Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000by Sali Earls & Mark Kiddell
The Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 has been introduced by Microsoft as "the most comfortable ergonomic keyboard available" and is designed to encourage a more natural wrist alignment when typing.
Several members of the ITWales team were keen to put these claims to the test, with Mark Kiddell opting for a three week stint of ergonomic typing, and Sali Earls attempting to type up this review in the second of a two week experience.
MK - Being a person that has been used to typing on a normal keyboard for many years I found switching to the Microsoft Ergonomic keyboard a shock to the system. Given that many people like these keyboards and actually believe they are better, I decided to give it a try for 2-3 weeks. I have now used the keyboard for about 3 weeks and have the returned to my trusty old keyboard - I can type once again without making endless spelling mistakes and corrections!
The first thing I noticed with the keyboard itself when I took it out of the box is that there is a screw or something loose inside it which clunks about when you tilt the keyboard from side to side - not a good selling point as this doesn't give great confidence in the build quality.
The keyboard itself looks well designed and feels very solid with a nice feel to the keys, It also provides good wrist support with a 7 degree reverse slope attachment fixed on meaning you type downhill as a pose to uphill with a normal keyboard.
The reverse slope does look very strange at first but you soon get used to it, I can see the benefits as far as support for the wrists go. The cushioned palm rest really is very comfortable and I do prefer it to my usual typing position.
Keyboard features:
After using the keyboard for a few weeks you do realise the importance of the cushioned pads and the angle of the wrists as you feel a lot more comfortable writing large documents than with normal keyboards. However, no matter how much I tried I found I couldn't get used to using the ergonomic keyboard and I was still hitting the wrong keys all the time. I also found myself leaning forward more when typing - it's all very well not getting RSI (repetitive strain injury), but having a bad back from leaning over all the time is probably a worse enemy by far.
SE - I'm fortunate enough to be able to touch type, and I approached this keyboard with the impression that I would therefore find it easy to use. It seems, however, that I have picked up some bad typing habits over the years and this led to more frustration that ease of use.
Once you get over the initial impression that the keyboard looks odd and
back to front, the layout actually makes sense, and after an hour or so of shouting at it, I thought I was getting into the swing of things.
Trying to put a space between words caused me a degree of aggravation on more than one occasion, as the wrist rest is actually where you expect the space bar to be. When it comes to trying to type the letter "B", well, it seems as if I have been using the wrong hand for all these years, so when I use my right hand as usual, I hit the zoom slider or space bar.
The keyboard has many special features as Mark has mentioned, and of these I particularly like the Calculator and Internet hot keys. I have not historically been a fan of hot keys, but easy access to the Calculator function in this way is beneficial.
The cushioned wrist rest is comfortable, and does foster a comfortable typing position for hands, wrists and arms, but I have found that my entire posture has changed while using the keyboard and I have developed strain in my neck and shoulders. Perhaps this is something that would diminish over time, but for me this is a negative aspect that outweighs the positives.
If you are completely new to computing and have no preconceptions about keyboard design, then this could be the keyboard for you. If however you are very used to using a normal keyboard, then the retraining to type properly on this keyboard could perhaps be too much like hard work.
The Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 is available from many computer suppliers at a price range of £31.00 to £49.99. www.microsoft.com/uk.