But the advantage360 also has: symmetrical / not row staggered, more keys for the thumb to reach (rather than just a big spacebar) which allows for reduced pinky finger usage. It feels like the overall design of the Kinesis Advantage360 is meant to accommodate the whole arm, and not just help reduce strain on the hand or wrist. After all, I bought the Advantage360 mainly because I wanted to adjust the gap between the two halves. They even have options for additional sound proofing and increased battery power amongst other things.

I started using Moonlander a year ago and now I’m slowly realizing that what helps me the most isn’t the hardware, but the abilities I get from QMK. Yes, it's not as easy as SmartSet to configure; however, it takes a couple of docs to read to understand what's happening. Professional Model features Shine-Through ABS keycaps: The Pro model features white backlighting so to support working in a low-light environment these keycaps are used so the legends illuminate. The company has fantastic support and now is battling a flurry of pop-up product managers offshoring me-too design and manufacturing.The fully programmable Advantage360 features Kinesis's new-and-improved SmartSet Programming Engine which allows you to customize the keyboard's layout without installing any clunky software or special drivers, or accessing the internet. Going to curved key wells helped me a lot because it lets me freeze my wrists in a comfortable position and still hit keys far from the home row. This is why I'm telling you this is subjective, as much as you'd like to reduce it to some "objective" criteria.

You can plug the right module into a PC, but it is not designed to send keystrokes at this time, just charge the battery. Have a look through the back catalogue, and you will find reviews of the ZSA Moonlander, the Dygma Raise, the Zergotech Freedom plus some custom built models like the Sofle and the Dactyl Manuform. If you don't have that set of problems it can be either a lateral move or even a regression in your comfort/pain level. Give yourself a 2-4 (exclusive) weeks, to the point where you can touch-type and forget about the keyboard.There are also a few extra and alternative keycaps for Mac and the like in the box but I got the extra blanks keycaps you can see. Exactly, the laptop is the most inconvenient thing, otherwise I wouldn’t mind (and it’s actually kinda cool and a show off). The Kinesis Contoured Keyboard family is based on a unique, patented design that minimizes the pain and strain users experience with heavy use of conventional computer keyboards.

There isn’t per key RGB lighting either, so if that’s a blocker for you, again, you can move on right now.The way many of these keyboards work with layering makes it a functional requirement rather than a choice. So feature-wide, the split/tented design has ergonomic promise, but might not be a significant benefit if you have good form with the Advantage. The all new Advantage360 Professional features the same great ergonomics as the base model, but without all the cables. Fingers are placed in a neutral, relaxed position to reduce over-extension and thumb clusters are used to access frequently used keys. Pneumatic mechanism moves the desk up and down by pressing a handle till you reach the perfect height.

That keyboard AFAIK comes along in an own earthquake-proof suitcase and is also bundled with some other gimmicks, like wireless charging and the like. The placement of Escape at the top left corner seems to engage the weak pinky finger, but reflecting on how I actually hit Escape (on a run of the mill keyboard layout), my muscle memory moves my left hand far enough to bash Escape with my middle and/or index finger. The laptop/tablet stands improves user's sitting posture - screen at eye level and tools at hand reach - helps to prevent MSDs. There’s even a company that sells after-market PBT keycaps for the Advantage keyboards; the set is non-standard.The split design also allows me to put the mouse (or trackball if you have one) in the middle of both keyboards, which makes using the mouse more comfortable. Depending how heavy you rest your hands, this may not be something to worry about but I don’t think they are an essential addition.