Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 for Business - Wired

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This is the second time I have purchased this keyboard within a month. The pros: It is hands down the most comfortable keyboard I have ever used. This is why I was loathe to return it in the first place. Unfortunately, the good times stop rolling there. Both keyboards have issues with the keys doing an imaginary or software stick, if you will. So, imagine you left your finger pressed on an "e" and it just kept going. The key doesnt physically stick it just interrupts your typing and takes off on its own. It happens on multiple keys and the spacebar. The zoom button doesnt work, which isnt such a big deal, but I mean if I paid for it, it should work, right? The hotkeys are cold, as in they are not programmable. Overall its just a hot mess. I wanted to keep this keyboard because I can use it all day without any carpal tunnel flares, but the Im unable to do my job because this keyboard simply doesnt want to do as it is told. I am returning my second keyboard. I went to Best Buy and found this exact keyboard for significantly less, in professional packaging. I think, and I could be wrong, but I think the ones that are being sold here are either refurbished and was not annotated, or they were warehouse leftovers. The one from Amazon came in plain brown packaging. The one from Best Buy had the official Microsoft white cardboard outer cover on it. If you need all day comfort for your wrists, then this is an excellent (I forgot to mention it is a little loud) keyboard. Just dont buy it here.

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The best ergonomic keyboard and mouse on the market, hands-down, is the wireless Logitech Wave keyboard/mouse pack. However, my workplace recently banned all wireless keyboards so I went in search of a wired replacement. This is NOT it. The space bar is HARD to push, sticky, and this hurts my hands. Ill be tossing it in the trash soon. I bought the Fellowes Microban Split Design Wired Keyboard, much better, similar to the Logitech Wave. LOGITECH - PLEASE RELEASE A WIRED VERSION OF YOUR WAVE KEYBOARD! The Logitech M500 is a good ergo mouse, wired. Signed, 30-year software engineer.

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Saved my wrist from carpal tunnel.. highly recommend this style of keyboard. Minor annoyances: legs keep collapsing, and the letters quickly wear off the keyboard.. I know where the keys are anyway but my wife has trouble when a few keys arent labelled! Update: changed it to 1 star - keyboard keys completely unreadable, still within warranty period. Pro Ebiz wont respond to message after 6 days. Microsoft says I have to bring it to my nearest service center for them to look at. 45 minutes away. (90 minutes round trip and 30-60 minutes there) - not worth my time. Should have a simple warranty exchange

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Hate it for three reasons. 1.) Its HUGE. I wanted to use it with a small corner desk. Its WAY too big for the pull-out keyboard tray. It fits on the tray/shelf but even when the shelf is pulled all the way out, half the keys are still under the desktop. 2.) It only has a USB connection. It wont connect to the computer through the normal keyboard connection. If you dont have enough USB connections you cant use this keyboard. 3.) It has way too many shortcut buttons. Its difficult the use the keyboard without accidentally hitting a shortcut button that sends you off the page or does something else you didnt intend. I do not recommend this keyboard at all. Id give it zero stars but at least one is required to submit feedback.

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Im yet another Natural Elite fan saddened by the fact that Microsoft no longer makes it. If they started making it again and added some of the features this one has, Id buy a lifetime supply. I had this for about a week and really, really wanted to keep it. Having a dedicated calculator key was great, but even more useful were the page back and forward buttons and the toggle switch to change magnification. That toggle made my life much easier at work; I wish every keyboard had it. I didnt use the riser for the front of the keyboard, though I would have used it more had I kept it just to see if it made typing more comfortable. The padded wrist rest was nice, and the keyboard itself was easy to clean. And although I dont care much about aesthetics, my colleagues all commented positively on the keyboards appearance. Unfortunately, the negatives outweighed all of that. The biggest problem was that the typing experience just wasnt that good. Ive been using a split keyboard for years -- a Natural Elite, as it happens -- but having the center keys be larger than regular keys threw me off. Maybe it shouldnt matter, but it slowed me down and was very frustrating. Also, as noted by others, it is loud. My office has rather close quarters and everyone hears some noise from others, but my keyboard was far louder than other keyboards. Nobody complained, but I was bothered by the idea that I might be bothering others. Then there were the customizable hotkeys that never worked. I would seem to have them set one day, but they wouldnt work the next, and searching for help online didnt yield any useful advice. And then there was the fact that it came without instructions, not even so much as a slip of paper directing users to a web page for more info. Thats absurd. Even the cheapest electronic items Ive purchased have had a manual of sorts, either printed or online. It makes me wonder whether I got a legitimate product, a knockoff, or a refurbished model. After returning this one, I got a Perixx Periboard-512. Its not a sexy looking and it doesnt come with the awesome extras that the 4000 has, but its a smooth typing experience and I can type a report without everyone on my floor hearing me bang each letter. Ideally, Microsoft will someday resurrect the Natural Elite and add those oh-so-useful extras, but this is okay for now.

