to versatility, usage, functionality, and durability. Check out these five reasons why you should choose silicone keypads over their touchscreen counterparts.
1. Silicone Keypads Are More Accurate
Touchscreens are often tricky to use and don’t always give you the immediate or accurate response you need. However, silicone keypads have a much higher rate of accuracy. This means you can type a command or sentence easily, without hitting unnecessary or wrong keys by accident or having the system autocorrect to something else like touchscreens do. Thanks to distinguishable barriers and physical characteristics separating each key, you will make fewer mistakes when working with silicone.
2. Silicone Keypads Are More Responsive
Easier to operate than touch screens, silicone keypads can be used even if the operator is donning gloves (latex in a medical setting and winter gloves on a construction site). As you can recall from your own experience, it’s much easier to press physical buttons when you are wearing compromising clothing or accessories. So no need to take off your gloves to press commands, which is a big convenience for users in many industries.
3. Silicone Keypads Don’t Leave Smudges
The big downfall of touchscreens is their propensity to leave smudges and fingerprints behind. In turn, these marks make it hard to see what’s on the screen, properly view selections or even choose the correct buttons. This means you’re constantly wiping down the screen several times a day, which takes away from productivity and increases the risk of hitting a whole bunch of wrong selections. You don’t have the same issue with silicone keypads, as key smudges do not impact function.
4. Silicone Keypads Have a Better Click Response
It can be very satisfying to hear the audible click of a button, which is one of the biggest benefits of silicone keypads. It’s this physical click response that lets you know you’re pressing a button and that it has registered. While you may be able to enable the click sounds with a touchscreen, you won’t have the physical sensation of pressing the key down to ensure you selected it. Thanks to an audible and distinct click or snap, silicone button depression ensures the user got the right response.
5. Silicone Keypads Cost Less
It just costs less to manufacture silicone keypads than touchscreens. Not only do they cost less initially to make, they don’t demand as much ongoing maintenance, which also lowers costs. Because touchscreens are more complicated and expensive to repair, and often require a technician’s expertise, silicone keypads are a no-brainer when you consider they are more durable and give you a much longer-lasting interface solution over their touchscreen cousins.
Contact Si-Tech
To find out for yourself what’s so great about silicone keypads over touchscreens, why not get in touch with us today at 757-887-8488?
