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Many years ago I started having the signs and symptoms of Carpal Tunnel (repetitive stress injury) syndrome in my right wrist, because I spent (and still spend) a lot of time every day on a computer keyboard.
At the time I worked for a pharmaceutical manufacturer, and when I mentioned my problem of stiffness & soreness in my wrist to my manager, I was sent to the plant's industrial engineer. He scheduled an ergonomic study of my desk, including the chair, mouse, keyboard, and typing position - hands, wrists, arms, torso, legs and feet, and observed my habits.
From that study came his recommendation for me to adjust the arms on my office chair a specific way to support them while I typed, plus to acquire a trackball and an ergonomic keyboard (that the Company paid for!) - the type this is - to eliminate the problem of the angled wrist position during touch typing - either side-to-side or up and down, to keep my wrists straight and level, eliminating the cause of Carpal Tunnel in this context (note: your experience may vary; this is not a medical recommendation).
When I first got the keyboard it took a couple days to get used to it but once I did, and while wearing a wrist brace to help the hand/arm position training, my symptoms subsided very quickly.
Now, over a decade later I have never been without an ergonomic keyboard (that my Company pays for!) and I also have never had a recurrence of symptoms, unless of course I wind up having to use a regular keyboard for any length of time in my job in I.T. in which case it takes less than a day for me to feel the impact of using the standard keyboard and having to compromise proper typing position.
I cannot survive without my ergonomic keyboard! This one was purchased to backup a well worn identical model at home, as I never use a standard keyboard here either but noticed the supply growing smaller, and the price offered was too good to pass up.
My fear is that manufacturers will stop producing them due to low demand, and yet we hear all the time about hand surgery centers who deal with Carpal Tunnel. Insurance pays tens of millions for treatment after the fact, and yet often I have had to push to get approval for a $40 keyboard and a $25 trackball from Company expense money, to prevent the issue in the first place! Makes no sense but that's how my experience has been.
It certainly would be far cheaper and less intrusive just to treat the problem at its source; namely, bad posture while typing, instead of shelling out all the money to operate once the Syndrome has taken its toll on the wrist joint.
Meanwhile, the Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard, one of the few remaining on the market, is the ideally-suited keyboard to help curb the issues which can cause a repetitive stress injury in the hand or wrist, and it is of such good quality that it lasts and lasts. It is like any other piece of molded plastic, however, in that it is subject to wear and tear, dust and debris, but with a little maintenance even stuck keys can be fixed easily.
I've used my previous unit so much I have actually worn the letters off the keys, but for a touch typist that does not matter as we don't have to look at the keys to type.
The keyboard also helps keep pests (my family) off my computer because they, not being used to the split design of an ergonomic keyboard, detest using this one so they avoid my computer when they can, and complain whenever they must use it for a moment.
Indeed, also because the letters are worn off, they struggle to find the right keys to press since the keys are not located in the standard position and that largely keeps anyone else away from borrowing Dad's computer to do anything. The ideal situation for me!
I really never have understood why this design would not become standard on all computers and keyboards, given all we know about what causes Carpal Tunnel when a person is on a keyboard 8 to 10 hours a day, 5 or 6 days a week but alas, it has not been a high volume seller, I would imagine. Not everyone has been as fortunate as I was to actually have an engineer evaluate the root cause of my impending problem with a mind toward prevention instead of treatment after the fact - an investment which saved that company tens or hundreds of thousands of worker's compensation claims, I'm sure, and one which is actually very smart business. I took that information forward into my subsequent job and have continued to negotiate a $60 expense investment to prevent a much more expensive worker's comp situation due to bad ergonomics in the work place.
Good product, worth the money, and even for a non-touch typist it helps keep the typing position straight and level so that the wrist does not become inflamed and cause joint injury.
At this price, a great value! I bought a spare to back up my well-worn keyboard just in case they go off the market. By the time this one truly wears completely out at least I'll have a reserve unit to fall back on.
