Ergonomic Benefits of the Kinesis Line of Contoured Keyboards

Separate Thumb Keypads - the thumb keypad includes often used keys such as "Enter", "Space", "Backspace", "Delete" and the combination keys, "Control" and "Alt" on the PC ("Command" and "Option" on the Macintosh). This redistributes the workload from your relatively weaker and overused little fingers to stronger thumbs.

Separate Key Wells for Each Hand - this separation minimizes strain and stretching by positioning your arms approximately at shoulder width and with wrists straight. This design reduces abduction and ulnar deviation (common symptoms experienced with repetitive strain injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis).

Concave Key Wells - reduces hand and finger extension. Extension occurs when the joints in your fingers curl up and extend forward from your hands rather than relaxing down slightly in the direction of the palms. A flat typing surface assumes that your fingers are all of the same length, thus your longer fingers must arch up over the keys. The result is extension of the muscles and tendons in your hands. Your muscles do not operate at maximum efficiency and the result is more rapid muscle fatigue.

Concave key wells reduce extension by accommodating the various lengths of your fingers and placing your hands and fingers in a more relaxed and neutral position.

Vertical Key Layout - keys are arranged in vertical columns to reflect natural motions of your fingers, and the keypads are sculpted and concave to fit the varying lengths of your fingers.

Closer placement of function keys - soft-touch function keys are positioned closer to the alphanumeric keys to reduce awkward motions and stretches, particularly for key combinations involving thumb keys (Control and Alt, for example).

20-degree lateral tilt design - the keyboard design places your hands so that your thumbs are positioned approximately 20 degrees higher than pinky fingers. This design helps to minimize stresses associated with pronation and static muscle tension while enabling maximum keying productivity.

Integral palm support - the palm support with optional self-adhesive pads enhances comfort and reduces stressful extension of your wrist. This provides a place to rest your hands while they are not actively keying.

Low-force, tactile key switches - the low-force (45 grams) mechanical key switches are engineered to provide both tactile and audible feedback. Their long travel (4 mm), with activation at approximately 2 mm, reduces the jarring impact of 'bottoming out" at the end of every keystroke.

Embedded 10-key layout - a traditional numeric (10-key) keypad is embedded into the right alphanumeric keywell, which provides ergonomic advantages for number-intensive operations. The 10-key legends are located on the front edge of the key caps. The 10-key can also be programmed to operate from the left keywell.

Key re-mapping (Programmable models only) - individual keys can be re-mapped or copied to other key locations. As a result, you can customize the keyboard's operation for your personal use to reduce stressful reaches and establish an optimal hand workload.

Macro programmable (Programmable models only) - up to 48 macros can be programmed and stored in the keyboards on-board memory. Great for eliminating awkward key combinations or for individuals that type the same word or phrase repeatedly.

Optional foot switches - up to three foot switches can be used to perform keystrokes, redistributing a portion of the workload away from your hands. For instance, a foot switch can be used to activate the embedded 10-key pad or "Shift" key.

Smaller footprint - the Kinesis keyboard is smaller than a traditional keyboard, and measures 16 5/8" by 8 1/8" by 3". This smaller foot print reduces the amount of reach necessary in operating the mouse by locating the pointing device much closer to the user.