Rating: 
Summary: Comfortable and Easy to Use
Review: I received this product as a x-max gift. It took about and hour or two to get used to the split keyboard, but it was smooth sailing after that. The only problem that I had (which was resolved a few hours after use), was the quieter key action when typing. It does not take much pressure to type on the keyboard, which is a bit of change for me. This was however, resolved a few hours after use.I find that my hands and fingers get fatigued less often than with my previous keyboard, just a standard flat keyboard. I've also noticed that my typing speed has increased, being that it is more comfortable to type. What I really like about the keyboard is the shortcut keys, a must-have feature for any keyboard. I do not use many USB devices, but when I do, it is very handy to have 2 ports right at the keyboard. The Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro is an excellent product, after the short 'learning curve', it allowed me to type faster, and more comfortably than ever before. I would recommend this to anyone who expirences any type of fatigue when using a traditional flat-style kayboard, or would rather type more naturally (hence the name ;).
Rating: 
Summary: Hotkeys are addictive
Review: I've used an ergo keyboard for a couple years, and have no idea how I ever survived with out one. It goes without saying that ergos are much better than flat keyboards. Your shoulders feel so much better. But when my Natural Elite finally died (piece of crap that it was, I'd grown attached), I was excited to try the Pro. Let me tell you, after only one day of use, I'm already wondering how I ever worked without these hotkeys! The Media keys are especially great--I had grown so sick of having to hunt around with my mouse to mute my music when the phone rang, and this keyboard's "mute" button has proved to be my new best friend. Several of the buttons are customizable, so I was able to remove several frequently used shortcuts on my desktop, now able to access my calculator and My Documents from my keyboard. I'm having a little trouble adapting to the placement of the "INSERT" key--it's where "HOME" was on my Elite, and you'd think Microsoft would have a little consistency with those function keys. A perk for less advanced users, frequently used control shortcuts (like CTRL-C, CTRL-V, CTRL-Z, etc) are actually marked on the fonts of the letter keys. I've been amazed by how many people still mess with their mouse to do a cut-n-paste, so hopefully this will introduce more users to the CTRL-A, CTRL-X, CTRL-V quick keyboard method of cutting n pasting. I agree with other reviewers that the USB ports are not really all that exciting, but I do have both my mouse and digital camera plugged into the ports. Works great. This keyboard definitely doesn't give you that :click: that many of us are used to. But I'm actually enjoying the muted :clack: instead. SO, watch out for those hotkeys--You'll get hooked too!
Rating:
Summary: Yeah USB ports!
Review: I loved this keyboard because of the USB ports. I have since moved to the Microsoft Wireless Desktop package - I wish it had USB ports.
Rating:
Summary: Significantly Improved...
Review: I spent a fair amount of dithering before I bought this keyboard. Not that it's excessively expensive. Rather, it looked a bit of an ugly duckling up there on the shelf and I wasn't sure if it would be comfortable enough. On my third trip to the shelf, I finally studied it a bit more carefully. I noticed the little messages on the keys to remind my failing mind of control functions. I noticed the special function keys that provided web navigation, media control, instant access to My Computer and the calculator, and the sleep key. I noticed the volume control keys. I remember that I hadstarted to turn off the sound on my Klisch 4.1's because their volume occasionally gave the cats heart attacks. I figured, "What the heck, I've made dumber mistakes" and brought one home. I already had an old, grungy Intellipoint keyboard, so intallation took about 30 seconds of hardware time and a minute to install the software. "So far so good" I say to myself. One star for installation. Test one: typing. Ooh the extra large wrist rest that looked so ugly in the store looks pretty good. And the angle feels a bit better. The keys have a nice thunk and a springy feel. One star for feel. Next I try the volume control - Wow! The look of worry vanishes from the cat's faces. The rest of the media keys work fine and the internet navigators are great. When I hit the sleep button my machine does exactly that. One star for cool features. The software is simplicity itself. Adjustments for speed, language, hotkeys, some special options and a nifty little on screen display for keys like volume. Everything works just great! One star for easy of use and clear instructions. The last star is for the two USB ports on the back of the keyboard. This basically changes one of the USB ports from the back of my machine into two on my desk. Works great for a mouse and, in my case, a zip drive. I've gotten used to the original funny shaped Intellitype. This new model seems like the perfect set of improvements in functionality and ergonomics. Given the amount of time I spend with my fingers on the keyboard it's well worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Just the facts...as I see them anyway.
Review: The basics are this is a great keyboard if you have jacked up wrists from being on the computer way too long. Another basic, it's gonna force you to use your keyboard the proper way. Small price to pay for comfort. I don't use the extra keys at the top as much as i thought i would, but they are convenient. Volume, stop, play, previous track, and browser back are used often. I rock while I work. This keyboard is not one you would probably put in your lap. It is much heaver than it's predecessor, the natural keyboard elite 2.0. I have both and still prefer the the Pro. This keyboard is pretty durable. I've not used the USB built in hub much at all, since USB is low power. Also the key layout of the Pro is better as compared to the natural elite 2.0. I keep using the pause key as I leave my desk. You can also tell when you are running out of resources on your PC. The top bonus keys don't work anymore. Oh I guess i use the calculator bonus button too. A cool thing for those that hate using mice, remember the pain it causes. The keys are coded for some of the standard hot key actions in Microsoft programs. I'm not changing my keyboard until the Bluetooth Keyboard and mouse become affordable. PS--I am a programmer. I have heavy keyboard use. This keyboard is a solid performer.
Rating: 
Summary: Not nearly as good as the Elite
Review: I bought this keyboard as a replacement for the MS Elite model, expecting to make heavy use of the macro keys. But it turns out that the Pro isn't a worthwhile replacement for several reasons, and in fact I couldn't even stand it long enough to bother reprogramming the macro keys. The most important problem to me is the feel of the keyboard. I think MS must have done something to cut their costs, and quality, because this thing feels nothing like the comfortable Elite. I must say I'm very disappointed. The Elite was quiet and extremely solid, but the Pro feels hollow and flimsy, as if is has the guts of a keyboard. But there are other less-important annoyances too. The Pro has a full-sized set of arrow key, but I usually use the numeric pad with numlock off anways (so I can immediately touch Home, End, Enter, Ins, Del, etc.), so that's just farther for my arm to travel between the keypad, mouse, and home row. Finally, the Pro's footprint is huge. I can't stress that enough! I even have a giant desktop, and this thing is still a pain to reach around just to use my mouse or drawing tablet. The Elite had a tiny footprint, and I never even realized how nice that was until I lost it. I've tried out *lots* of ergonomic keyboards in my time, but the MS Elite is still the best by far. So I'd say to save some money, and get a better keyboard too.
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: Perfect
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: Problem with Shift+B
Review: This keyboard has a firm, high quality key touch, which was very satisfying, but I think it can be difficult to get used to because it forces you to always type letters with either hand.
For example, because I don't use the right shift key, when I type the big letter "B" with shift, I have always used my right hand. Now I have trouble each time I have to type the capital B. They should have put B in the right half of the board also.
Still, Everytime I try my old keyboard I can see how unnatural my hand must have uncontiously been. This keyboard needs practice, but there is no doubt it is good for your wrist.
Rating:
Summary: Love it
Review: I love this keyboard, its the best out there. I use this with my Mac at home and there is no other keyboard that even comes close for us Apple users. The only thing that kept me from giving it a 5 star rating is that the thing sounds a little hollow. I have the Natural Keyboard Elite here at work and this thing seems very sturdy. The Pro model has all the cool buttons, and the USB ports, but it does seem a little flimsy. Other than that it rocks.
| 
