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Ergonomic

USA Ergo Pro Quiet Mac Ergonomic Keyboard

FK403Q-US

DISCONTINUED

A better ergonomic keyboard.
It's the product customers have been begging us to do for years - an ERGONOMIC keyboard that gives you all of the tactile feedback, greater comfort, faster typing speeds, and quiet operation of a Matias mechanical keyboard.

We also think it has the best layout of all the ergonomic keyboards so far.

USA Ergo Pro Quiet Mac Ergonomic Keyboard - FK403Q-US

The best switches.
To put it bluntly, most ergonomic keyboards "cheap out" on their keyswitches. They use rubber, instead of metal. Compromising here can ruin an otherwise good keyboard.

We've used the BEST keyswitches for typing... Matias Quiet Click mechanical switches.

Their ALPS-inspired design delivers generous amounts of tactile feedback, while providing enough resistance to support the weight of your hands - exactly what you need for fast, comfortable typing.

Plus, unlike every other mechanical switch, they are quiet enough to use in office environments. You don't need to worry about disturbing your co-workers.

A better navigation cluster.
Navigation keys have always been a big problem for ergonomic keyboards.

If you follow the standard, the keyboard is too wide.

If you don't follow the standard, there's a long learning curve, and users are stuck having to suffer with an awkward, unfamiliar layout.

We've designed a truly new and better navigation cluster - one that's much closer to standard AND more ergonomic...

We've arranged the navigation keys in their traditional pattern, but we laid them out horizontally, and then positioned them along the bottom row, more like a laptop keyboard.

It works beautifully, and the adjustment time is virtually zero. Try it once, and you'll never want to go back.

Narrower than most & more comfortable with a mouse.
Thanks to our unique navigation cluster, the Ergo Pro is not as wide as other ergonomic keyboards. It's not much wider than a laptop keyboard.

This makes it much more comfortable to use with a mouse. Since you're not reaching as far for it, your elbow doesn't need to flare out at an awkward angle.

Leg supports for tilting & tenting.
As you would expect, the Ergo Pro comes equipped with leg supports for 9° tenting and 4.5° negative tilt. It can also be used flat.

Spacious palm supports.
The palm supports are big and comfortable. Plus, they can be removed, if your desk already has palm supports built-in.

Everything is in the box.
We've included everything you need in the box. There's nothing extra to buy. You are all ready to go.

Dedicated keys for... Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste
We've added dedicated hotkeys for the 4 most important keyboard shortcuts - undo, cut, copy, and paste. Best of all, no drivers are required. Everything works, right out of the box.

3 extra USB 2.0 ports.
Some keyboards have 2 USB ports - most have none. We're giving you three! You can plug in flash drives, digital cameras, your mouse, and more.

Laser etched keys.
All those symbols are handy, but what happens when they wear off? They won't. They're laser etched - burned into the keys with a laser - so they'll never wear off.

Sculpted keytops.
The latest trend in keyboards is to have very flat & wide keys, with little or no space between them. You see this a lot on laptops and netbooks. While they look great, they can also be a little tricky to type on. The flatness makes it very easy to slide out of home row and lose your bearings.

The Ergo Pro bucks this trend. It has traditional sculpted keytops, curved to fit your fingertips, and keep you from sliding out of home position.

Audio & media controls.
By holding down the Fn key, you gain access to strategically placed keyboard shortcuts for Volume Up / Down, Mute, Pause / Play, Next Track, and Previous Track.

Ghosts busted.
Most keyboards allow only a few keys to be pressed at once, so they can't keep up with very fast typists. The result is called ghosting - letters missing from what you actually typed, or additional letters that you didn't type.

The Ergo Pro has special Anti-Ghosting Circuitry (also called n-key rollover) to eliminate these problems. You can type as fast as you're able; the Ergo Pro will keep up.

USA Ergo Pro Quiet Mac Ergonomic Keyboard - FK403Q-US

Manufacturer
Part Number
FK403Q-US
Connection
USB
Cable length
2 Metre & 60cm bridge cable
Language Layout
USA
Number of keys/buttons
87
Switch Type
Matias Quiet Click
Length
368 mm
Depth
165 mm
Height
35 mm
Weight
1.7 kg
Compatible
Mac
Gross Weight
2.3 kg

USA Ergo Pro Quiet Mac Ergonomic Keyboard - FK403Q-US

  curlypaws  02/06/2020
I'm very impressed with the quality of this keyboard.

The layout does take a bit of getting used to - particularly since I still sometimes hit the undocutcopypaste keys. And the US return key layout is different. But the keys themselves are a joy to type on. The two halves are built like tanks - there is a lot of weight in there. The wrist rests are very comfortable and a big step up from most of these things in quality.

Matias now advertises the ability to use a lot of the additional keys for macros, which isn't something that I've tried yet - but seems like a very handy feature.

As to its main purpose - a more ergonomic posture - I'm using it in the tented layout and finding it very comfortable. It is shorter than a full size keyboard, but then if you space the two halves out, and take account of the wrist rests, you do need a reasonable amount of desk space.

