ZDNET's key takeaways The Naya Create keyboard is available now starting at $500, with additional modules sold separately.
It's very well-built and well-designed, with a breadth of customization options that let you go as deep as you want.
It's expensive, and the learning curve requires dedication. View now at Naya
I've tested a few split keyboards over the past year, and they all have one thing in common: You really have to be committed to the cause. Rewiring your brain to an all-new keyboard format requires time, patience, and a little bit of work.
But it's easier than you think, and there's a market for it. Plenty of consumers are looking for ergonomic, alternative solutions to the flat, plastic keyboards we've all been hammering away at for our entire lives.
Also: I switched to a split ergonomic keyboard for a week, and it's spoiled every other peripheral for me
The latest split keyboard I've tested, the Naya Create, is both a deconstruction of the traditional keyboard setup and something entirely new. It's a wired split keyboard that can be positioned in unconventional ways, including at an angle, or spaced far apart, allowing the user to keep both arms neutral in front of them.
The result is a keyboard that looks and feels more like a tactile control center than the standard keyboard/trackpad setup we're all familiar with. This is especially true with the boards angled, which allows you to rest your arms on the desk without having to lift and rotate your wrists.
Once you start trying to type, however, you realize you can't stare at the screen while your fingers fly. In fact, during my first few days using the keyboard, my eyes were glued to it. But it doesn't take long before you get to an operational threshold.
Looking at the device's physical form, one of the biggest changes is the additional, customizable buttons that don't exist on a regular keyboard. Also, both sides feature a space bar (it turns out most of us actually only use the same thumb to hit the space bar while the other one just... hovers there). This way, you can utilize space on both hands.
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