Buy Microsoft Natural Keyboard ProMicrosoft Natural Keyboard Pro Product Description:
- Design encourages natural hand, wrist, and forearm positions
- 19 hot keys, including ones for Internet, multimedia, and e-mail applications
- Launch your browser and surf the Web directly from your keyboard
- 2 USB ports let you easily plug USB devices directly into your keyboard
- IntelliType Pro Software lets you customize hot keys
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
40 of 41 people found the following review helpful.
Key Layout Problems Fixed
By TT
In Microsoft's previous design of their Natural Elite keyboard, they attempted to decrease the footprint size of the keyboard by rearranging the cursor keypad along with the PAGE UP/DOWN, HOME/END, and DELETE/INSERT keys. This unfamiliar and unnatural key arrangement caused problems for many users. Now the original standard arrangement has been restored. Yes!
New with this keyboard is a massive row of programmable shortcut buttons along the top. Many of them replicate your web browser's buttons like back/forward, stop, and so on. Others are quick launch buttons for applications like e-mail, web browser, and the calculator. The calculator is probably the most useful shortcut button because it would normally take four mouse movements to launch the calculator from the Accessories Programs Start Menu folder. Believe it or not, the calculator launch button is right above the numeric keypad--good deal!
Another bonus feature of this keyboard is the common shortcut keys printed on the front edge of the respective keys. The CTRL key has a star-like symbol next to it, and you'll find the same symbol printed on the front of several keys like C, X, and V with the shortcut names "Copy", "Cut", and "Paste". These cues are good for helping users learn the keyboard shotcuts to eliminate slower mouse movements.
What's left to improve on? Well, how abot a set of buttons that correspond to the common buttons found in every window? There's the minimize, maximize/restore, close, and scrollbar up/down/left/right. Arrange these buttons on the keyboard in a layout that represents their visual arrangement on screen.
The keys are responsive and fast, but they still seem to lack a feel that provides good tactile feedback for fast typists. Good keys tend to spring back quickly and have a definite threshold point and resistance level; this is more commonly found in more expensive keyboards. I prefer the feel of some Hewlett Packard keyboards I've used that ship with their high-end workstations/servers--other people probably have different tastes for keyboard feel. Overall, the feel of the Microsoft keyboard is comfortable and quiet, but maybe they will work on the keys a little more in a newer model.
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful.
The best ergonomic keyboard on the planet.
By Deinabo D. George
As I write this review from work I wish I were using Microsoft's Natural Keyboard Pro. I bought two last year and gave one to my aunt; if it were possible to fall in love with a keyboard, then this thing would steal my heart.
The Natural Keyboard Pro is the true successor to the original Natural Keyboard; forget about the Keyboard Elite. This board sports 19 multimedia "hot keys" that launch browsers, refresh web pages, and much more. There are connectors for USB and PS/2 ports; Microsoft recommends plugging the keyboard into both ports although you can use whatever port you want.
Key response is good without feeling mushy and the built-in wrist rest is good for those users who like to relax theirs wrists at the bottom of the keyboard. The IntelliType software that ships with the keyboard is version 1.0; users of America Online will want to download the patch for compatibility with AOL's 5.0 software.
I like Microsoft's latest keyboard. It's a good, sturdy keyboard with cool features that are really useful. Users with small hands might need some time to get used to the board's rather large layout; even still the Natural Keyboard Pro is proof that if Microsoft quit the software business tomorrow they'd have a great future in hardware.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.This is the best Keyboard
By Scott
This keyboard came with my new Dell computer. It was such a good buy I would of payed any price for it. This keyboard has a nice hand rest so your hands never get tired. The mutimedia keys on the top make it even better you have buttons to browse through the web (for example back,stop...) you can contol the sound so you don't have to take your hands off the keyboard to crank up the volume. You can even change a CD track in the touch of a button. I even set up the Mail button to start up Aol. The only other thing I can say is BUY THIS KEYBOARD.
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