Rating: 
Summary: The Minature Version of REAL keyboards
Review: My last keyboard was a Digital Research Erog Multimedia/Internet Pragramable Keyboard. After one of my parents spilled coffe on it I was forced to shop for another, and got the microsoft one. After using such a good ergo keyboard that was in the traditional design, I can't stand this one, the keys are too small on many parts, and arrow keys are a CRUCIAL part of first person gaming. There is no reason to have these keys so small, and rearanged the way they are. I also fail to see the reason for making the ALT and adjacent keys so large. Good for someone who uses spreadsheets all day maybe, but not very good for a gamer, I also don't like the small size of the enter key and the slightly smaller backspace than traditional IBM keyboards.
Rating:
Summary: MS Devolves Keyboard Design by 2 Generations
Review: My original MS Natural wore out ... it survived four years ofvery heavy daily pounding, never once gave me tendonitis, which the old-style keyboards do, and basically was the best keyboard I ever owned. In a crunch to replace it, I asked the local supplier to rush a new one within the hour. They delivered the Elite. I am furklempt. The first thing to know is that this design is not "natural". For that matter, its not really useful at all as a true "keyboard". The cursor and editing keys are Chiclets, poorly arranged, too small, and for all practical purposes useless. Those who work rapidly and without glancing at the keyboard will constantly find themselves pressing multiple cursor control keys at once. Your work rate will slow to snail's pace, you'll get to practice your entire vocabulary of curse words, and you'll experience stress levels you imagined happened only to other people. Spend the extra [money] and get the full size version of this beast...I guess they now call it the "Pro". Yes its bigger. Yes it has a lot of useless "Internet" buttons to make it even bigger than it need be [Why? Why why why?]. But the ergonomics, the touch and feel, are worth every penny if you're planning any degree of daily intimacy with your keyboard. Amazon.com, why is there no button to award negative stars? END
Rating: 
Summary: Only company available
Review: Personally, I love this keyboard. No one is more resistant to change than I am, so it is highly unusual for me to try, let alone use, such an untraditional-looking product. This keyboard does take a little getting used to--make no mistake about that. The hardest thing for me has been finding the "6" key (across the top)--it is on the left "half" of the keyboard, a fact which my right hand sometimes has trouble remembering. Yes, the arrow keys are a little small, and the Insert-Delete-Home-End-PageUp-PageDown keys aren't really "instinctively" positioned, but the Delete key is the only one of these that I use a great deal, and it is still at the bottom left of that set of keys, just where it should be. I use a standard keyboard all day at work, and I have no problems going back and forth between the two, so that should not be too big of an issue among prospective buyers of this product. While I have no wrist problems, I know that I don't type "correctly." I have tried wrist pads before, and I utterly despise them. I am not the type of person to buy something because it is "ergonomic." Frankly, I bought this keyboard because it was "unusual" and because I still trust Microsoft's name on a product. As it turns out, I got a comfortable keyboard that just so happens to significantly help my typing posture--not a bad deal. You can buy a keyboard with a bunch of Internet and shortcut keys, but why waste money on those little extras? Give this keyboard a try, especially those of you who just can't stand wrist pads, and I bet you (and your wrists) will come to really like this product.
Rating:
Summary: Hate Wrist Pads? Go Natural!
Review: Personally, I love this keyboard. No one is more resistant to change than I am, so it is highly unusual for me to try, let alone use, such an untraditional-looking product. This keyboard does take a little getting used to--make no mistake about that. The hardest thing for me has been finding the "6" key (across the top)--it is on the left "half" of the keyboard, a fact which my right hand sometimes has trouble remembering. Yes, the arrow keys are a little small, and the Insert-Delete-Home-End-PageUp-PageDown keys aren't really "instinctively" positioned, but the Delete key is the only one of these that I use a great deal, and it is still at the bottom left of that set of keys, just where it should be. I use a standard keyboard all day at work, and I have no problems going back and forth between the two, so that should not be too big of an issue among prospective buyers of this product. While I have no wrist problems, I know that I don't type "correctly." I have tried wrist pads before, and I utterly despise them. I am not the type of person to buy something because it is "ergonomic." Frankly, I bought this keyboard because it was "unusual" and because I still trust Microsoft's name on a product. As it turns out, I got a comfortable keyboard that just so happens to significantly help my typing posture--not a bad deal. You can buy a keyboard with a bunch of Internet and shortcut keys, but why waste money on those little extras? Give this keyboard a try, especially those of you who just can't stand wrist pads, and I bet you (and your wrists) will come to really like this product.
Rating: 
Summary: A great keyboard, but it takes a little getting used to.
