How Lenovo’s new Thinkpad chiclet keyboard differs from others
January 29, 2010 at 8:41 pm
As a seasoned Thinkpad user, I have to admit in being slightly horrified that Lenovo adopted a new chiclet (or isolation) style keyboard for its new 11.6-inch Thinkpad X100e and Edge 13”. The keyboard is one area in which Thinkpads have excelled and I can’t help but wonder whether the move to an isolation keyboard was more out of fashion than design.
However, Lenovo has outlined on its official blog the ways in which its chiclet keyboard differs from its competitors. The shape of the keys is a big difference, the top of the keys being concave in shape allowing your fingertips to hug the keys with ease. The keyboard has also been specially tuned with the same pantograph design as the original Thinkpads.
The keystroke pitch is 2.0mm, comparing to 2.5mm of the original Thinkpad keyboards. However, this pitch is still higher than many other chiclet keyboards out there. I’ve yet to touch the new keyboard myself, so until I do, I’ll be keeping an open mind.
Via Thinkpads [via Liliputing].
January 31st, 2010 7:37 PM
The Edge has 2.5mm of key-travel, same as old Thinkpads, but the x100e only has 2mm. Typical chicklet keyboards have a lot less. Key surfaces are a bit larger than older Thinkpads. The keyboard is faster and more comfortable to type on than old thinkpads, although some of this improvement is psychological due to the cleaner layout. Lenovo also removed a lot of the unnecessary buttons and double key presses, but the button locations can be remapped in bios and the keyboard is removable without having to take the machine apart, if you like to reconfigure your buttons.