Kinesis Advantage2 Ergonomic Keyboard (KB600), Black top case, Cherry MX Brown Switches, QWERTY keycaps

Product Information

The keys are arranged in vertical columns (rather than staggered) to better reflect the natural motion of your fingers. The key wells have been scooped into a concave shape which means hands and fingers are able to relax into a natural posture, curled down towards the keys. Key heights are varied to match differing finger lengths which shortens keyboard reach and reduces over-extension. The home row of keys is colour coded and sculpted so you can find them without taking your eyes off the screen. In time I guess we will see non US versions of the 360 as well, but it seems that could be some time for that and patience might not be my best ability. The Advantage360 Professional is the successor to the well-known Advantage2. It comes with several new features, such as Adjustable Split, Wireless connection, Tenting, ZMK (highly customizable firmware), and many other minor things. In this blog post, I will explain the significant design changes and my experiences with Advantage360. Most, if not all, of these claims are unproven. But I bought into them hook, line, and sinker. Appearance

The Advantage2 is available with a standard US layout or German, Swedish, Japanese and UK country-specific layouts (see image gallery for layouts).The keyboard surface is concave and the key wells are tented to an optimal 20° angle which elevates the thumb side of the hands to reduce the forearm pronation typically caused by flat keyboards. I plan to use blank keycaps in the feature because, with all the customizations I made (more on this later), it doesn't make sense to use them. I also never look up the keyboard, so printed keycaps have little use. Advantage2 vs the Advantage360 Wireless. I like a clean desk, and all the new Keyboards I had were wired. I've used the Apple Magic Keyboard wirelessly for years with no latency issues. Select your trigger key or key combination (lights will lights will flash slowly). Up to two modifiers may be used as “co-triggers” in concert)

With the all-new SmartSet Programming Engine, Advantage2 features powerful programming tools designed to let you customize the keyboard to boost your productivity. The benefits of tenting are that it allows you to type in a more neutral position. However, I couldn't use the medium or high settings. For me, the initial stage is the most comfortable one. Palm support It seems that the Advantage 360 can be adjusted with remapped keys and by using keycaps from the Advantage 2 Nordic layout, but it seems like this might not be the best experience all in all. At the same time, I can't help but to feel that the Advantage 2 is a bit dated, especially regarding the design and feel and with the 360 to compare against. The Advantage 2 has some advatanges like an extra row of keys, only one unit etc. While being a developer, I don't really see myself going all in on layers and programming, so don't think that missed ZMK of the wireless version is a deciding factor, while wireless in itself is nice.

Before I can tell the main differences and the new features, I'll have to describe shortly how it all started. Please bare with me because it matters to understand why the Advantage360 is superior and better to the existing Advantage2 in many ways. And then there's my favorite feature of all: the home row keycaps. The main keycaps are made out of a smooth ABS plastic. The home row is not only a different color and shape from the other keycaps, but a different plastic altogether. The PBT they used for these is a very different texture from the rest of the keycaps and makes it trivial to find the home row without looking. For a company trying to get you to touch type, these kinds of features make things just that little bit nicer to adjust to. The blue home row keys are rougher and shaped differently. Comfort The Kinesis Ergo keyboard is now in its brand new “Advantage 2” generation, which is an opportunity for a long term review. It looks like something from an alternative (much geekier) universe, but is probably the single best piece of ergonomics I’ve ever bought.

Note: To remap an action from one layer to another (e.g. top level to keypad layer), simply use the “Keypad” key to navigate between layers during the remap process. The only reason you are considering this keyboard (likely) is for the typing experience. You probably don't care that people spend hours lubricating key switches and testing out different keycaps for their sound qualities. You want to type without pain. Kinesis Advantage 2 has a wealth of ergonomic design features to help improve productivity and protect against musculoskeletal injury. But after you get your Advantage 2, there is quite a bit of key mapping you can do. If you want, you can rebind keys directly from the keyboard. It will then save off the modifications to its internal storage device and have it available to use going forward. I personally moved all the arrows keys around to one side of the keyboard, but left the rest of the keys untouched. It was extremely easy and intuitive to switch keys from the keyboard itself. Tap the “destination” key where you want to assign the copied action (lights will resume flashing rapidly)Due to the split keyboard design, each hand has its own set of keys which have been split and positioned a short distance apart. The split nature positions hands at shoulder width and perpendicular with the home row of keys. This keeps your wrists straight, avoiding abduction and ulnar deviation. The Advantage2 features low-force Cherry MX Brown tactile mechanical key switches, the rubber function keys (found on the original Advantage) have been replaced with Cherry ML low-force, tactile mechanical key switches, and our signature home row keys are in the new Kinesis Blue. Soak the loose keycaps in warm soapy water lightly scrub to remove any gunk. Rinse the keycaps and let them thoroughly dry. The two keywells are “ tented” at an optimal 20 degree angle moderately raising the thumb side of the hand. Tenting puts you in a more neutral, “handshake” posture and reduces the stresses caused by forearm pronation.

If you are spending a large amount of your day using a computer you will invariably be using a keyboard to interact and fulfil your duties. Standard keyboards aren’t suitable for sustained use and can lead to various health and posture problems. Ideally, an ergonomic keyboard will be chosen to replace your standard computer keyboard so you can work in comfort, safely and efficiently. Importantly, this thing is big. And it's not just wider than most keyboards people use nowadays: it's significantly taller than any other keyboard I've encountered. It's so tall that it doesn't fit in the standard keyboard desk trays I've found. The only programability feature that I have really used is the ability to switch between QWERTY and Dvorak keyboard layouts automatically. This allows you take your keyboard anywhere and type in Dvorak whether your employer feels like installing that keyboard layout on your machine or not.Note: Remapping is a one-way process, to swap key actions you must perform two separate remap actions. Quantitatively, there's no real difference in typing speed between this keyboard and my laptop keyboard, or any other keyboard that I've tested in recent memory. I type at around 110 words per minute on Monkeytype with every keyboard I own (after an adjustment period for each), so I'm not setting any records but I'm also no slouch. Gaming The two key-wells are “tented” at an optimal 20-degree angle moderately raising the thumb side of the hand Tenting puts you in a more neutral, “handshake” posture and reduces the stresses caused by the forearm pronation and static muscle tension. Note: To delete an existing macro, begin as if you were going to re-program the same trigger key, but after selecting the trigger key, tap the Program key again. The LED will stop flashing and the macro will be erased for this key.