All in all, I'd say it is worth every penny if you are experiencing discomfort from your current typing position. Having a Mac layout is important, and this is one of the few ergonomic keyboards to offer the layout. Definitely recommended.
  Anonymous  19/11/2018
The number of configurations for tilt, while not infinite, are easily enough to alleviate tension that would normally be carried in my wrists causing pain and weakness.
  T. Hildmann  04/12/2017
Typing most of my working time my keyboard is very important to me. This one is really great. It feels good, sounds good making my life a little bit enjoyable. Some time ago I had some serious problems with my back. Using this ergo keyboard helps a lot.

It would be perfect if I could get it with a German Mac layout.

Thanks you for this great tool!
  Daniel M  29/10/2017
The keyboard is really fantastic. Nice touch, easy to adjust, much easier on my wrists than a normal keyboard. I would highly recommend this keyboard for anyone who spends a lot of time typing.

I would also highly recommend The Keyboard Company. I had some problems with the original keyboard that I purchased, and the exchange process was handled in a very satisfactory manner. Although the process didn't go perfectly, the communication was clear throughout and I got the sense that Helen (the customer service manager) really cared about making things right.
  K. Kaland  10/04/2017
This is a great keyboard. I am coming in from a Kinesis Freestyle 1, and this feels better. The mechnical keyswitches really are all they're cracked up to be; they make me a more accurate and faster typist. The sound is also fairly pleasant for me...and it's not much different noise-wise than the Freestyle.

The navigation cluster is interesting. I like where they've put the second Ctrl key; less stretching. I don't use the undo-cut-copy-paste row very much, but I use the Fn key all the time. My only qualm is that there's no right-side Option key. I wish I could remap the second Ctrl key to it, but I don't really like Karabiner-Elements on macOS, so I'm just tolerating it.

The keyboard is also very customizable, since it just uses tripod screw holes in the back. I plan to try to achieve negative tilt without the armrests using these somehow.

None of this is bad enough to take away a star. This is a good keyboard.
  M. Suleman  02/01/2020
FK403Q-US is the most comfortable keyboard I've ever used. First impressions: The feeling of stability in tent configuration has to be experienced to be believed. Build quality is outstanding. Switches feel crisper in their tactility than the UK PC version. Key caps also lookfeel smoother, look better quality and are more stable. The layout feels better than Kinesis Freestyle 2 Mac US or Goldtouch v1 and build quality is a couple of levels above those boards. Tactility and comfort feel better than the full TKL variable 45g Topre boards I've owned. I've experienced no sticking repeating keys or build quality issues of any kind after about 10 days of use. This is the second keyboard purchased from the Keyboard Co. and customer service has been exemplary. I visited and was given impeccable advice both from software and hardware angle and was given ample time to try many different switches and layouts to make sure I was getting a good fit for my purpose (mobile development cloud configuration). About as quiet as a tactile switch is going to get.
  janp  14/11/2018
Just to say this, I have ordered three of these keyboards through last years. Not because any of them failed, but just as I needed different versions (PCMAC, silent) to cover every machine I'm working on (both home and office).
I'm not a snob about the quality of the switches, these are comfy for me. What I do like the most about it is the fact that I can tilt it outwards, thus giving my wrists much needed rest.
Layout is great although it took me a while initially to get used to it.
I've seen other reviews in various places mentioning ghosting issues or any other key press problems. I did experience it once with one of my models on OSX, this I do believe was related to the OSX issue itself as the same keyboard wasn't problematic on High Sierra or now on Mojave.
  E.Martinez  12/10/2017
Despite having one published book to my name, and hundreds of published articles, I still don't type well. After a recent job translating over 300,000 words I developed shoulder and neck pains and finally decided to take the plunge with an ergonomic keyboard. Now training myself to use the correct fingers on the type pad, I am delighted to be tension-free while writing. The keys are really comfy, and the board has a solid, quality-feel to it. After experimenting with the tilt and tenting, I find the top edges of the boards need a little support for when you start hammering- the back-space key is rather a stretch- and when hammering away, the keyboard needs support in that top right hand corner. However, this is probably due to my typing style (or lack thereof). The wrist pads are superb and all in all this is a five star product for Mac users.
  M. Barrett  20/03/2017
Absolutely love this keyboard. Got carpal tunnel using a standard keyboard at work (fast-paced job with a good deal of note-taking) and this has totally saved me. Very comfortable to use.
  Probably the best mechanical keyboard I've ever used  31/03/2016
I am a keyboard fetishist, owning well over a dozen mechanical keyboards, including exceedingly expensive ones I've brought back from Japan with exotic keyswitches. None have compared to this keyboard. Matias have recaptured the feel of the Alps Cream keyswitches. They keyboard is essentially as silent as a rubber dome, but they've done it on a mechanical switch that is simply a dream to type on. The keys are solid, with just the right amount of back pressure before yielding smoothly downward. Feels far better than either Cherry MX Blue or Brown. Would absolutely recommend the keyboard to anyone!

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