Thinkpad keyboard for my T42 (14") - Norwegian version

[JMCS]

Looking for a Norwegian keyboard for my T42 (just got from ebay with an english keyboard). If you you have a Norwegian keyboard that would fit a T42 with a 14" screen, or know where I could order one I would be very happy. If anyone needs an English keyboard that has seen very little use I would like to sell the one that came with the computer.

[Johan]

Welcome to the forum!

If you go to Keyboard service parts - ThinkPad T40/p, T41/p, T42/p you will see that there are two different Norvegian keyboards for 14.1" T42's, being the FRU (Field Replacable Unit) 08K5052, which is manufactured by the company NMB, and then the 13N9839 which manufactured by the company CHICONY. Many users are happy for the NMB keyboards - search the T4x forum for (many!) user reports comparing these different brands.. e.g. T42 Thai (NMB), China (Alps) Keyboard Impressons (long) - but beware the the Thai-made NMB keyboards are no longer available; the NMB's are nowadays in China - and the "feel" of the Chinese version is slightly different, in my opinion.

In Denmark, and probably also in Norway, it is cheapest to simply buy replacement keyboards as original spareparts from IBM; see IBM Norge - Spare parts site; here you will see that the NMB (08K5052) cost NOK 260 + VAT while the Chicony (13N9839) does not seem to be in stock right now (?). Unless some forum member offer you a Norwegian keyboard, I would recommend that you order a new one (or two - to keep one as a spare!) directly from IBM - absolutely worth the money... especially for a Norwegian peson, having direct access to more than $ 1000B++ oil out in the North Sea!

Best regards,

Johan

[JMCS]

Thank you for all that info, and thabnks for welcoming me to the forum Actually I have talked to IBM Norway about the 260 + VAT keyboard, the sad thing is that they want 270 for shipping it (260 * 1.25(vat) = 325 + 270 = 595 (or 116 USD). Seeing lots of IBM T42 keyboards selling for around 20 USD on ebay(English versions mostly) I feel a little silly if I have to pay 6 times as much It's not that its such a fortune(we are used to paying an arm and a leg for IBM equipement here in Norway), but this is an old computer and with the GPU issue hanging over my head I don't know how long it will last either(luckily I have warranty until november this year ). I got this computer because it was going to be an inexpensive laptop, and spending 116 usd on a keyboard when I paid 400 usd for the computer feels kind of silly. Maybe if I had got a T61(that was the original Idea I would feel more comfortable spending such money on a keyboard). To bad I didn't find this forum before I bought the computer(reading about the GPU issues) my choise might would have been different, but the thing is I liked my work computer (T43p) just the size was a bit to big(15") so I got this T42(14") wich is both smaller and more silent and I must say I really like it, not sure I would have liked a widescreen T61 as much even tho it would probably have been much faster and would run VS2008 better..

[Johan]

Actually I have talked to IBM Norway about the 260 + VAT keyboard, the sad thing is that they want 270 for shipping it (260 * 1.25(vat) = 325 + 270 = 595 (or 116 USD)

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... but this is an old computer and with the GPU issue hanging over my head I don't know how long it will last either (luckily I have warranty until november this year

First, with respect to finding a (cheap!) 14.1." Norwegian keyboard, I understand why you hesitate to pay IBM/Norway this much. I just Google'd a bit after the NMB keyboard (08K5052), and a few interesting hits came up, incl. this one, which is a bit cheaper... (although used to an unknown extent) and this one which you may perhaps offer the seller "an optional price" for (as it is of course not going to sell for NOK 500).

As for your remaining warranty (which you are so happy to have!), this may be useful in Norway, or it may not - if you wish, see the experience I recently had with obtaining an International Warranty Service (repair) on an "USA-born" T42p in the thread IBM/Denmark deny to honor warranty confirmed by IBM-Support. Prepare yourself for a similar experience in Norway, if you are unlucky to e.g. face the "loose GPU" problem later on.

And we in Denmark (and probably also all across the rest of Europe) are also paying two to three times as much for ThinkPads, compared to the prices in the USA... that's life!

Best regards,

Johan

[JMCS]

Thanks for the links I have also checked with IBM with the warranty and they assured me it would not be a troublem, but as your post prove it might be a problem even what they said. Well I'm keeping the T42 to se what happends(hoping it will work for a while). Actually I did work at two companies that do surface mounting and worked with this stuff for two years(before I got into software engineering) so I might be able to get it fixed. What happened to your computer Johan, have you got it fixed yet?