| Great typing keyboard, but.... |
| Pros: It's the most comfortable keyboard I've ever used, and I've been typing extensively for decades. If you've never used this type of keyboard before, it will take a little time, like a week or two to get used to the placement of keyes, but I'm sure you will be enjoying it more and more every day. Soft tactile response is exceptionally pleasant. The zoom slider would be excellent, if it always worked as intended (see below).
Cons: I bought this keyboard to be sure it's compatible with my new 64-bit system. My reasoning was, if the 64-bit Windows are created by Microsoft and this keyboard is designed by Microsoft, the two must fit each other perfectly. Well, this is not exactly the case.
Apparently Microsoft was too busy to design a native 64-bit driver for their keyboards. The driver that comes with this keyboard works with both the 32 and 64-bit Windows, but functionality in the 64- bit OS is limited. You can type fine and most function keys work as intended, but you can not use the volume up/down function even with the Microsot Media Player in the 64-bit Windows, as it won't work. Also the zoom slider works fine in the MS Word and most IE browsing situations, but does not work with the 64-bit Mozilla (Deer Park version) and even in IE sometimes starts acting strange (such as suddenly becoming a scroll wheel, instead of a zoom). I guess, Microsoft shouldn't complain that many software and hardware companies ignore the 64-bit version of Windows, as they themselves keep "forgetting" about it.
Another small drawback is that the "Enter" key is a bit too small for comfort. But I got used to it and it doesn't bother me anymore.
My conclusion: This is a fantastic keyboard for anyone who types a lot. It lliterally makes typing a joy. Let's hope its functionality in Windows XP Pro x64 OS will be upgraded with a new native 64-bit driver in the near future.
| | Misleading Scam that Amazon Refuses to Correct |
| This item is linked to several price searching websites as a 5-pack (including pricegrabber.com) although it ships as a single keyboard. the single keyboard link is listed on the same page directly from Amazon and is 4.5x less. So you can buy the true single for 42 bucks or pay 188 for "5 Pack" and receive the same single keyboard. Because it doesn't say "5 pack" on the amazon site, although it's linked as such at external sites and is priced as such, they refuse to remove or correct the product page. Good luck to others unlucky enough to fall into their trap.
| | Keyboard takes getting used to. If you hop to other machines with a regular keyboard, you need to adjust back to using a regular keyboard.
I believe it has minimized the pain that was starting in my wrist (reason for trying keyboard).
The only problem that I had was with order. The description said (pack of 5) but only received one keyboard in a huge box. Upon research I received numerous reponses from Amazon on what "pack of 5" was; including this item was one keyboard with five USB components (totally did not make sense to me). I was expecting to received five keyboards. When they finally confirmed the order, there were no keyboards left so I was refunded for four keyboards. Resolving the order shortage took a lot of my time. Amazon said that they would check on what "pack of 5" meant and call me back but I ended up having to call them when I did not receive a reply. Credit for items not shipped was received timely.
| | ok i had this keyboard for 1 year and it stoped working on me, and i take care of my keyboards, im writing this review from the first keyboard i brought, an ibm old style one with no fancdy keys etc and the mycrosoft always felt like a much more cheaper keyboard than this one, the plastic on the keys and casing of the ibm is about 2 times thicker and it still has all the letters on them, on the microsoft the letters started to fade away after 3 weeks! the keyboard started to malfunction after 6 months, the space bar felt like garbage from day one, and 8 keys on the keyboard stopped working after a year so i had to go back to my old and sturdy ibm, no more microsoft hardware for me, oh and by the way i paid 42 dollars for it.
| | Recently I changed my PC and although my old keyboard (a MICROSOFT Multimedia) was still in perfect working condition, I decided to change the whole set up. I still had fond memories of my old MS NATURAL ELITE PRO keyboard I had used writing my Thesis, so I decided on the 4000 model which seemed to be its improved replacement. I have had the keyboard for about two months - here are my impressions:
THE GOOD:
- The 4000 is not just another beautiful keyboard but a REALLY comfortable one too. Not only are the curves natural and well molded but the minimally padded leather-imitation wrist-rest offers a silky sense of luxury. The keyboard comes out of the box with a negative angle attachment, which can easily be removed - it is comfortable but personally I need to see what I am typing.
- Compared to other Ergonomic keyboards, one has to note that unless the keys are physically separated into two groups any ergonomic effects will be minimal. So, if you are thinking of Logitech's Wave, it is a good idea to actually give both of them a try at a local store before making a choice. As I said, I am no professional typist (yes, more of a 2-fingers) yet I found that my typing is much faster and my typos more rare when using Natural keyboards.
- I liked the idea of the BACK/FORWARD buttons at the wrist-rest. Although most mice now have this functions on their side buttons, it is still a big help when browsing (my mouse has a Magnifying Function where the FORWARD usually is).
- Also, this is a really quiet keyboard. You get a satisfactory feeling when pushing a button but instead of an annoying "clack" sound only a muted "tap" is heard. Ideal if your wife is in the habit of taking naps in your home-office couch.
- As an avid gamer favoring the right side of the keyboard (arrow keys instead of the WASD configuration) I enjoyed the ample room around the former.
- Finally, I liked the placement of an extra set of EQUAL, PARENTHESIS and BACKSPACE at the top right corner (especially the parenthesis, I always hated finding the opening and closing one among the numbers)
Now, THE BAD:
- For some reason the ENTER and RIGHT SHIFT keys are too small! I could do with regular sized "H" and "N" keys if it would mean not hunting the ENTER. And this is a large keyboard, I doubt it would make any difference if it was yet a bit longer for that.
- The SPACE bar is, well, fickle. Sometimes it works even if hit at the side. Others it refuses to respond unless hit at the middle.
- The key letters and symbols have a tendency to rub off(!). This is totally unacceptable for a premium priced product - especially one sporting MICROSOFT's brand name. I decided to wait for the problem to become more pronounced and have this one replaced.
- The Media keys on top do not sit well in their homings and are not perfectly aligned. Especially the VOLUME UP in my keyboard seems to rest at an angle. Again, poor quality control for such an expensive and brand name product.
All in all: a mixed bag of good features but with compromises and inferior quality control. I REALLY miss my old NATURAL ELITE PRO keyboard - if it came in black I would buy one again.
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