Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000

The Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 is Microsoft's redesign of their natural keyboard. This keyboard is designed for ergonomics and features a split keyboard to create a more natural positioning of the hands when typing. It also sports a removable front-tilt plate so that the keyboard rests at -7 degree angle relative to your desktop.

Where to Buy

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
MSRP $50.00
Release date September, 2005
Brand Microsoft
love it
want it
have it
tag it
Pros & Cons14
Reviews5
Details
Buy It
Competitors
Comments2
twitter

Pros & Cons

ProSCORE
5 reviews
65
negative
mixed
positive
3 positive
1 mixed
1 negative

[i] How is the ProSCORE calculated?

show me!

Pros:
Do you agree?
Comfortable pad for your wrists
+5agreedisagree

Quiet keys
+5agreedisagree

Not too expensive
+5agreedisagree

Prevents/hinders carpal tunnel
+4agreedisagree

Ergonomic, natural keyboard layout
+3agreedisagree

A lot of special keys, media buttons, and zoom slider
+1agreedisagree

Looks great
0agreedisagree

Cons:
Do you agree?
Difficult to use if you have not been formerly taught to touch type
+3agreedisagree

Special keys require the bloated Intellitype software to configure
+3agreedisagree

The zoom slider would make more sense as a scroll wheel
+2agreedisagree

Space bar quite stiff, requires some force to press
+2agreedisagree

Should be much easier to disable unwanted keys
+1agreedisagree

Software setup requires you to also set up the Microsoft mouse, whether you want it or not
+1agreedisagree

Hard to type
0agreedisagree


5 people added to this review by submitting or voting on pros and cons. Add your say!

Details

Submit a link

This report was started December 11, 2005 at 5:57 pm by Erik
with the last edit occurring August 21, 2009 at 7:08 pm by ltumbula
This page has been viewed 2820 times, with 63 edits by 7 contributors.
See the full report history »

Buy It

Competitors

There aren't any competitors listed here yet.

Suggest a new competitor to add to the list of competing products.
If the product hasn't yet been added to ProductWiki, submitting it here will also start the product report.

Comments

1.  avatar Erik said:

I have this, and coupled with a better mouse, I swear it reversed the onset of Carpal Tunnel for me. I LOOOOVE this keyboard, and I'm pretty picky. The split might take a bit of getting used, to, but it didn't for me. After 5 minutes, I never wanted to go back to a traditional keyboard.
Apr 04, 2007 10:43am
2.  avatar mojo said:

I tried to get used to this keyboard for about a month, but couldn't do it. The problem is that I have not been formally taught to touch type, so I don't always use the right finger for the right keys. For example, I sometimes hit T with my right hand's finger, and due to it being out of reach on the 4000 I end up typing Y instead.

If I were to make the effort to learn how to type properly, using the correct fingers for each key, it would probably be brilliant. It's certainly comfortable enough. I just couldn't break the habits of a lifetime, using whatever finger seems best placed at the time to hit each key.
Jul 10, 2009 1:57pm
Some HTML is allowed. Your comments remain editable after you post..

Reviews

Sort by: Most helpful  •  Newest  •  Most positive

mojo

avatar
July 10, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
50
negative
mixed
positive
5 pros
5 cons
have ithave it
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Comfortable pad for your wrists
  • Quiet keys
  • Not too expensive
  • Prevents/hinders carpal tunnel
  • Ergonomic, natural keyboard layout

Cons

  • Difficult to use if you have not been formerly taught to touch type
  • Special keys require the bloated Intellitype software to configure
  • The zoom slider would make more sense as a scroll wheel
  • Space bar quite stiff, requires some force to press
  • Hard to type

Comments

"I tried to get used to this keyboard for about a month, but couldn't do it. The problem is that I have not been formally taught to touch type, so I don't always use the right finger for the right keys. For example, I sometimes hit T with my right hand's finger, and due to it being out of reach on the 4000 I end up typing Y instead.

If I were to make the effort to learn how to type properly, using the correct fingers for each key, it would probably be brilliant. It's certainly comfortable enough. I just couldn't break the habits of a lifetime, using whatever finger seems best placed at the time to hit each key."
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Erik

avatar
July 10, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
78
negative
mixed
positive
7 pros
2 cons
have ithave it
love itlove it
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Comfortable pad for your wrists
  • Quiet keys
  • Not too expensive
  • Prevents/hinders carpal tunnel
  • Ergonomic, natural keyboard layout
  • A lot of special keys, media buttons, and zoom slider
  • Looks great

Cons

  • Difficult to use if you have not been formerly taught to touch type
  • Special keys require the bloated Intellitype software to configure

Comments

"I have this, and coupled with a better mouse, I swear it reversed the onset of Carpal Tunnel for me. I LOOOOVE this keyboard, and I'm pretty picky. The split might take a bit of getting used, to, but it didn't for me. After 5 minutes, I never wanted to go back to a traditional keyboard."
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

ltumbula

avatar
August 21, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
33
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
6 cons

Pros

  • Comfortable pad for your wrists
  • Quiet keys
  • Not too expensive

Cons

  • Difficult to use if you have not been formerly taught to touch type
  • Special keys require the bloated Intellitype software to configure
  • The zoom slider would make more sense as a scroll wheel
  • Space bar quite stiff, requires some force to press
  • Should be much easier to disable unwanted keys
  • Software setup requires you to also set up the Microsoft mouse, whether you want it or not

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

ralli

avatar
October 20, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
7 pros
0 cons
have ithave it
love itlove it

Pros

  • Comfortable pad for your wrists
  • Quiet keys
  • Not too expensive
  • Prevents/hinders carpal tunnel
  • Ergonomic, natural keyboard layout
  • A lot of special keys, media buttons, and zoom slider
  • Looks great

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Amanie

avatar
April 4, 2007
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
80
negative
mixed
positive
4 pros
1 con

Pros

  • Comfortable pad for your wrists
  • Quiet keys
  • Not too expensive
  • Prevents/hinders carpal tunnel

Cons

  • Hard to type

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Twitter

- join or start the conversation

... Loading for latest tweets from search.twitter.com..

tweetie

sponsored by:
Price comparison information by: