My favorite keyboard of all time is the Apple Keyboard II. It was heavy, silent, and I could fly on it. I’m not a very fast or accurate typist (sorry about the archaic term, but I actually learned on manual Royal typewriters in high school). I tell everyone I type 35 mistakes a minute. Stop laughing, it’s not really a joke.

With repetitive stress injuries on the rise as more and more folks are entering data, I wondered if this keyboard would keep me from feeling the burn when I type long passages of text, such as this review. I don’t do long items very often, so my arms and wrists, especially, do get tired as I type.

The Goldtouch keyboard is an actual Mac keyboard, built with an Apple key and everything. The keyboard is broken in two, with a ball in the middle to swivel the two parts. You can angle the keyboard up and out so that your wrists are straight and your hands angled in a comfortable position. Once you find the right position, a handle locks the configuration in place. I found that a slight angle from level was best for me. Once I found a comfortable angle, I didn’t have much trouble with the keys (more on that later). and the burn wasn’t there. The multiple adjustments seem to do what the Key Ovation folks say they do. Your mileage may vary. It would take longer than an hour and several doctors to prove what I sensed in this review.

The Good

The keyboard has multiple adjustments to alleviate stress on your fingers, arms and wrists. It also has a good feel to it. It was easy to type on, better than the standard Mac keyboard. But for $140 it better be better than the one that came with your computer. The keys are more tapered than the box-like keys on the Mac keyboard, making it easier for those of us with fat fingers to hit the right key instead of several at a time. There is also an optional number keypad, but more on that later.

I really like that this company has made a keyboard specifically for Macs. I hate it when I have to figure out which key is the option, which the control and which the command (Apple). It even has a power key, which worked on the iMac and MacBook Pro I tried it on. There are also sound adjustment keys and a CD eject key. The adjustment mechanism worked flawlessly. The keyboard is built well and feels sturdy. The lights noting caps and number lock are easy to see, even at a slight glance.

The Bad

Two obvious problems. First is the lack of a USB port on the keyboard for the mouse. Most Mac users plug the mouse into the low-power USB hub in their Apple keyboards. If you use the Apple Mighty Mouse, you are going to have to find a way to get your mouse within 30 inches of your Mac if you want to use this keyboard. The number pad adds such a hub, but it adds $40 to the cost and, according to the information on the Key Ovation web site, the number pad is not compatible with any Dual Core Intel machine, meaning any Intel iMac or laptop. The keyboard works fine, but my review keyboard did not come with the number pad to test that out. Second, the USB cord was gray. Yes, that’s picky. But if Mac users weren’t picky, we’d be using Windows machines. Is it that hard for them to buy white cords to match both the keyboard and most consumer Macs?

Third, there is no manual included in the package. They make you go to the Web site to download it. Most keyboards do not need a manual (plug in and type), but for something like this where not everyone pays close attention to ergonomics and might make it worse by using this keyboard incorrectly, I think there should be a manual included. There is a caution about ergonomics on the bottom of the keyboard, but I’d already used the keyboard for an hour before I noticed it and read it. 

The Ugly

I never did get used to the non-standard placement of the keys. The keyboard is 15 inches long, as opposed to the Apple keyboard, which is 17 inches long. Key Ovation lists this as a feature, saying it leaves more room to ergonomically use your mouse. And some of the size is taken up by the break in the middle so that you can position the halves of the keyboard. The size is similar to the old iMac keyboards without the keypad, which, of course, this one does not have either. So the keyboard layout is different. It could be that with a few days use, you would get used to it.

I’m able to go from my MacBook Pro keyboard to an Apple desktop keyboard without problems, so I figure the adjustment wouldn’t be that bad. A numbers lock key allows you to use part of the keyboard as a number pad similar to how Apple does it on its portables. However, if you have an older Mac without a two-button mouse, the location of the control key (used to implement contextual menus) is too far away from the left Option key to be of any use without looking for it. And the home key is right next to the delete key, so as this review got longer, I kept going to the top of it when I missed the delete key and hit home.

The Key Ovation Goldtouch keyboard is US$139 for the keyboard alone or bundled with a number keypad for $179. If you (or your doctors) insist on an ergonomic keyboard, this one is a good choice. It requires Mac OS 10.4 ("Tiger") or better.

Macsimum Rating: 6.5 out of 10