Kinesis Corporation Kb500usb-blk Kinesis Contouredkeyboards Are The Best Available Design For Both Comfort And Pr

by Kinesis

Product Details

• Item Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000LVJ9W8
• Item model number: KB500USB(blk)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 19, 2004

Product Description

The Advantage USB contoured keyboard sets a new standard for ergonomic keyboards. The Advantage line incorporates the same advanced ergonomic design as our other contoured keyboards and delivers additional features not found on other USB keyboards.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for typists, maybe not for developers or power users, September 27, 2008

By 

Cory (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kinesis Corporation Kb500usb-blk Kinesis Contouredkeyboards Are The Best Available Design For Both Comfort And Pr (Personal Computers)

When doing normal typing, I found the Kinesis Advantage to be very comfortable and ergonomic. However, there were issues in performing certain tasks on this keyboard.

I am a software developer and frequently use the arrow keys to move around. However, the arrow keys on this keyboard are located way off to the bottom of the main key section in a position very difficult to reach with my fingers. Moreover, the arrow keys are split between the left and right handed keys. The left/right keys are on the left-hand side and the up/down keys are on the right-hand side. This orientation is VERY difficult to use and not suited for certain repetitive tasks I often perform. However, I was able to get around this problem by purchasing a USB numeric keypad (http://www.amazon.com/IBM-Numeric-Keypad-Thinkpad-USB/dp/B00004Z7F0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1222551284&sr=1-1), which can also be used for its arrow keys.

A similar issue for me is the location of the bracket keys. These are even more difficult to get to than the arrow keys. Most typists probably only use these keys rarely, but they are used quite frequently when writing software programs. The Advantage lets you remap keys, but this leads to a lot of confusion while you are typing and simply swaps one set of keys with another.

Another issue with this keyboard is that ctrl/alt key combinations are designed to be keyed using both hands. Frequently, I need to perform cut and paste operations while handling the mouse with one hand. On the Advantage, this can only be done by stretching out your thumb and little fingers in an uncomfortable and unergonomic fashion.

I also am not fond of the soft function keys (F1-F12) on this keyboard. I use these keys extensively when I am debugging my programs to step through and navigate through my source code. These keys are small and simply do not have a great touch when you press them.

While this keyboard was generally very ergonomic (aside from the ctrl/alt issue), I found the issues generally too awkward to overcome, so I decided to send it back to Kinesis for a refund.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best ergonomic keyboard on the planet, for a price, November 1, 2007

By 

techdad review (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Kinesis Corporation Kb500usb-blk Kinesis Contouredkeyboards Are The Best Available Design For Both Comfort And Pr (Personal Computers)

As someone who learned to type on a Smith Corona typewriter and spent nearly a decade in IT, I have used many keyboards. Whenever I begin a new job, I ditch the keyboard and mouse that's provided for me and replace it with my Kinesis contoured keyboard and Kensington trackball. I just hope motherboards continue to support PS/2 inputs a little while longer cuz that's how old my Kinesis is.

It took me about 2 weeks to get fully adjusted to using the Kinesis, but if you are patient, it will not only pay off with better ergonomics, but speed. I can probably type 5-10WPM faster with the Kinesis than with any other keyboard. Co-workers walking by my desk always thought I'd been over-caffeinated because of how fast I was typing. My only caution to you is if you have root privileges and are learning on a Unix or Linux system. Watch those typos! The only bummer about my version is that it's not USB and doesn't have a Windows key. I personally don't use the macro's but it's extremely useful for developers. One of the companies I used to work for would order them for developers and sysadmins at their request; they all requested them. The new Kinesis Advantage is USB and includes a Windows key. Even with the minor drawbacks on my version, I still preferred it when having to work 8-10 hours/day. I got used to creating shortcuts for everything in Windows.

Another funny advantage to the Kinesis is it keeps other people from "driving" your computer. It's hilarious watching people look for the Enter and Backspace keys like they have never typed before in their lives. Tee hee! Seriously though, this is the best ergonomic keyboard on the market. Now all they need to do is add some multimedia keys, add backlighting, and drop the price by $200 and I'll update mine! Most IT guys and geeks I know like typing in dimly lit environments or in the dark so a backlight would be nice to have..

For those who cannot or will not drop $300 for a keyboard, the Microsoft Natural Ergo Keyboard 4000 is a great value. Just be sure to use the reverse slope attachment.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The real price is not reflected in the purchase price, September 4, 2009

By 

J. Pierce - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kinesis Corporation Kb500usb-blk Kinesis Contouredkeyboards Are The Best Available Design For Both Comfort And Pr (Personal Computers)

Let me start off this review by admitting that many will find it unfair. I have used this basic model of keyboard (maybe one minor revision back) for over five years now. As a programmer, I love the layout. The ability to use Alt and Ctrl with my thumbs is a lifesaver. On top of that, my thumbs get a nice workout with all the other useful keys in the thumb section.

So if it's such a great keyboard, why the 1 star rating? Well, this is my second keyboard. As others have mentioned, the top row of keys containing the escape and function keys is horrible. It's soft rubber that wiggles horizontally as well as pressing down. It's extremely difficult to get any useful feedback on pressing it and I find that I frequently wind up with multiple keypresses on them with one poke if I'm not very careful. There's nothing quite like hitting escape in an app, only to have it send multiple escapes, thus possibly backing out of too many prompts/windows.

On top of that, the reason I'm on my second keyboard is because the F9 key ultimately failed on my first one. That was after only a couple of years of using it. The construction and design is incredibly poor in this area.

But even this could possibly be forgiven if they keyboard wasn't $300! For that much, there's just no excuse for either the choice of these squishy rubber keys or for them failing in a couple of years. Maybe they think "normal" users don't use these keys much (that might be true of the function keys, though it's really hard to believe with the escape key), but I don't think their biggest market is "normal" users. It's users that use keyboards a lot, which includes programmers and job-centered application users. Both of these tasks typically heavily rely on function keys.

I've written them an email almost nine months ago but never got any response. So lacking any possibility of this improvement, I feel I have no other recourse than rate this product so low. It's great, but how often can you afford to replace a $300 keyboard? How does every 2-3 years sound?

PS: To try to work around this situation, I'm buying a $100 function key strip from x-keys. Yes, $100 more just to try to make a $300 product work like it should. It should help me avoid having to ditch this keyboard when it inevitably breaks, but it's not the most ergonomic or economic of solutions.