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| |  | | Home » Kinesis Ergonomic Keyboard, Freestyle solo USB, Black by DS International | | | | | | | Description: | | Perfect for individuals requiring greater separation than what is provided by other ergonomic keyboards. The Freestyle Solo is compatible with all Windows, Sun and Linux systems that have an available USB port. | | | Features: | |
• Sleek low profile: minimal height, effectively creates negative slope and reduces extension.
• Narrow foot print for comfortable mousing and keying.
• Separate and adjustable left/right keying modules.
• Low-force key switches. Embedded 10-key.
• Familiar key layout provides for minimal adaptation time.
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 16.0 inches | | Product Width:
| 9.25 inches | | Product Height:
| 1.5 inches | | Product Weight:
| 2.65 pounds | | Package Length:
| 16.1 inches | | Package Width:
| 9.4 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.5 inches | | Package Weight:
| 2.3 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 13 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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Shoulder pain gone, now replaced with left hand painMar 04, 2010
I had very high hopes for this keyboard, but I'm not sure it's going to meet my requirements. I'm coming from a very long line of the MS natural keyboards. The biggest issue is Alt/Control and Windows keys are just about impossible to get to. I have to either use my pinky (in major pain after a couple of hours of work) or wrap my thumb way around to get to them. Or I can just move my whole hand, but that would defeat the theory of touch typing. My other complaint is the space bar is just way too wide. With my fingers on the f and j keys, my thumbs only occupy a space around 3/4" wide. Just look at the shiny spot on your keyboards space bar. Where is it and how large is it? So why the wasted realestate on a key that does not have to be that big? This puts the alt and windows keys under the center of my palm, a very hard to reach position. My next problem is the size of the windows, alt and control keys. All are much smaller than I'm used to. The MS natural keys are very large and wide. Super easy to get to. But on this keyboard they are much smaller and their location so far under the palm.... it's just terrible for me. I also do not like the right mouse windows key over on the far left. It's always been on the right side between the control and alt keys... why move it? The space bars are twice the size it needs to be, so there is room for it where it belongs. I'd also like larger shift keys.
Now to the good stuff. I bought this keyboard because of the shoulder pain caused by reaching for the mouse. Having the keyboard so much more compact, puts the mouse in a very nice position. I'm also going to root through my boxes of computer castoffs and find an old trackball I had. There is just a perfect place for it between the two halves. Don't know how it'll work, but it looks promising. I really hardly miss the 10ten pad. I do miss my + and - keys on the keypad for my paint and cad programs, but I'm getting used to it. The arrow keys are surprisingly easy to use and I took right to them. The cut and paste buttons are nice, but I'm so accustomed to the Control A, Control C, Control V, Alt F4 sequence, they are not that useful for me. The delete, backspace and esc keys are all very large and pretty good.But I do question the size of those buttons while making the alt, control and windows keys so small. I use them more than any of the others except the backspace. I also like the clicky sounds of the keys. I'd prefer the original IBM click, and why they don't include it in a keyboard like this is confusing to me. But the sound is welcome.
I have been going back and forth between the MS Natural and the Freestyle and each has it's positive points. Neither is perfect. The size and position of the bottom row on the MS is far superior to the Freestyle. But the Freestyle moves the mouse a good 4" to the left and having the two halves move independant of each other is a great plus. So I'm forced to endure right shoulder pain, or left hand palm/pinky pain. I know MS has a new board, the 6000, so I might have a go at that.
I'm giving it 4 stars to be fair, but I'd really give it 3.5 to be accurate.
The search for the perfect (ie, painless) keyboard goes on.
 Best split board for the price, 2nd runner up: ErgoFlexFeb 12, 2010
I purchased a custom version of this keyboard with a 72" cord between the R/L sides. This allows me to really spread out the two halves, even mount them on a chair's armrests with the cord going underneath the chair. Anyways, I mounted each half on opposite sides of a block to seperate them about 2' apart, 90 degrees from the desk top. This is very comfortable on my wrists, hands, arms, etc... but I wish they didnt put those 'extra' keys on the ends like that. I dont like feeling for the bottom edge where my enter key should be and hitting a 'printscreen' or something...lol. Also, when in a vertical orientation like mine, you want to rest your hands as much as possible, but since these 'side keys' push up the ends of the boards a little on each side, I have to prop my wrists/arms up on something in order to have just the right height. The Ergoflex is a better all around board IMO, but at 2x the price, its hard to justify compared to this one.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Nice ergonomics, lousy keysFeb 02, 2010
I really wanted to like this keyboard, but the feel of the keys themselves is third rate. Terrible tactile feedback.
A real shame. The separate keypads are a great idea (although one should have the ability to lock them rigidly together; it's a pain to move or carry the boards when they're flopping around & held together only by a flimsy plastic hinge). I found that no matter how perfectly I positioned the two pads, my fingers just weren't happy.
Someday, someone will create an ergonomic keyboard that (a) doesn't cost $500 or more and (b) takes build quality as seriously as, say, Logitech does with its excellent $100 illuminated keyboard. Is that a lot to hope for?
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Promising design, needs improvement on last vertical row, arrow key locationJan 09, 2010
I own both Kinesis Maxim and more recently Kinesis Freestyle for Mac. I have not been yet able to get used to Freestyle - will need to order one of the accessories - VIP or Incline. This in itself is problematic, since I can use Maxim on its own without additional accessories. I have Rollermouse Pro, but even that does not help with Freestyle.
Pros:
-nice looking keyboard with features to adjust space between left and right
- good feel of the keys, slightly on the mushy side
overall solid design, but needs several improvements
Cons:
- The Freestyle lies too flat - there is nothing under it to lift the angle so that upper rows of keys are closer. I am currently over stretching my wrist and fingers to reach 3rd and 4th rows of keys. The Maxim has much more natural angle of the keyboard so upper rows of keys are much closer.
- Location of Page Up and Page Down and also arrow keys is awkard compared to Maxim and Appe standard keyboard. The PageUp/Down and Home/End are all crammed in one vertical row/column which is not a good design. I am struggling to reach those keys and getting confused betwen PgUp and Down.
- The same goes for up/down/left/right arrow keys - they are too close Cmnd and Option keys. This is because Control has been taken out contrary to Apple standard keyboard or Maxim.
I supposed this was done to reduce width of keyaboard by 1 vertical rown/column of keys so that mousing options is closer to the right. I find that advantage is being overtaken by disadvantage of cramming all of those keys so close to each other too close for anyone with larger hands/longer hands making it non ergnomic in the process.
I hope Kinesis updates Freestyle to be closer to Apple Keyboard layout or comes up with Maxim for Mac soon.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
feels good on the wristsNov 04, 2009
I plan on getting a second one for home. the main reason is the way my wrists feel using this keyboard versus a standard keyboard. When my old microsoft ergo keyboard finally died. I tried a standard keyboard. Going from a ergonomic keyboard back to a standard keyboard proved that to me, that a standard keyboard is just no good for the arms, wrists or hands. I had way too much pain after just a few hours of use(I do alot of coding). I then decided after much research to try the Kinesis. I am very happy with it. I can imagine it would take time to get use to if you have only used a standard keyboard. However, long term your appendages will thank you. The keys do feel light; however not impossible to work with. I agree the VIP kit is needed for stability, as recommended by other reviewers.
lastly the other thing I liked about this keyboard is the width. without the number keypad on the keyboard it is easier to reach the mouse. This is a plus for me, something to consider for others. The placement of del keys and smaller shift keys takes some getting used to.
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