Ad in Windows 98 SE CD - Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite
26The Microsoft Natural Keyboard has had several upgrades and refreshes since its introduction. The first of these was the Natural Keyboard Elite, introduced in February 1998 at a retail price of US$64.95 (equivalent to $108 in 2021). Like the original Natural Keyboard, the Elite was manufactured by Key Tronic, who also assisted in its development.
The Elite features a nonstandard layout of the six-key navigation/edit key cluster normally found above the cursor keys (Ins/Del, Home/End, and PgUp/PgDn). Another common criticism of the Elite is that the arrow keys' inverted-T layout has been changed into a cross-like layout, with left/right arrows keys side by side and up/down keys bracketing them from above and below, increasing the distance between the vertical keys. Another significant change was the keyboard's adjustable feet. While the original Microsoft Natural Keyboard had feet in the front to generate reverse tilt, the Elite and its successors have their feet in the back. The Natural Keyboard Elite was manufactured in at least two different color schemes; white with black lettering and black with white lettering.