Perixx PERIBOARD-506 Wired Ergonomic Split USB Keyboard with Trackball, 0.98 Inch Trackball

I was looking for an wired, ergonomic keyboard with built-in mouse-like features so I could use the keyboard in my lap. For my needs, this keyboard is the champion until someone builds a better one.There are times when I like to do computing work in my swivel, rocker La-Z-Boy chair with my feet up or down, and the keyboard in my lap. A separate mouse is not practical in this situation. I also wanted wired because I don't want to deal with more batteries or with potential security risks associated with wireless keyboards. This keyboard is the right tool for this job.At the time of this writing, reviews ranging from 5* to 1* were 24-15-11-18-32, so reviewers tended toward the extremes with less in the middle. My observation of the lower rated reviews is that they had some complaint but they didn't contact the vendor's customer service. I contacted the vendor and had a positive experience. My issue was that I had one sticky key. The vendor promptly directed me to a youtube video and if my problem wasn't solved offered to replace the keyboard for free. After viewing that clip and clips from others, I simply used a small screw driver to gently pry the key away from the keyboard. Then I sprayed a little WD40 (which may or may not be needed) through the accompanying directional straw and wiped up the excess. Then I pressed the key back in place. It basically took 2 minutes or less and the key has been fine since; it doesn't stick anymore. You don't need to watch a video to do thisThe other thing I noticed is that reviewers tended to compare this keyboard to some utopian keyboard. For example, the trackball (and its associated left and right clicks) could not be reached without removing your hands from the keys. This is true but point me to another wired, ergonomic keyboard that has a trackball where you don't have to do this. I don't think it exists. And reaching for it on the keyboard is still easier than the reaching for a separate mouse. While the trackball works great, I do find an ergonomic mouse a little easier to maneuver/control. But comparing a built-in trackball to a standalone mouse is not an apples-to-apples comparison. If you you want the best that a mouse has to offer, then why are you buying this keyboard. And let's face it, a good ergonomic mouse can be purchased at low cost. If you want the best of both worlds, you can do what I do. I plug the wireless receiver of my ergonomic mouse into the one of the two USB female slots on this keyboard. For quick things, I use the laptop keyboard and wireless mouse. When I'm sitting for extended periods I use this keyboard and its trackball.Regarding the padding for the wrist, I've used both padded and hard plastic. For me, I don't find a huge difference either way. All things considered, I actually prefer the hard plastic for it being more durable and for the cleaner appearance after years of use.With respect to typing, it makes a little more noise than my other keyboards, but I don't find it loud or annoying. If I was working in a confined, shared space with others (who weren't wearing headphones), I might feel a little self conscious, but I would feel much more self conscious about the noise coming from a phone conversation under the same conditions.

***NOTE*** This review pertains to MY EXPERIENCE, not the value/quality of the keyboard.The keyboard itself operated fine, and I really liked the feel of the keys and their responsiveness. Unfortunately, the mouse was unresponsive, glitchy, and jumpy. The absence of a scroll wheel/button was an additional inconvenience - more so than I would have anticipated. Using Fusion 360 was VERY cumbersome, and I didn't imagine just how much so, until I pulled up Fusion, and started attempting typical motions usually accomplished with the mouse. I don't blame the keyboard, for this, but it is something for a Fusion 360 user to consider (HEAVILY), when shopping for a keyboard.Moreover, a couple of the joints in the cardboard packaging were torn in a manner indicating that this box has been opened, previously. While I don't believe that this had any impact on the performance, it is certainly unexpected of a product that was listed as a new unit - no indication on the page that this was a refurb unit. I was disappointed, as I had high hopes for this unit. I am a big keyboard shortcut fan, so I underestimated the extent to which the mouse would impact my experience, just a bit. I will continue my search for a better fit in a combination unit. I only took away two stars, because there are a number of factors outside of the control of the manufacturer that may also have played a factor in the performance of this device. Given that ANY device will behave differently under a different OS (Windows 10), USB drivers, additional connected devices, etc., I can't place the entirety of the performance deficiency on the device alone, in good conscience, without a deeper investigation. Unfortunately, I simply don't have the time for such action, given the plethora of additional options available.

Similar to the MS Ergonomic keyboard in size and shape. A little wider, no front tip. Key presses are ok, but the tolerances are wide giving the switches a sloppy feeling. The index points on the home row (F & J) are a little too small, and are easily missed. The lack of a pad for the heel if the hand makes it feel cheap. The integrated ball mouse, in theory is great, but in this execution not so much. First the ball is too small. The ball placement is just out of reach of either thumb requiring hand repositioning. The right and left mouse buttons are even further away, forcing both hands to leave the home rows. If these concerns were addressed, this keyboard would be the bomb, is it is, its little more than a dud-firecracker.

I have been looking for an all-in-one solution because my desk has a great keyboard tray but not an optimal location for a mouse... I tried a wireless keyboard with trackball a few months ago, but hated the latency and skipping associated with the wireless connection. This unit with the usb connection is responsive and agile. I love it! It will take a while for me to change my automatic reach for the now non-existant mouse. But I am SO HAPPY for the improved posture this new all-in-one keyboard offers!

