Introduction

I had not heard of Evoluent until very recently, when a representative from Prestige International contacted me to see if I would be interested in covering their products. Prestige International is an international distributor who works with several manufacturers, including Evoluent, to help get the word out on their behalf. Evoluent primarily makes ergonomic peripherals, with their mice being popular enough to have made their way into my colleague's office at work. Their keyboards follow the trend of reducing the distance between the two hands of a human being on a keyboard and a mouse alike, but instead of doing so by reducing the keyboard's size, Evoluent preferred to provide a full keyboard experience at the same time. Thanks again to Prestige International for providing the review sample.


Aha, so this is how they went about reducing reach without sacrificing dedicated keys and their functionality - Evoluent chose to put the Num Pad on the left side of the keyboard instead. They actually do mention this version to be for right-handed users given the standard 104-key form factor helps left-handed uses already. This is not a new concept, mind you, but there are still woefully little options for people who want a dedicated Num Pad without having the mouse be further away than what their shoulder's width would dictate. At the same time, Evoluent has removed the navigation key cluster from its usual spot by integrating it into the space above the arrow key cluster for further space savings. So let us take a closer look at this keyboard by beginning with the specifications below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

Bare-bones packaging here as Evoluent has decided to go with a super simple, plain cardboard packaging. There is the company name on the box - the rest are just stickers that have been slapped on. There is also a flap on the side to help keep the contents inside in place.


Open the box and we see the keyboard and.. that's about it. No accessories included here, this is really as minimalistic as can be. The keyboard does come in a bubble wrap pouch, if you will, that helps protect it from all sides with a small cutout for the cable to come out of.