Keyboard quality 600x --> T4xx / T5xx

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A friend of mine gave me 2 old 600E's which he found in his storage. They keyboard quality on them is very good, I have use T4x, R4x, R5x, and T6x's and with every newer version the keyboard does not have the same responsiveness.

Does anyone feel this.

Also is there any possibility in the future that full size Ctrl & Alt keys will be restored or atleast have Ctrl + Alt together on onside like other vendors ( dell, hp etc.. ) on the SMB / business models ?

[rkawakami]

Practically everybody who has ever used a 600 series keyboard notices .

[ThinkRob]

I think that the T410 has a better keyboard than the 600 series. Heresy! I know.

I've tried a 600 and a 600X, and while I love the "clicky" feel, they simply didn't feel as even and responsive as the T410. Yes, the backplate is exceptionally firm and it's definitely more uniformly-rigid than the one on the T410... but the activation point is uneven, and the higher travel gives it a lot more of a "loose" feeling compared to the T410. The QC on the T410 seems worse though, so I did have to shim and re-seat the keyboard before it was acceptable.. so I suppose I'd revise my stance to say that a properly shimmed T410 keyboard is superior to a 600-series one.

My all-time favorite keyboards were found on the X40 series. Some of them are pretty lousy (I can't remember which manufacturer was the inconsistent one off the top of my head -- but one of them is quite poor), and sometimes you'll find used X40s with keyboards that were removed and replaced improperly (in my experience, the right half tends to not be seated correctly), but a well-maintained X40 keyboard ranks right up there with one of the better boards that I've ever used. The X6x-series is a close second. I think it has to do with the small frame and tightly-packed construction not allowing for much warping... but either way, the X4x and X6x keyboards can be quite enjoyable to type on.

[JaneL]

Does anyone feel this.

Well, everyone except ThinkRob!

or atleast have Ctrl + Alt together on onside like other vendors ( dell, hp etc.. ) on the SMB / business models ?

Dear lord, I hope not!