9
results in extension of the muscles and tendons in your hands, which prevents your
muscles from operating at maximum efficiency and causes rapid fatigue.
Cherry low
-
force mechanical keyswitches —
Choice of MX Brown or MX
“
Quiet
Red
”
All Advantage2 keyboards feature Cherry® MX full travel mechanical switches for all of
the full
-
size keys and Cherry ML mechanical switches for the half
-
size function keys.
Cherry switches are known for their reliability and durability—
MX switches are rated for
more than 50M keystrokes, ML switches for 20M keystrokes.
The best
-
selling Advantage2 model (KB600) uses Cherry
“
Brown
”
switches, a low
-
force, tactile switch that
offers the ultimate in typing performance and comfort. Cherry first built the Brown
-
stem switch to Kinesis
’
custom specifications in 1992, and it has since been adopted as one of the switches of choice for all of the
major mechanical keyboard manufacturers, ergonomic or otherwise.
“
Tactility
”
is a slightly elevated force around the midpoint of the stroke of the key which lets you know the
switch is about to be activated. A tactile response is preferred by many ergonomists, because it cues your
fingers that activation is about to occur and is thought to reduce the incidence of
“
bottoming out
”
the switch
with a hard impact. The peak (tactile) force is ~55gm, following by an activation force of ~45gm.
The Advantage2 LFQ model (KB600LFQ) utilizes the Cherry
“
Quiet Red
”
switches. These switches are
remarkably quiet and are thus preferred in a multi
-
worker environment. They also require the least effort to
operate, using the same great low activation force of the Brown
-
stem switches (~45gm) but without the
preliminary 55gm
“
tactile bump.
”
20
-
degree lateral tilt design
The contour design of the Advantage2 positions your hands so that your thumbs
are approximately twenty degrees higher than pinky fingers (Fig 6). This
“
tented
”
design helps to minimize stresses associated with pronation and static muscle
tension, while enabling maximum keying productivity.
Closer placement of function keys (Cherry ML mechanical switches)
Cherry ML low
-
force, tactile mechanical keys switches are used in the function key
row (Fig 7) for great typing feel, consistency, and long life. These keycaps are
laser legended. As on all Contoured keyboards, the function keys are positioned
closer to the alphanumeric keys to reduce the reach.
Smaller footprint
By removing the traditional numeric 10
-
key keypad and embedding it into the right
alphanumeric keywell in the Keypad layer, Kinesis was able to reduce the overall
width of the Advantage2 making it much smaller (16 5/8 x 8 1/8 x 3 inches) than a
traditional keyboard (Fig 8). This smaller footprint allows closer placement of any
pointing device, reducing over
-
reach issues.
LED Indicator Lights
There are four blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) located near the center of the
keyboard which are used to indicate the status of the keyboard. These LED
Indicator Lights will illuminate individually when one of the four basic modes are
active. From left to right, these modes are 1) Caps Lock, 2) Num Lock, 3) Scroll
Lock, and 4) Keypad layer.
The LED Indicator Lights are also used to indicate when the keyboard has been
placed into special programming mode using one of the onboard shortcuts. Certain
combinations of individual LEDs will flash, either fast or slow, and either one or more times, to indicate that
Fig 7. Closer function keys
Fig 5. Concave keywells
Fig 8. Smaller footprint
Fig 6. 20
-
degree lateral tilt
