When comparing Kinesis Freestyle2 w/ VIP3 vs Ultimate Hacking Keyboard, the Slant community recommends Ultimate Hacking Keyboard for most people. In the question“What are the best keyboards for programming?” Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is ranked 18th while Kinesis Freestyle2 w/ VIP3 is ranked 29th. The most important reason people chose Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is:
The UHK has a split design, since two keyboard halves result in a more natural typing posture. The halves are connected by a bridge cable, which expands and contracts as needed, occupying minimal desk space. The halves can be merged together as one, which is useful for transportation purposes or if you happen to prefer a one-piece keyboard.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Ergonomic design
The Freestyle 2 has an ergonomic design, aimed to promote healthier and more comfortable typing.
Pro Reduces wrist pain
The wrist support offered by this keyboard alleviates wrist strain.
Pro Encourages "proper" touch typing
By splitting the left and right hand of the keyboard and leaving out a numeric pad it encourages users to use the home row numbers as typically taught in American English typing classes.
Pro Flexible positioning
The left and right side of the keyboard can be positioned independently and tilted as desired.
Pro Ergonomic design
The UHK has a split design, since two keyboard halves result in a more natural typing posture. The halves are connected by a bridge cable, which expands and contracts as needed, occupying minimal desk space. The halves can be merged together as one, which is useful for transportation purposes or if you happen to prefer a one-piece keyboard.
Pro Programmable
Through the use of an app called Agent, users can configure the UHK to their liking.
Pro Feature customization via add-on modules
You can attach trackpoint, trackball, trackpad and additional key clusters to the board. This allows for extensive feature customization, for increased productivity and convenience.
Pro No need to leave the home row
For maximum touch-typing productivity, one's hands should not leave the home row frequently. With conventional keyboards, this is not the case when navigation and function keys need to be used. On the HKB, via a thumb key press, several function layers can be activated, turning the home row keys into function keys.
Pro Modular and disassembly friendly
The UHK is modular and has disassembly instructions embossed onto components and even printed on the circuit board. It records use data, so when key switches have reached the end of its lifespan, users can replace them.
Cons
Con Not very solid
This keyboard's construction is not very sturdy and it feels flimsy.
Con Bad for spreadsheet work
Since it has no numeric pad, the Freestyle 2 is not convenient for spreadsheet work.
Con Has a learning curve after moving from full-sized keyboard
As with other 60% keyboards, a learning period is required for adjusting to the non-letter key positions.
Con Hard to use in parallel with standard keyboards
If you have multiple work environments (such as Home & Office) with different keyboards, the unique layout of this keyboard requires constant adjustments between the environments.