I was looking for an ergonomic keyboard with a little more pizzazz than the old Microsoft keyboard 4000. Not interested in cordless limits my selections. This one stood out because the pictures looked nice and the trackball was intriguing. However once I had it in hand and I could examine the cheap plastic quality I was disappointed. For $30 more than the MS keyboard I was expecting an upgrade in quality. It was certainly a downgrade. The trackball didn't work out either, they don't supply a separate driver for it so I had to share pointer speed with my mouse, and I had to choose from the mouse being too slow to be useful or the trackball being too sensitive to be usable.Pros:- USB (I have enough batteries in my life)- Ergonomic- Great keyboard layoutCons:- Cheap quality- Poor trackball implementation.- Expensive.

Big engineering boo-boo. The trackball cannot be removed for cleaning. I have used many trackballs over the years, and currently use the Logitech M 570 with several computers. All the other trackballs I've ever owned allow the user to pop out the track all to remove grease, dust, etc. all of these factors degrade track all accuracy. This is a absolutely necessary part of the use of any trackball. If you don't clean your trackball, it will become useless very quickly as dirt and dust naturally accumulates inside. For some reason, this unit is designed with no way to remove the trackball. Duh! so that's a dealbreaker in itself. The other problem I discovered is that, although in concept it sounds nice to have a built in trackball in the center of the keyboard (thereby eliminating the need for a mouse in theory), that was not my experience that all. If the trackball is located in the center of the keyboard, that means that every time you need to do any malfunction, you are reaching across this front of your body towards the center of your chest (i.e. the center of the keyboard) to click or whatever. How in heaven's name is that considered economic!? It is not. The natural position of the right arm and right hand (for example if you're using a right trackball position) is towards the right of your body. You should be able to reach straight across (as with my Logitech separate trackball, which is positioned in the normal mouse position to the right of my keyboard) NOT reaching to your left across your body, into the center of the keyboard area. That becomes quite painful very quickly. So this is dealbreaker number 2. The trackball cannot be clean, and it is goofy to put the built-in trackball in the center of the keyboard. I would think that, if anywhere, such a built in trackball should be positioned on the right-hand side of the keyboard underneath the numeric pad. Of course, this is just for a right-handed person such as myself. I guess in the real world, they would need to have 2 versions of this configuration, and the other one would be with the trackball over on the left for left-handed persons. Anyway, I sent this back for refund from our dear friends Amazon prime. MUCH BETTER RECOMMENDATION: JUST GET THE REGULAR PERIXX Ergonomic Keyboard (it looks identical to this trackball model, but does not have the extra trackball built in). I love the no-trackball Perixx ergonomic keyboard! It is the most perfect alignment of my wrists and fingers I have ever found in a keyboard. (I actually raise the level of the wrist pad higher on my table, by putting a small piece of one by one inch lumber underneath it, because I find that more comfortable, rather than raising the other far end of the keyboard – – you have to experiment to see what you like best). So that's my suggestion, go get the regular non-trackball Perixx Ergonomic Keyboard here at Amazon prime. It works much better than the Microsoft or other competing brands, and you can see my separate review of that keyboard under the product here on Amazon.

Comfortable for the wrists and arms but the spread of the keys are a bit far and I've experienced more typing errors than with my other keyboards. Also would like to have more media hot keys. I prefer the Perixx mini keyboard 407. I am not petite and my fingers are not short. This keyboard just feels large. Probably more suitable for people with bigger hands.

This is a unique keyboard: ergonomic layout and built-in trackball. For me (A MS 4000/7000 and Logitech/SpeedLink trackball user) this looked like an ideal replacement as this would allow me to use the trackball without moving my right hand 20 cm.Things I liked/disliked:* The keyboard itself is noisy, but typing is fast and reliable. I can get used to typing fast on this keyboard.* For me, the keyboard is too "flat" compared with the MS keyboard. I prefer my hands slightly more tilted on the horizontal axis. Vertical axis rotation of the hands was OK. I also prefer the slightly curved layout of the keys on the MS keyboard over the straight line layou of the Perixx* The trackball is fast (easily adjusted in mouse control panel), accurate and reliable. I see no possibility though to easily clean the trackball, or it's bearings. That's a frequent necessity on ALL trackballs I used in the last 25 years, so this will not be different. Looks like you need to dismantle the keyboard completely to clean the trackball. An absolute red flag for me.* The left/right buttons of the trackball are in a good location, but are difficult to find by feel. They're only very slightly raised. To make matters worse, I found the buttons hard to press reliably - you must really press absolutely vertically. Often had to make two or even three presses to get a mouse click. Maybe one can adjust to this over time, maybe not.

This is a poor quality keyboard. Keys stick, do not function at all or a hard press is required.The keyboard constantly adds extra tab spaces or will without warning exit the application entirely.A much better quality wired ergonomic keyboard is the Microsoft ergonomic keyboard.

The keyboard is quite noisy so not the best for a quiet office environment. The most important thing is that I can't have my hand an forearm aligned when typing. That's because there is no cushion or something on the base of the keyboard and my wrist gets tired pretty fast.