I was pretty excited when I saw that Kinesis, who made my cherished, but now discontinued, Evolution split-design keyboard, were planning to release a new split design keyboard, the Freestyle. My existing pair of Evolution keyboards (one at work, the other at home) were showing their age, and the design of that keyboard is admittedly on the bulky side.
Of course, I wouldn’t have considered buying the Freestyle if it was only offered with a 6-inch separation. Not only do I like having a wide separation of the two modules, I also like putting my trackball in between the two, so it’s very easy to reach, and I couldn’t do either if it only spread 6 inches or so. Kinesis thankfully saw the light and made a version that has a 20 inch cable separating the two modules. A longer cable than that might have been nice, for things like chair mounting, but I don’t think I want it mounted to my chair, anyway.
So, I bought two Freestyle keyboards, and two “VIP” accessory packs (which include wrist pads for each module, and a tilting mechanism so you can “tent” the keyboard modules at one of two different angles). I like it a whole lot, so far.
The Evolution had extremely noisy keys — it would probably rival an IBM keyboard for typing noise. Loud keys are both good and bad; as the typer, it’s satisfying to have a keyboard with feedback. To the people around me, I’m sure it’s a drawback to have to listen to my wild, speedy clacking when I’m on a roll with something. The Freestyle is much quieter; the keys feel rather a lot like the kind you’ll see in, say, a modern Dell keyboard. The keys are nice and large, and take little force to depress. I think overall I like this kind of key more than the clicky mechanical one on the Evolution, and more than the keys on my laptop (the laptop keyboard loses already, since it’s rectangular, but just by key I think I prefer those on the Freestyle).
It’s taking me a little time to get used to the new keyboard, but it is, of course, infinitely adjustable, so I’m sure I’ll be moving and changing things for some time to come. The biggest issue is just finding where the keys are. The design is very compact and simple — the weird curves and space cadet key overload of the Evolution is gone, and we now have a sparse, economical design. I find that I’m having a little trouble finding the home row by touch, and the abrupt edge on the inside of each module means I sometimes dip off into empty space, instead of bumping against the plastic center the Evolution has. After only a day of use I’m already starting to get used to it, however.
The “driverless hot keys” are pretty much useless to me on my Mac, though, since they’re hard-coded to Windows key shortcuts (I’m hoping there’s a way to reassign them somehow). Some of the keys might be useful in Emacs though (control-x and control-c both have dedicated keys). From the factory, the two modules are attached to one another by a “pivot tether,” which anchors the two modules together at their upper inner corners. You’re supposed to be able to separate them with the two release buttons on the top of each module, but I couldn’t get that to work, so I removed the screws that held them there instead.
Otherwise, it’s a standard USB keyboard. A simple set-up step in Mac OS X when I plugged it in was all I needed. It has some nicely bright blue LEDs for caps lock and friends. It feels very solid and well-built.
The VIP tilt and wrist pads are nice, but overpriced. I’m not sure yet if I like the modules inclined, but the wrist pads are nice, with a not-too-soft gel-like material, wrapped in soft synthetic cloth. I hear the pads themselves are replaceable, which is good, given the way the pads on my Evolution have been deteriorating.
Overall, I’m impressed. It’s a nicely streamlined update to one of the best keyboards ever.
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Gary Benson | 02-Aug-07 at 11:52 pm | Permalink
$40 for an extra 14″ of wire is pretty insane
Are you using the tilting thing? I never figured out why angling the keys like that would be comfortable. I used one of those Microsoft ergonomic ones for a while but it was whack…
csm | 03-Aug-07 at 10:12 am | Permalink
Margins are whatever you can get away with
Yeah, I am using the tilt mechanism (”V-lifters”). You can tell that your hands will rest more naturally at an angle than flat on the desk, so the tilt may prevent strain from the muscles that are used to keep your palms flat. It’s a little hard to get used to, though, and I think the angles (even the lower setting, 10 degrees) are a little too steep.
I never noticed any problems with my Evolution, and I think most of the source of strain is twisting the wrists.
Also, the Freestyle has a very low profile, and the V-lifters raise the keyboard up a bit, which I like.
Gary Benson | 04-Aug-07 at 2:21 am | Permalink
Ah, I never had a problem with twisting my wrists. I tend to flatten my hands when I type, but the curvature of the Microsoft one exacerbated that rather than making it better. These days I use a Kinesis Advantage which keeps my hands more or less in the right place.
