Rating: 
Summary: Great Buy
Review: Had no problems with this keyboard. Have been using it for 2 weeks now with absolutely no problems. Great buy in my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: Nearly flawless
Review: This is a great keyboard to have if, 1. - you prefer the natural style of typing, and 2. - you keep multiple applications open at once. While I was initially skeptical of the hot keys, they've proven to be very helpful. This wouldn't be the case if the My Computer and Calculator keys weren't programmable, but the fact that they are allows you to easily open your most frequently used programs without having to go back to the desktop. The volume keys are handy as well; I can easily control Winamp and test audio in Flash at the same time. Anyone who works consistently on the computer will appreciate the feature. The only problem I've had lies with the small F-command keys, but I suppose they had to scrunch them in somewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Key Layout Problems Fixed
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Improvement on Perfection!
Review: I purchased the original MS Natural Keyboard when they first arrived on the market and my wrists INSTANTLY fell in love with it. The new and improved keyboard has better key action than the original, the space bar has been enlarged for those of us that type like normal users and not like professional developers. My reason for purchasing the Natural Keyboard Pro over the MS Natural Keyboard Elite was mainly due to the fact that the ARROW Keys are NORMALLY SIZED. With the Natural Keyboard Elite, the arrow keys are scrunched into this diamond shape near the keypad. When I went to use them, I would continuously hit all of them at once causing all sorts of chaos and verbal malediction to be uttered by yours truly. The hot keys are a nice feature, but I rarely use them, except for the Sleep and Calculator Keys. The software included does allow you to customize the Mail, My Computer and Calculator keys so you can reassign them to launch any app, batch file or .PIF that you want. The software also allows you to turn off the Windows Keys on either the left or right side and most importantly it allows you to turn off the Application Key (which can be annoying if you're trying to play games, etc..) To sum, it's a great keyboard, easy to install, setup and customize. If you have an original MS Natural Keyboard, you will love this one. If you've got big hands, buy this one and skip the Natural Elite.
Rating:
Summary: Best. Keyboard. Ever.
Review: No keyboard equals the feel of the older Natural Pro (with the grey buttons along the top). I typed my thesis on one (~18,000 words). Plus, I've spilled a lot of liquids in my keyboard, and never put it out of commission for more than a couple days while some water dried. Spilled some soda in it and it was fine after I cleaned it out with some rubbing alcohol. One thing though, to take the keyboard apart for repairs, you have to poke through the Health Warning sticker to find Microsoft's signature Hidden Screw. I bought a backup, thanking the powers that be that the keyboard still existed, in anticipation of my next spilling incident (so I won't have to use an inferior keyboard while my good one dries out).
Rating:
Summary: I bought this and the Elite and now use the Pro
Review: I got the Pro a few days before the Elite arrived. My initial impression was that the Elite was much more compact than the Pro- I was surprised, in putting them side by side, to see that the Pro was only about 1/4" wider than the Elite. The Pro is, however, an inch or more "deeper" than the Elite, because of the macro buttons that I'd probably rather do without. For this 1/4" savings in width, IMHO Microsoft made an absolutely horrific tradeoff. Not only are the keys between the main keyboard and numeric keypad undersized, but they're arranged in a non-standard way. Particularly annoying, the arrow keys, rather than being arranged as an inverted T, are arranged like a cross, with the left and right arrow keys side-by-side. I had to think about what I was doing when using these keys. Even acknowleging that familiarity comes with use, I think the Elite is decidedly non-ergonomic, on this basis alone. I type with my keyboard on my lap, and the Pro seems to slope downward noticeably- I expect I'll have to put an air cushion or something under it to overcome this problem. The Elite has this defect to a slightly lesser degree; I also prefer the somewhat "flatter" inclined wrist rest of the Elite to the more rounded (bulging) design of the Pro. The Elite is noticeably lighter than the Pro, but both keyboards had a similar feel, with respect to the keys. I have 2 Dell minitowers. The older keyboard has a significantly lighter (key) touch than the newer one, which has quite a stiff feel. In this respect, I much prefer the light touch of the older Dell keyboard to that of the Microsoft keyboards, which is about midway between the 2 Dells. A final significant difference is that the Pro keyboard has a cable with both a USB and a PS/2 plug. The Elite has a PS/2 plug, and a PS/2 to USB adapter that can be plugged in. There's a 2 or 3 second delay for my KVM switch (see below) to recognize the Elite, when I switch between PCs, while the delay with the Pro typically is only about a second. Price really shouldn't be much of a factor in something so basic as the keyboard you use, but I'll do that comparison here, nonetheless. At the time of my order, the Elite was priced at $30.34, and shipped from Amazon with a Super Saver promotion, meaning that shipping was free. The Pro keyboard was priced at $34.99, but actually was shipped from Tiger Direct, at a cost of $9.49, for a total of $44.48. However.... there's a $10 rebate currently available with the Pro keyboard, so presumably the actual cost to me will be $34.48, or $4.14 more than the Elite keyboard. What really drove me to buy a keyboard is the rather nice $80 -$90 iView 4-port USB KVM Switch I recently bought, that allows me to control 4 computers (including my web server, that runs Linux) from one IntelliMouse, keyboard, and monitor; I really needed a USB keyboard to use with the KVM. I gave the Natural Elite keyboard 2 stars. A 5-star keyboard, in my opinion, would be much like the Elite, EXCEPT for the non-standard key arrangement; a USB connector (who cares about PS/2 anymore?); would come with a foam pad (or something) for tilting it up slightly, when using it on your lap; and would have a somewhat lighter key touch- like my older Dell keyboard.
Rating:
Summary: Just the facts...as I see them anyway.
Review: What up dawgs-- this keyboard is ideal for any windows users that is on the computer a lot. Ergonomic feels is very good. The multimedia buttons on top are nice. Best of all, this keyboard features 2 additional usb ports. This is great if you want to connect something simple like a usb mouse, and you don't want to stretch a long mouse cable to the back of yo' computer. You could also connect other simple usb devices like PDAs that have usb connections. The usb ports in the back are not high powered enough to power larger devices like webcams, digital cameras, printers. Thats one negative thing about it. The feel of the keys on this kb is pretty good too. It's got just the right resistance to them unlike other keyboards that are so soft, you cannot feel what you type. Basically, if you want a kb that is sweet like sugar, get this one because this is one sweet keyboard.
Rating:
Summary: Great in Mac OS X, too
Review: Even though I have trouble with carpal tunnel, I put off purchasing an ergonomic keyboard because I didn't want to take the time to learn to use one with tight work deadlines. Sure wish I'd bought this earlier!! It is an absolute dream to use, and even though I'm only a 'mostly' touch typist (I hunt and peck on the number line and for some commands) it was still a very quick learning curve. I was up to my normal typing speed within an hour, and after a few days, I'm typing faster than ever and in considerably more comfort. Another concern I had was the size of the keyboard. I wasn't sure it would fit on my keyboard tray. If this is a concern for you: it measures just over 19" across at its widest, and is 9" front to back at its widest. Finally, this keyboard DOES work with Macintosh! I am using OS X, and the keyboard was plug-and-play in my USB port. If you want to use the 'hot keys' at the top of the keyboard, which are shortcuts for functions such as e-mail, volume, or the calculator, you need to go to Microsoft's Mactopia website, search for "Natural Pro" and you'll be able to download the program that allows you to program all your hot keys easily. Took me no time at all. This is a spectacular keyboard, and very comfortable to use. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to those who've had wrist pain on their standard keyboards. And, if you're a Mac user, there are NO compatibility problems!
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