Chicklet keyboards: best keyboards out there?

[gnawzie]

They seem to be getting rather popular even though I personally hate them. Do they define quality? Noticed more laptops are using them now, which probably means popular demand. Just curious on everyone's thoughts.

[brchan]

Chiclet keyboards look sleeker than traditional keyboards to most people and can be backlit, hence why many manufacturers probably switched to them. However. the layout and keyboard feel on most chiclet laptops are poor. Also, dust gets in between the keys a lot easier. Chiclet Thinkpad keyboards are still the best in the business, and some argue that they give better feedback than on the old classic versions.

[dr_st]

Not sure about better feedback of the keys themselves, but I do think the backplate on the newer island keyboard is somewhat better than on the latest revisions of the traditional keyboard.

The reason most non-Thinkpad chiclet/island keyboard (including other Lenovo keyboards) are crap, is the same reason they have been crap forever, when compared to Thinkpads: the travel is too shallow and the key caps are not curved to match the finger shape.

[tarvoke]

at first I hated the concept, but quickly got used to it during the brief x100e experiment (possibly the only thing about that machine I didn't hate

not that I like it all that much still, or think it's superior.

was going to post this in the "something new you've got" thread, but - just picked up a Lenovo "thinkpad" bluetooth trackpoint (non-track/ultra-nav, yay) board, and the thing is overall solid as heck. I don't know if it's my imagination, but the chiclet keys do feel better than previous ones I've used - could be due to the deck's solidity.

I doubt they represent quality so much as a number of manufacturer advantages in sourcing/complexity/fab/cost reduction, repair/replacement ease/cost, marketing (e.g. influence from Apple-coolness).

also, while they may collect dust, they don't collect crumbs...

[gnawzie]

Yeah, crumbs and stuff getting under the keys are terrible when you hear crunching or the keys won't go all the way down! And removing the keys is probably much easier on chicklets than popping keys off a regular keyboard and hoping you don't break something, not to mention trying to put them back on!

[brchan]

I think the reduction of the flexing of the keyboard is helped largely by the new frame design of the current Thinkpads. If you take the keyboard off of the chassis, you will see that the exposed area is just a solid area of magnesium, and is almost sealed from liquid. This contrasts with previous Thinkpads where there was little additional support.

[tarvoke]

as much as I am about 85% guaranteed to break/lose one of the all-important bits (the spring, the plastic this-or-thats, or both) trying to remove a thinkpad keyboard key,
this looks so much worse

I will stick with taking out the whole board and clean from the inside

[tarvoke]

also while looking for something like the above movie, I also read that some (probably cheaper) laptop boards, the individual keys are not individual replacement units, if a key comes off, that's it.

those mac keys in the video, with the little hinges, is probably one of the more sophisticated constructions.

maybe I'll have a try later on one of my cheap/spare spamazon-basics usb kbds.

[Temetka]

In the past I have generally dis-liked the chiclet keyboards that are prevalent in todays laptops. However 2 machines I have personally used have excellent keyboards of that style.

The first was my aluminum Powerbook G4. I loved that computer and could type very fast and accurate on it's keyboard. It wasn't island style, but nor was it classic cup shaped either.

My Dell Latitude E6520. This post is brought to you from that keyboard. It's very, very easy to type on. Heck, it's hands down the best Dell keyboard I have ever used in my life. I have used a LOT of Dell's over the years (think in terms of hundred from my job in IT) and I can tell you this one is great. It's also back lit and that fact, IMO makes it far superior to the ThinkLight found on Thinkpads. Don't get me wrong, I like the ThinkLight, but I greatly prefer backlit keyboards.

Hope this helps.

[600X]

Chiclet keyboards look sleeker than traditional keyboards to most people and can be backlit, hence why many manufacturers probably switched to them.

Classic keyboards can be backlit as well.

[Ibthink]

In the past I have generally dis-liked the chiclet keyboards that are prevalent in todays laptops. However 2 machines I have personally used have excellent keyboards of that style.

Neither one of the two models you named (Apple Powerbook G4 and Dell E6520) has a Chiclet keyboard. The Powerbook has a keyboard with traditional keycaps, and the E6520 has sort of semi-Chiclet-semi-Classic keys, which Dell decided to abandon with this years models (E7450 etc., which have "true Chiclet" keys). Apple first introduced Chiclet keys witht the Macbook Air in 2008.

[Temetka]

In the past I have generally dis-liked the chiclet keyboards that are prevalent in todays laptops. However 2 machines I have personally used have excellent keyboards of that style.

Neither one of the two models you named (Apple Powerbook G4 and Dell E6520) has a Chiclet keyboard. The Powerbook has a keyboard with traditional keycaps, and the E6520 has sort of semi-Chiclet-semi-Classic keys, which Dell decided to abandon with this years models (E7450 etc., which have "true Chiclet" keys). Apple first introduced Chiclet keys witht the Macbook Air in 2008.

Fair enough.

To me, a chiclet keyboard is anything not of the old school D830/T4x style.