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UPDATE : - The space bar never "broke in" and was always inconsistent and a pain. - This keyboard is VERY fragile. I spilled a couple of DROPS of coffee on it (literally dripped out from my cup, not even a real spill), and five keys stopped working. Took it apart and cleaned everything inside but no dice, those keys are just dead now. 40 bucks in the garbage after less than two months of use. Googled around and have seen this is a common enough complaint. I realize electronics are not meant to be waterproof but youd expect a little bit of forgivable leeway.... Comfortable keyboard to use, and a nice layout. I have a few small nitpicks : 1. The space bar does not depress easily at first, but seems to have started to break in. At first I was often missing spaces when typing because the space bar basically felt stuck. 2. Theres only one Window key, on the left. My previous keyboard had one on the right that I was used to using. This is likely a common thing in modern keyboards. 3. I wish the little zoom toggle could be reassigned to scroll. But overall happy with the purchase.

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Worked great for about a year. Now the number pad doesnt work. Even though the Num Lock is on, the number pad is intermittent. I will be keying in numbers and all of a sudden it will stop working. Contacted Microsoft within warranty period and they said this hardware issues is not covered under the warranty of the product. Do not understand that at all and am very frustrated. I will be ordering a different brand.

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I got this for my mac computer and it is compatible. This is not very pretty, especially compared to the imac, but my carpal tunnel / tendentious got soooo bad, I had to do everything that I possible could to relieve some pain. This keyboard did help with my carpal tunnel pain, but it started to not work at all after a few months. I had to unplug the usb connector a couple times at first, and it seemed to work well again. But it started getting glitchy here and there after that. So, it is not terrible, but I do expect a product like this to work smoothly for at least a couple years. But-- surprisingly, it did help me with hand / wrist pain. I actually live with extremely severe fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (me/cfs) and it has left me with an enormously sensitive body, always in pain and unbearable exhaustion, without relief. So, I really know the difference between placebo effect and actual, real physical relief. Along with this keyboard, I really struggled with finding the best ergonomic mouse. What I ended up realizing is that TWO MOUSE devices were the best for carpal tunnel pain issues. Here is the reason: Repetitive movement and positioning is what hurts the hands / wrists / arms so much. So-- If you constantly switch your hand / wrist positioning, you dont give the carpel tunnel channel enough time to start swelling and then pinching and then that horrible stabbing pain.. I had gotten to the point where brushing my teeth or holding a mug was unbearable. It was very scary, and honestly, depressing! It all started in early adulthood as well, which was especially depressing on many levels for me. I went to hand therapists, I had physical therapy, everything.. Still, I had so much pain. Now, after switching my desk equipment, I am 95% pain free! I seriously SERIOUSLY never thought that I would get pain relief. The key is to have an ergonomic keyboard (the slight difference in angle is enormous) and to have two differently-shaped ergonomic mouse devices connected all side-by-side. Here is the more expensive mouse that I purchased from Amazon: 3M Ergonomic Mouse, Optical, USB/PS2 Compatible, Small Size, Black (EM500GPS) *Be aware of the size for your needs! (S,M,L) Plus this mouse which was less than $20: Logitech Trackman Marble Mouse *One size fits all One other random thing that helps me, is something that is an all natural supplement used as a natural allergy treatment alternative. It is called D-Hist, and it uses a few all natural anti-inflammatory ingredients. The side bonus is that it helps with pain in the entire body -- and helps with allergies (at least for me. I had never heard of it before Amazon) Here is a link to D-Hist as well: Ortho Molecular Product Natural D-Hist -- 120 Capsules ~Just a quick disclaimer: I do not receive any money or any benefits (outside of personal happiness) from going through the efforts to lay out what has helped me in a VERY VERY VERY LONG journey of serious hand and wrist pain. I am not a medical doctor either, just a regular person, wanting to help fellow sufferers / survivors! Good luck to you all!

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PRO=Its lot more comfortable typing on this than the old-style keyboards; NEGATIVES= 1) KEYs and SPACEBAR LOUD, distracting; 2) As others said, the ZOOM function does NOT work at all; 3) NO MANUAL OR FUNCTION INSTALLATION CD included, so have NO IDEA what the numbered buttons above the F buttons do Note: I found the manual online and even THAT does NOT say anything about those buttons); 4=The spacing ON EACH SIDE of some of the keys are slightly different (i.d., from F to B below it awkward to hit, keep hitting G). The 5th problem is only for watch or Fitbit users: Your watch hits right on the rest area making it uncomfortable unless you change watchband position.

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I work at a software company, and spend 9-10 hours per day pounding away on this thing. Pros: 1. Im able to type extremely quickly on this, and its very comfortable. 2. No wrist fatigue 3. Little to no readjustment period from traditional keyboard angles to the more ergonomic style here Cons: 1. Key strikes are very loud. They can hear me typing two offices away. 2. The letters have completely rubbed off of all letters aside from Q, W, Z and X. Good thing Im not a "hunt and peck" typist 3. F lock is intermittent - you only realize its off when you try to use it and get some other function popping up instead

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