Real-world computing data for better products

Challenge

A keyboard hardware design company wanted to optimize key placement and size for their next ergonomic keyboard model. Traditional user testing with small focus groups (10-20 people) didn't provide statistically significant data about real-world typing patterns.

Solution

WhatPulse provided anonymized keyboard heat map data aggregated from over 50,000 users across different professions (developers, writers, gamers, office workers). The dataset included key press frequency distribution, common key combinations, and usage pattern differences between user types.

Outcome

• Enlarged frequently-used keys (Enter, Backspace, Space) by 15%
• Relocated modifier keys based on actual usage patterns
• Created profession-specific layouts optimized for developers vs. writers
• Validated ergonomic hypotheses with real-world data

Challenge

A productivity software vendor wanted to understand how their application is actually used in the wild - how much time users spend in the app, when during the day it's most active, and how it compares to competitor adoption.

Solution

WhatPulse provided anonymized, aggregated usage statistics including average session duration, time-of-day usage patterns, week vs. weekend usage differences, geographic distribution, and comparison metrics vs. similar application categories.

Key insights discovered

• Peak usage occurred 2-4 PM (not morning as assumed)
• Average session time was 47 minutes (shorter than expected)
• 68% of usage came from Windows users vs. 32% macOS
• 12% market share in the productivity tools category

Challenge

A peripheral manufacturer wanted to understand market trends for gaming mice vs. productivity mice - which features matter, what behaviors differentiate user types, and how the market is shifting.

Solution

WhatPulse provided aggregated hardware analytics including mouse manufacturer market share trends, model popularity rankings, average mouse distance traveled, click patterns by mouse type, and multi-device usage data.

Market insights

• Gaming mice represented 34% of tracked devices (up from 28% prior year)
• Gamers averaged 2.3 miles/day mouse distance vs. 0.8 miles for office users
• Left-click to right-click ratio: 4:1 for productivity, 2:1 for gaming
• 23% of users switch between mouse and trackpad during sessions

Challenge

An ergonomics research institute studying repetitive strain injury (RSI) risk factors needed real-world data about typing and mouse usage patterns across different professions and work environments.

Solution

WhatPulse provided anonymized, aggregated data including daily keystroke and click counts segmented by user type, typing intensity patterns, mouse usage duration, hourly break patterns, and correlations between session length and input frequency.

Research findings

• Software developers averaged 8,200 keystrokes/day with high burst intensity
• Customer service reps averaged 12,400 keystrokes/day but steadier pace
• Users taking regular breaks (every 45-60 min) showed lower intensity spikes
• Mouse-heavy users had 3x movement distance vs. keyboard-heavy users

Challenge

An open-source operating system project wanted to understand adoption rates, version migration patterns, and how their OS is used compared to commercial alternatives.

Solution

WhatPulse provided aggregated OS analytics including operating system market share, version adoption curves, Linux distribution popularity rankings, geographic distribution, and hardware configurations by OS type.

Adoption insights

• Their distribution had 2.3% share among Linux users (ranked #7)
• Adoption strongest in Europe (4.1%) vs. North America (1.8%)
• Users averaged higher technical proficiency (more development tools)
• Migration from previous version took 8 months to hit 50% adoption