It's not blasphemy to like the TE and find qualities about it superior to Kinesis. You make many great points about this, no need to justify buddy
I think there has been with several of us (myself included) with short patience with the armchair quarterbacking praise of the TE a year before it came out, it always sounded odd and disingenuous. Which is why some of the accusations got thrown around, since the statements sounded somewhat suspicious, and the "company" does not communicate. A word to define this would be "Frustration".
As far as the $300 statement goes, we can all just stop that silly talk right now. Anyhow higher cost does not mean it's better. If it's better, people are willing to pay more, the market dictates. I agree with Lanx (because the guy's an animal and I'm somewhat afraid of him) that the Kinesis is topped out at almost $300. And NO ONE is going to buy the TE for $250+ except the guys mother. $300 slam dunk my ass.
Regarding what is better, split and curved keywells or angled and flat, of course it depends on a few factors, but more importantly I don't think a direct comparison can be made. They're just too different, not better or worse. That being said, some will prefer one or the other. Hell, I have friends that 'prefer' Pabst Blue Ribbon. Meh.
And the evolutionary scale of the TE and Kinesis, obviously the Kinesis is a more highly designed, featured, and evolved product. This does not inherently make it "better". Again, I think it's more of an issue of being very different. I'm not saying this to keep the peace with everybody here (for all I care ya'll can go screw yerselves with a barrel of Pabst Blue Ribbon in a field), but a direct comparison is inappropriate. A more general comparison is a far more informative and it's not so much about rating something as it is illustrating it's perceived pros and cons and fitting the need appropriately.
I'm disagree with the statement Architect makes that TE 'takes it a step further'? The center row? Yes, you need to take your fingers off home row, that's a step further. The two movement clusters (which I like), yep, take your fingers off home row for another step further. The F-key row (with Cherry switches thank god), mmmm, yea take a step further and get your fingers off the home row AGAIN. Ok, ok...I agree with the statement after all. I guess we can be BFFs.
TE has some very nice stuff. Some very qualified people here whose opinions I value have made some strong statements (pros and cons). Gerk and Rag are right, the keyboard probably is a bit misleading, and actually using it is a better experience than it would seem. I think some of the grittiness we're seeing about the TE is the repeated "it's better than a Kinesis" and the not-so-robust back up to solidify those claims. I believe the TE needs to stand on it's own and not be compared to anything. It is what it is, and it ain't gonna be what's it's never gonna be. And, for the record, it ain't no Kinesis. Wait till mid-late 2012 when our TE clone and a couple others become available...I'll be keeping everyone here informed, the contact will be via phone, email, letter, etc.
I'm curious, since the original discussion was of ergonomics, WHAT IS MORE ERGONOMIC? Oh yea, we have no data on TE. Call the company, oh yea, there's no phone number. Email them, oh yea, you might get a response, you might not.
Disclaimer: I am in no way employed by, invested with, or have family involved with TE in any way, shape or form.