Thinkpads Forum

The spacebar on my T60's keyboard has started missing, and even though I know the keyboard's a cheap & easy replacement, this may be what pushes me onto a new machine.

I see Lenovo has quit making the 7-row keyboard which was one of the Thinkpad's most attractive features for me. The other thing that's reduced my motivation to change is the end of the 4:3 screen, so you can see I'm a diehard.

I need a laptop with high vertical resolution and reasonably big pixels so my aging eyes can read the screen. I like the matte screen on my T60 but if the rest of the world lives with shiny screens, I guess I can adapt. But, if unused 7-row Thinkpads are still around, I'd really like one.

A solid-state HD for the OS would be nice. Fancy graphics are not too important for me.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

A 15" T60 chassis with T61 innards (the so-called Frankenpad) and SXGA+ Flexview would most likely hit the spot!
Equipped with an SSD and up to 8GB RAM, these machines can keep up with most of today's crop!
PM me if interested, be happy to build you one!

If your space bar problem is intermittent, check for dirt or debris under the bar. I had a T23 with a space bar that occasionally didn't work while typing. Upon closer inspection I found a piece of red plastic from the track point cover floating around under it.

Any T/X/R/W series up to excluding the recent Ivy Bridge models (**30 series) will have a 7-row keyboard. Many of the Sandy Bridge models (**20 series) can still be bought.

For 4:3 screen however you are stuck with T/R/X61 models which are barely newer than your T60.

Majestic wrote:If your space bar problem is intermittent, check for dirt or debris under the bar. I had a T23 with a space bar that occasionally didn't work while typing. Upon closer inspection I found a piece of red plastic from the track point cover floating around under it.

Hi Dale,

Thanks for the tip. I should have mentioned I've already removed the spacebar keycap and removed the debris. I'm a clean-hands typist and don't generally fill my keyboards with crud -- it was pretty clean under there. The second time I had the keycap off, I tried operating the silicon-covered button by itself and found that it doesn't always respond, so I afraid this kbd is toast.

It's only been a year or so since the last time I had the kbd off and of course I blew it out then, but I didn't remove the keycaps.

dr_st wrote:Any T/X/R/W series up to excluding the recent Ivy Bridge models (**30 series) will have a 7-row keyboard. Many of the Sandy Bridge models (**20 series) can still be bought.

For 4:3 screen however you are stuck with T/R/X61 models which are barely newer than your T60.

Thanks, that sounds promising. I'm looking at Lenovo's ThinkPads outlet now. I don't speak ThinkPad. How can I tell which offerings are **20 series?

Thanks,

Look for ThinkPad T420, T420s, T520, X220 etc etc... You get the idea.
Not ThinkPad Edge, though. The Edge **20 series does have the 6-row island-style keyboard.

twistero wrote:Look for ThinkPad T420, T420s, T520, X220 etc etc... You get the idea.
Not ThinkPad Edge, though. The Edge **20 series does have the 6-row island-style keyboard.

Oh, duh. Thanks.

One of my least favorite things is listening to people bemoaning the deteriorating quality of ... whatever they're talking about. But darn it, I really miss the old IBM ThinkPads site where you could build your own computer and they showed you exactly what you were getting.

Oh well, plus ça change ...

twistero wrote:Look for ThinkPad T420, T420s, T520, X220 etc etc... You get the idea.
Not ThinkPad Edge, though. The Edge **20 series does have the 6-row island-style keyboard.

Sorry to bug you again, but I want to be sure before I order one. On Lenovo's outlet site, the images for the T520 and other **20 models all show the new 6-row keyboard. Are those just stock photos of their latest models? In other words, will all T*20, X*20, etc. models have my preferred kbd?

Thanks,

Andy wrote: Sorry to bug you again, but I want to be sure before I order one. On Lenovo's outlet site, the images for the T520 and other **20 models all show the new 6-row keyboard. Are those just stock photos of their latest models? In other words, will all T*20, X*20, etc. models have my preferred kbd?

Thanks,

Forget the photos, they are very rarely accurate.

If you order a T420, it will have the "old" keyboard, as will T520, W520 or X220...

I went to the outlet website and randomly clicked on a few T420 and T520's. The pictures are quite small, but they do look like the old 7-row traditional-style keyboard to me.

Andy wrote: Sorry to bug you again, but I want to be sure before I order one. On Lenovo's outlet site, the images for the T520 and other **20 models all show the new 6-row keyboard. Are those just stock photos of their latest models? In other words, will all T*20, X*20, etc. models have my preferred kbd?

ajkula66 wrote: Forget the photos, they are very rarely accurate.

Based on that, I would be looking on eBay for specific model pictures. Some of the close-up pictures on eBay are better than manufacturer pictures.