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Color: Black
Item Length Longer Edge: 14 in & above
Item Height Surface To Top: 3 in & above
Hand Orientation: Ambidextrous
Number of Keys: 93 & above
Item Width Shorter Edge: 6 in & above
Keyboard Backlighting Color Support: Single Color
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$124
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$398
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$49 List: $69.90
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This Item  Microsoft Wired Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, Retail |  |  | ![DeLUX Wired Ergonomic Split Keyboard with Wrist Rest, [Standard Ergo] Keyboard Series with 2 USB Passthrough, Natural Typing Reducing Hand Pressure, 107 Keys for Windows and Mac OS (GM901U-Black)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41yilaj31+L._AC_.jpg) |  |  | |
| Price | — | $189.99 | $54.99 | $54.99 | $49.99 | $59.99 |
| Delivery | — | Get it Apr 26 - 30 | Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 25 | Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 25 | Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 25 | Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 25 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Ergonomic | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Sold By | — | The Surplus-Hut | Arteck | Delux Technology Co., Ltd. | Jukegear | Nulea Direct |
| connectivity tech | Wired | Wired | USB Wireless | USB | USB-A | Bluetooth, 2.4G USB |
| number of keys | 123 | 104 | 102 | 107 | 110 | 101 |
| hardware interface | usb | — | usb | usb | usb | bluetooth |
| compatible devices | PC | PC | PC, Desktop, Laptop, Computers | PC | Lenovo, Dell, Linux, HP, Microsof Surface, Acer, Asus, Samsung, Chromebook, Alienware, Razer, LG, PC, Laptop | PC, Laptop, Smartphone, Tablet |
| keyboard description | Ergonomic | QWERTY | Split Ergonomic | Multimedia | Ergonomic Split Keyboard | Wireless |
| operating system | Windows & Mac | Windows | Windows | Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Mac OS | Windows | Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Chrome OS |
Reviews with images
Reached my previous typing speed within days, but too wide to fit mouse in the side
I received it about 3 days ago and it reached via Aramex after along wait during the christmas holidays.To set the context, I don't touch type, just hunt and hit like most people with a speed of 40 wpm. Previously, I was content with my chiclet laptop keyboard and dont really have much complaint against it. I liked them more than my previous desktop keyboard where I had to push down the button so deep that I hardly enjoyed typing. I really like the feel of soft touch and the dampened sound. I have tried split typing, as in both hands have separate zone to cover but couldn't continue it for long. So, I'll try to provide my review from the eyes of this biased user.So, when I received the keyboard my major concern was the size of the keyboard as I have small hands and the depth of the keys. It looked really wide. But then I tried and I can easily reach any key in the qwerty zone without moving my wrist. Actually if you look at it closely, you can see that the new revised wireless model of this called sculpt ergonomic keyboard is essentially just this main zone cut out from the rest.Next up was the travel / depth of the key and I again felt comfortable with it. They require about the same amount of force except for the Space key which when pressed from the northern part, gives much more friction than from the southern part. Although the depth of keys is more than that of laptops, it is NOT at all uncomfortable - maybe a little more, but nowhere near my old mechanical keyboard. I still keep missing the space key sometimes when I hit it softly like the other keys.Then I tried the special keys after installing the special driver. You can reconfigure any of them to other action, but the list of available actions is the same as the default action of all the keys included plus running any external program. So, if you want the mail key to paste from clipboard, that's not possible, but it can change the volume. The favourite key CANT be reconfigured, it opens this special key configuration page by default. You can only enable or disable it. I guess much more can be done via macros, but I am yet to give it a shot.Only downside to me is the presence of numpad keys. Dont get me wrong, I absolutely loved them in my laptop, but they are too far away from the QWERTY zone and it is actually easier for me to press the top number keys rather than moving to that part for regular typing. But, I am pretty sure on the other hand that during numerical calculations, that dedicated zone along with the extra bracket and equals key on the top part of it will be absolutely godsend. But having them doesnt hurt anyways, right? Well, it does my hurt my hands when I have to reach for my mouse on the right. Its too far away from my body because while typing, I place the middle of the QWERTY zone right in front of me, so the keyboard is extended more to the right.
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James
Best "typing" or "work" keyboard ever made in my opinion.
Reviewed in Canada on November 18, 2017Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Ketan Panchal
Better than conventional keyboards; costs (in India) more than twice of what I feel its worth
Reviewed in India on May 1, 2018Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Peter Harle
One of the better USB ergonomic keyboards made by Microsoft.
Reviewed in Australia on July 12, 2020Color: BlackVerified Purchase
