Microsoft Wireless Comfort Desktop 5000

Product Survey: Keyboards

But why is it a 'comfort' keyboard though? Well, like Logitech did with the K350, Microsoft has set the keys in a gentle curve rather than in straight rows, in the hope of allowing your wrists to adopt a more natural, and therefore more comfortable, position. The current trend is for thin keyboards that look like they've been borrowed from laptops, but Microsoft hasn't jumped on the bandwagon. The whole thing is very solid, with deep keys. They are well set, though, given a dull sound while you type, even with the space bar. As you can see in the photo above, the keyboard includes a wrist rest that looks very much like it's made of rubber. Appearances can be deceptive though: rather than being soft and comfortable like the Logitech K350's, it's actually made of hard plastic. It doesn't really manage to do the job we'd expect of it. Underneath are four slots (two at the front and two at the back) which can house an optional stand. That gives three possible combinations: you can either tilt the keyboard backwards or forwards or leave it to lie flat. We preferred this last option, as with the other two, the keyboard sloped too much, which was uncomfortable. The Wireless Comfort 500 has no fewer than 126 keys.