Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite

Other products by Microsoft

Product Details

Product Manual [259kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 18 x 8 x 2.2 inches ; 4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000642RX
• Item model number: A11-00337
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (189 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #370 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #3 in	Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Mice & Keyboards > Keyboards > Ergonomic
  #13 in	Electronics > Outlet

• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 20, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Microsoft's Natural Keyboard Elite features ergonomic contours that comfortably accommodate not only your fingers, but your whole hands. A built-in palm rest and adjustable keyboard legs help you work in comfort, and two connection options give you the ultimate flexibility: either a round PS/2 port or a rectangular USB port for plug-and-play convenience with the latest PCs.

With its improved space-saving design, the new keyboard takes up less room on your desktop and fits easily into keyboard trays. To use the Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite, you need one of the following operating systems: Microsoft MS-DOS 3.1 or later, Windows NT Workstation or Server 3.51 or later, Windows 3.1 or later, and an available PS/2 or USB port (USB requires Windows 98, 2000, Me, or XP).

Product Description

To design a more comfortable keyboard, Microsoft conducted extensive ergonomic and usability research. The result is the Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite. Its split, gently sloped shape encourages a natural hand position-so you can type more comfortably.The Natural Keyboard Elite allows you to place your hands, wrists and forearms in a naturally comfortable position. The built-in palm rest provides a comfortable place for your hands when you're not typing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeps your wrists straight, March 5, 2004

By	The Old Philosopher "The Old Philosopher" (WA USA) - See all my reviews

I've been using my Microsoft keyboard for about 4 years now. I'm a fairly wide guy, and when I put my hands together, the arms are pointed in from the shoulders. If I'm using a regular keyboard my wrists have to bend outward from my arms to make my hands line up with the keys. Using the Microsoft keyboard, my wrists are more straight so long use doesn't tire them out. It also is supposed to reduce carpal tunnel syndrome where the tendons would have to bend through a bent wrist to work the fingers. The keyboard has all the regular keys laid out fairly well. It only takes a few minutes getting used to the split board. The cursor moving arrows and special function keys are in groups between the letters and number pad, which works well. One thing that seems strange is that the upper row, the numbers, are split between 6 and 7, instead of between 5 and 6. That's because there are the dashes and such on the right of that row. Seems strange though sometimes. You get used to it pretty quick. The wrist pad extension seems good too.

88 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for wrists, not so good for wallet, October 28, 2004

By	edfan "edfan" (Southern California) - See all my reviews

I bought the very first issue of the Microsoft Natural keyboard when it came out. It lasted at least five years, after a terrible adjustment period of nearly three weeks. The next one lasted about 16 months. It went downhill for two or three keyboards after that. I've had several models, including the Elite and the Pro and the one with 99 buttons all over the place. The letters now wear off in six months unless you apply clear nail polish to the key tops right away and keep it up. You can't wash it in the shower any more, it no longer has good isolation inside. Use Dow Bathroom Bubbles on a microfiber cloth - rinse VERY carefully, holding the board upside down. Let it dry naturally, don't blow water all over with compressed air, the keyboard just isn't as sturdy as it used to be.

Your wrists/arms/hands can get so used to the comfort that it's impossible to buy a laptop because your wrists ACHE within minutes of using the usual flat keyboard. That's the only downside I see. Otherwise, this is the only affordable ergonomic keyboard around. Keep your receipts handy, tape them underneath the board, in case you have to use the warranty.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Problematic Key Configuration, May 21, 2002

By	A Software Engineer (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews

I used an older Microsoft Natural keyboard for over five years, and it was excellent. By comparison, conventional keyboards are an occupational hazard. Unfortunately, I broke it while cleaning it, and I had to buy a new one. I picked up the Elite model without looking too closely ... but soon after I started using it, I was cursing under my breath ... because of the arrangement of the Home/Page Up/Page Dn/End/Delete/Insert and arrow keys. They've lost the inverted-T configuration used with the older Natural keyboard. Also, these keys are now half-sized, and therefore harder to hit. These may seem like minor quibbles to some of you -- but they preclude the possibility of hitting these keys without looking at them. This inability is detrimental to any serious touch-typist. I'm a full time IT professional, and as far as I'm concerned, this keyboard is unusable. (My suspicious mind guesses that Microsoft used this bogus configuration to push us to pay for the upscale Pro model, which has the correct key configuration.)