Microsoft have released Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop consisting of the Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard, the Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse and a number pad – and here is our review.
The Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop, optimised for Windows, offers a uniquely modern design and amazingly comfortable feel. This set of accessories draws on Microsoft’s vast design experience to offer comfort and support. Encouraging relaxed and natural positioning, the Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop is ideal to rid yourself of the aches and pains which result from your everyday working life.
The set includes:
Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse
· Designed to maximise wrist comfort
· Windows button to provide instant access to the Start screen
· 4-Way scrolling to navigate up, down, left and right
· Back button for faster navigation
· Thumb scoop helps maintain the correct ergonomic forearm position
Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard
· Split keyboard design maintains natural forearm positioning
· Cushioned palm rest, domed keyboard and reverse tilt angles offer a neutral wrist position
· Natural Arc key layout designed for natural curved shape of fingertips
· Reverse tilt angles the keyboard to promote a straight natural wrist position
Number Pad
· Separate number pad offers flexibility and personalisation of the workplace
A Closer Look
The Sculpt Ergonomic keyboard perfectly integrates with Windows 8. The keyboard hotkeys provide shortcuts to the most commonly used keyboard functions.
And the Sculpt Ergonomic mouse has both a Windows button for one-touch access to the Windows 8 Start screen and a back button just under it too.
There is a separate keyboard rest that you can choose to use, or not, depending on your typing preference.
With the rest in use it makes using the keyboard more comfortable and natural.
There is a small switch that enables a different mode on the function keys.
The spacebar is split into two which helps with a more comfortable typing posture.
The mouse also requires batteries, and the USB dongle for connecting the keyboard and mouse to your PC is also stored on the underside of the mouse.
Final Thoughts
As with the other keyboards from Microsoft, the first thing you notice about the keyboard is its shape. It’s split in the middle and it has a cushioned palm rest attached. This isn’t the first ergonomic keyboard Microsoft has produced and they have been very popular – I even had one for a while. They do take a little getting used to but once you are used it them it does feel more comfortable using it, especially for extended periods of time.
For users moving over to Windows 8, the fact this keyboard has Windows 8 hotkeys will certainly make the transition easier, and faster! I found myself using the hotkeys more than I thought I would and I really liked that Microsoft included a switch so that I didn’t need to hold down another key to activate those hotkeys and I could easy switch them off if I need the function keys instead.
Connecting it to my PC was simple – I just plugged in the 2.4 GHz wireless transceiver into a spare USB port and Windows did the rest.
The mouse was very comfortable to use and I found myself constantly using the Windows button on the side of it to swap back and forth between screens. This does actually take a little getting used to as there is also a back button under it, so practice makes perfect with this mouse.
At first I found the size and the shape of the mouse to be a little odd – but after I while I became used to that as well and I actually found that prolonged use of the mouse was quite comfortable.
I really liked the number pad, and for those users who do a lot of number entry and use spread sheets this will be of real benefit. The only slight negative was that the number pad doesn’t have any sort of wrist support so prolonged used may cause some slight discomfort.
Another great feature of buying the Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop as a set, rather than buying the three items separately (other than the price), is that they all use a single USB wireless dongle, which will save you two USB ports on your computer. It may not sound like a big deal, but it is!
As usual with hardware that uses batteries, make sure you either have a spare set (or two) ready just in case, and in fact consider swapping the batteries for a set of rechargeable ones, it will save you money in the long run!
Overall I liked the keyboard and the mouse, once I got used to using them, it felt natural and comfortable to use and the Windows 8 hotkeys save me a lot of time and effort. In fact, when I went back to a normal keyboard and mouse I found myself missing them.
The Desktop range consists of the Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard, the Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse and a number pad, with the whole package retailing for £99.99 and available from now.
