Digital Trends

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Do you feel the pain when you type? Kinesis's FreeStyle V3 and Multi-Tent accessories make its ergonomic Solo keyboard adaptable to a wide range of needs.

Peripheral and accessories maker Kinesis has been devoted to making keyboards, mice, footswitches, and other input devices for folks who have trouble with everyday keyboards and pointing devices. And let's face it: many of us know firsthand that the more we type, the more time we spend wondering if there's a better, less painful way to get things done.

Kinesis' Frestyle Solo splittable keyboard (available for PC and Mac users) is a big step in that direction for many users, offering completely separate keyboard modules that can be placed any distance apart and at any angle. Angling and separating keyboard sections is useful for folks with limited mobility or injuries, but folks with limited wrist rotation often need to "tent" their keyboards—lift them up in the middle so they can be used with the wrists in a more-neutral position.

To meet that need, Kinesis has launched two new accessories designed to make the Solo keyboards even more adaptable: the Freestyle V3 and the Freestyle Ascent Multi-Tent. The V3 clips onto the base of the Solo keyboard and enables users to set slope settings of 5, 10, and 15 degrees without using any tools. The Ascent Multi-Tent enables both vertical and variable keyboard tenting, letting users independently set the tenting angle of each module in 10 degree increments from 20 all the way up to 90 degrees. The Multi-Tent attaches to the Solo keyboard with screws; a linking plate can be attached without tools to hold the keyboard sections at a desired separation.

The Freestyle Solo keyboards carry a suggested retail price of $99; the Freestyle V3 tenting accessory is $24.95 and the Multi-text runs $199.