Review: The arrow keys take a little getting used to, but it is great on the wrists. When I first started using this keyboard it was on my computer at work. For about the first 3 or 4 days, I had trouble with the arrow keys, and the 6 keys above the arrows (home, end, delete, page up, page down, and insert). The problem is that they are arranged different than any keyboard that I have used before. Once I was used to using this keyboard, I had a difficult time using my keyboard at home. Shortly thereafter I replaced my home keyboard with this one. As far as key placement goes, the important things to know are: 1. The placement of the backslash key. I have seen this in a couple different places on different keybards. The Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite V2.0 has the backslash key above the enter key and below the backspace key. This allows for the larger backspace key. I feel that this is very important, since this is something that I have become very used to. Over the last 15 years, I have tried keyboards that have the backslash key next the the backspace key, and I just seem to make mistakes with that placement. Microsoft has done this one correctly (in my humble opinion). 2. The keypad above the arrows (home, end, delete, page up, page down, and insert) is arranged different that I have ever seen it done before. Usually this is a keypad that is 3 keys wide by 2 tall, Microsoft has changed the layout to 3 tall by 2 wide. This doesn't seem to perform any differently than the old way, it is just different (not good or bad, just different). This will take a little getting used to, but it works well once you have adapted. 3. The arrow keys. Until this keyboard, I have always seen the arrangement of 3 arrow keys across the bottom (left, down, right), with one centered above those 3 (up). This does it differently, there are 2 keys in the middle area (left and right) with a key centered above (up), and below (down). I seem to be able to type faster using this keyboard than I have using other keyboards. I used the original Microsoft natural keyboard, and it is elevated off the desk much higher. The older one had an option to raise the front of the keyboard, but this one only has the option to rais the back. The lights for scroll lock, num lock, and caps lock are located in the center of the keyboard, in the break between the left and the right hand side of the home row. This is good because they are easier to notice than when the lights are in the keys or next above the number lock. I use this keyboard on both windows and unix, and it works great. I am not someone who has had problems with my wrists, but I do notice that it is just more comfortable. If you spend much time at they keyboard, I would recommend this keyboard.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible alternate keys
Review: The keyboard is not bad as a whole, with most keys appropriately sized, and convenient. But the \ key is much too small, and the Windows key and the menu key are very misplaced and almost always cause mistakes. The should be outside the ctrl and alt keys, not interspaced. Additionally, the cursor keys and the alternate keys (home, end, delete, page up, page down, and insert) are easily the worst i've ever seen. They're about as big as tic-tacs and completely out of order. It took me 2 months to stop making mistakes on them. Bad choices all around.
Rating:
Summary: Great for people with large hands
Review: This is the worlds greatest keyboard. Before I got it I had trouble using a keyboard due to the acute angle it forced my wrists into. With the Natural Keyboard I can type much faster and with no discomfort. There is of course a learning curve with it as with any new piece of equipment, but that is overcome with practice. Also the 6 key is not placed on the wrong side as one other reviewer claims, it is placed exactly where I expect it to be. I think any large handed person will quickly become very fond of this keyboard's layout.
Rating:
Summary: Great for people with large hands
Review: This is the worlds greatest keyboard. Before I got it I had trouble using a keyboard due to the acute angle it forced my wrists into. With the Natural Keyboard I can type much faster and with no discomfort. There is of course a learning curve with it as with any new piece of equipment, but that is overcome with practice. Also the 6 key is not placed on the wrong side as one other reviewer claims, it is placed exactly where I expect it to be. I think any large handed person will quickly become very fond of this keyboard's layout.
Rating: 
Summary: great feel, problem with arrow and shortcut keys.
Review: This keyboard has fantastic feel to it. I did talk to many people who say that they just cannot get used to it. I am used to it and enjoying it after 5 minutes of use. I don't feel pain in my wrists anymore which is the big plus. However, this keyboard does have couple of immense mistakes in it's design of arrow keys and shortcuts such as "home", "end", etc. Arrow keys are not alligned in a usual way, they are much more compact as well as shortcut keys which is, for me, A BIG problem. For half an inch of space, this keyboard did lose a lot of points. Also, the keyboard is very high, which means that if you have a desk where the base slides, you are in truble. In all, this product does have an excellent feel as far as typing goes, however, there are many more flaws to it. Honstly I would rather buy Professional version of this keyboard, and pay more monay for it. That is why I give this product grade of three stars minus.
Rating:
Summary: Non-alpha keys re(dis)organised, as well as shrunken
Review: While I do not personally own one of these myself, I have used it in a lab at my school. When available, I almost always choose the machine with the Natural(tm) keyboard, as it truly does make it easier to type, and less stressful not only on hand and wrist but on the shoulders, too. However, as some have noted, the movement keys (arrows, home, end, pg up/dn, ins, del) are rather small compared to the average straight keyboard, and they're all reorganised, too. Apparently this has been fixed in more recent editions of the board, but on this one, the Insert, &c. block have been ordered into three rows of two, rather than two of three, and this can make finding the delete key by touch, for example, a little difficult. Not only have the arrows been moved into a cruciform arrangement, but they're also about half the size of the rest of the keys, which again makes them hard to find. However, the keyboard as a whole is a responsive, pain-reducing, joy to use. Now if only their software were so good. . .
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