BTW I wrote a little RSI fixing article the other day if you’re interested.
Ryan | 09-Aug-07 at 9:58 am | Permalink
Thanks for the review. I was wondering how it’s been with the arrow keys where they are (where the right control key normally is): http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/images/freestyle-solo_690×343.jpg.
As a programmer, arrow key position is important to me because I’m using them all the time.
csm | 09-Aug-07 at 4:43 pm | Permalink
The arrow keys are fine for me (the Evolution has them in a similar spot, and you usually get that same layout on laptop kepboards).
The layout thing that I don’t like so far with the Freestyle is the Home/End/Page Up/Page Down placing, which is all in a column at the very right edge. The Evolution had awesome placement for these: right under your right hand, next to the space bar. The Freestyle also lacks a Windows key (which is the Command key on my Mac) on the right module, which is still OK with me, since I usually use the one on the left.
I also kind of wish the Freestyle had a duplicate “6″ key on the right module — I loved this feature on the Evolution.
Dmitri Trembovetski | 21-Aug-07 at 9:04 am | Permalink
Do yourself a favor and try Kinesis Advantage. Well worth the money and a week of getting used to.
Dmitri
Maverick | 22-Aug-07 at 6:32 pm | Permalink
I am a bit concerned about the key quality since this keyboard seems to use a membrane switch. If you have time, can you please help me by performing an experiment? I would like to know when a key is registered during the key press. Is it at the bottom? Or is it somewhere in the middle?
Thanks in advance!
csm | 22-Aug-07 at 6:57 pm | Permalink
@Maverick: it seems that for most keys, the key does need to be fully depressed. There is that “breaking tension” feel, so that pushing down with light force barely causes the key to move, but it moves freely once that point is crossed.
Holding the key down past that point doesn’t register a key press, you have to push the key down more to make it register. It also doesn’t quite feel that it is fully down while registering — there’s a little bit of play while the key is registering. My bogus guess is that it registers for 5-10% of the key’s lowest range, and doesn’t otherwise.
Cameron | 22-Apr-08 at 5:25 pm | Permalink
Good review, and fair. I have a new Kinesis Freestyle for Mac, white, sealed in box, if anyone here would like to purchase it from me. I was a tester for Kinesis and they sent me it for free. Good company, and while they didn’t redesign this keyboard for Mac from scratch, they did the best one could ask working from the PC mold they had. [ed: email address removed]
csm | 23-Apr-08 at 11:16 pm | Permalink
I removed your email address from that comment, because (a) all you’ll get is spam from doing that, and (b) you aren’t allowed to sell things from my website.
tera | 20-May-08 at 5:50 am | Permalink
Cameron, I suppose you unloaded that keyboard already? If not…post me back.
Has anyone used the evoluent vertical mouse? That is my other search of late. RSI (cubital tunnel prob) is making my life quite difficult now so I’m on the hunt for a fix. Any other recommendations out there for that?
I work on a Mac (graphic design) and use the mouse a lot. Hate the tablet (the one I have anyway) and despise the trackball. I need a bit finer control than either of those. OK now suggestions welcomed!
csm | 20-May-08 at 9:34 am | Permalink
A setup I really like is a split keyboard, like the Freestyle, with a thumb trackball (like the Logitech TrackMan Wheel) in the middle of the two modules. I find thumb trackballs super-precise, since you’ll never beat the fine motor controls of your thumb with those of your whole arm, but you can get some strain on your thumb if you use it a lot.
Any way, mouse or trackball, I really recommend putting the mouse in the middle of a split keyboard. You’ll cut down on a lot of repetitive movement if you don’t need to reach out for the mouse.
Also, just buy one from Kinesis! They’re an awesome company, and you should support them directly!
Barbara | 22-Jul-09 at 2:24 pm | Permalink
I just got the Kinesis Freestyle 10 days ago. The location of the backspace and delete key is still driving me crazy but I appreciate not having to have my mouse so far to the right. I have switched recently to the Logitech Trackman Wheel and it is a definite improvement over the standard Logitech trackball, so long as you consistently mouse with your right hand. I loved the idea of the vertical mouse but found I didn’t want to give up the trackball.