Design Philosophy
Why this design ?
As an ergonomic keyboard user for over 20 years, and a computer programmer, the list of design considerations is fairly simple:
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Mechanical keys
Split Design - enabling comfortable typing position
Standard arrow key cluster
Fixed 10 degree tent
One of my most important design considerations is the standard arrow key cluster. This includes the Up, Down, Left and Right navigation keys, as well as the Ins, Del, Home, End, PgUp and PgDown keys. Let me explain:
Navigation Keys
Dedicated Navigation Cluster
As a programmer, I work a lot with editing code in a text editor. This involves navigating whole words, copying variable names, and moving lines of code around. The most useful keyboard shortcuts that I use are:
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Ctrl arrow. This moves the cursor a single word to the left or right.
Ctrl-Shift-arrow. This selects a single word to the left or right.
Home. This moves the cursor to the start of a line of text.
End. This moves the cursor to the end of a line of text.
Shift-End. This selects the entire line of code.
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This means that as a programmer, I need to have the full arrow key cluster available, and in a standard position to work effectively.
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There are very few mechanical split keyboard designs that incorporate a standard navigation key cluster.
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Let's take a look at some of the current ergonomic split keyboards currently available:
Matias Ergo Pro
Split Mechanical Keyboard
The Matias Ergo Pro is a very good mechanical keyboard. The build quality is great, and the wrist-rest and tenting options are very comfortable. I used this keyboard daily for over a year, and unfortunately there were some major design problems I encountered:
Key 'ghosting'.
After a few months of use, I noticed that hitting a particular key would produce two keystrokes. So hitting the 'c' key, for example, would produce 'cc'. This sort of defect has been reported countless times on Amazon feedback, and there is no known fix. It makes the keyboard incredibly frustrating to work with.
Ctrl key next to 'N'
While the inclusion of a 'Ctrl' key just next to the 'N' key may seem like a good idea, hitting them at the same time will generally open a new widow (Ctrl-N). This is also incredibly frustrating.
Tiny navigation cluster
​​The smaller form factor of the navigation cluster, along with the compressed design made using these keys very difficult.
Microsoft Sculpt
Ergonomic Split Keyboard
I used the Microsoft Sculpt Keyboard for quite a few years. This was a joy to type on, and I found my typing speed increase dramatically due to the great split and tent.
This is, however, a membrane switch, and is not mechanical.
The compressed navigation key cluster was workable, but the Home and End keys were not in a standard position.
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Overall, a great keyboard, but unfortunately not mechanical.
Microsoft Surface Ergonomic
Full Size Ergonomic Keyboard
When the Microsoft Surface Ergonomic keyboard came out, I was desparate to try one out. Based on the Microsoft Sculpt, this keyboard also had a fixed tent, but boasted a full keyboard layout. I upgraded from my Sculpt immediately. The membrane switches were the same as the Sculpt, and the full-size layout was great.
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Unfortunately, there were two main problems:
Un-cleanable
After a few months of using this keyboard day in and day out, I notice some ugly stains where my wrists rested on the wrist rest. No matter what I tried, I could not get rid of them. The keyboard became an eyesore, and and embarrasment.
Large and un-gainly
This is a fixed-size keyboard, and is quite large, so it does not fit nicely into a standard back-pack.
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Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard
Latest Version
This is the latest version in the Microsoft range of Ergonomic keyboards. Notice how Microsoft have moved away from the grey "Alcantra" fabric that is un-cleanable, back to an all black keyboard.
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Note that I have not used this keyboard, and would not try it, as it uses a membrane switch, instead of mechanical keys. It is also very large, comparible in size to the Microsoft Surface Ergonomic.
X-Bows
Ortholinear Ergonomic Mechanical Design
The X-Bows mechanical ergonomic keyboard looks really interesting, but I have not tried it. The layout is un-suitable for my needs.
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The main reason for this is two-fold:
Non standard navigation keys
The lack of a Home and End key, along with the compressed nature of the navigation keys will make this keyboard difficult to use.
No tenting opions
For maximum ergonomic comfort, the keyboard should be tented. The X-Bows does not have any tenting options.
Kinesis Freestyle Edge
Split Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
The Kinesis Freestyle Edge is billed as a mechanical gaming keyboard, and has received many great reviews. It has tenting options available, and seems to be close to a standard layout.
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I have not tried this keyboard, and have notice a few design changes that are non-standard, as follows:
Non standard navigation cluster
Although the Up, Down, Left and Right keys are standard size, the Home, End, PgUp and PgDown keys are vertical, and non-standard.
Fn key cluster/
The Fn key is in a cluster of 2x5 programmable keys. While this may work for gaming, but is not practical for programming. This cluster is similar to the left-hand side cluster on the Matias Ergo Pro, which I never used.
ErgoDox
Ortholinear Split Design
The ErgoDox is a very populer split, mechanical keyboard design. While some swear by this keyboard, I have not tried it, as it will required a steep learning curve, and I am not convinced that it will work for programming type activities.
Some of the drawbacks of this design are:
Non standard arrow keys.
The Left and Right keys are on the left of the keyboard, and the Up and Down keys are on the right.
Thumb key combinations
How do you do a Ctrl-Shift-Left key combination ? With two thumbs and a finger ? This seems very difficult to learn and master.
Steep Learning Curve
