Be careful! IBM T60, NMB keyboard, but less quality...

[wil.wei]

The keyboard of the T60 I just ordered really disappointed me... I check the type of the keyboard following the instruction on this forum and found it is a NMB keyboard.

From the looking, people can easily tell they're not as solid as old models. I guess they change the material because they don't look as shiny as my old T30, which is 5 years old. The worst thing they feel like other brand's notebook keyboard, which is less in depth, hard and noisy when typing... (Maybe I am used to T30's keyboard, they're not that bad...)

What do you blokes think about it? What about T61? Do a comparison with old model, the difference is huge!!!

[o1001010]

your keyboard being shinny is from the oil in your hands. you should clean it if they are really shinny.
i have 3 tps
and now i have a x61

i love all the keyboards on them. i am no fan of the nmb, but i love my

[dalee18]

Yeah, if the keys on your older thinkpad are shiny it's either loss of texture through use, oil from your hands, or both. I don't think she shininess has anything to do with the quality of the keyboard.

[acasto]

I don't think he was implying that the luster has anything to do with quality, but rather a difference in material, which simply could mean that things have changed since older models. Also, the OP didn't indicate the degree of shine, but usually the shine caused by use and oil is pretty much localized to those main and popular keys, and not evenly distributed all around and over the sides. Anyways... just some thoughts.

[Hellbore]

All this talk about finger oils all over the keyboard is grossing me out, I'm trying to eat right now lol

FYI, the shiny look is definitely not only caused by finger oil. My keyboards always get shiny on the top of the keys over time. In my case, no amount of washing removes the shine because it's not oil, it's due to wear. The plastic gets "polished" to a high shine by the fingers rubbing on it every day. The rough texture wears off and leaves a polished smooth plastic that is shiny. Later, the letters even start to wear off the keys!

Like on my work PC, I have been using it for a couple years now, and the letter A is almost completely gone, there is just a ghostly trace of it. The letter E is missing about half of the letter, the letter N is getting faded away, etc. It's interesting to look at which letters are the most worn. In my case they are:

a,e,t,i,o,a,s,d,c,n,m

I wonder if that has to do with typing style and stuff....

[wil.wei]

OK. The point is the new keyboard is less depth and harder than the old models...

[dalee18]

FYI, the shiny look is definitely not only caused by finger oil. My keyboards always get shiny on the top of the keys over time. In my case, no amount of washing removes the shine because it's not oil, it's due to wear. The plastic gets "polished" to a high shine by the fingers rubbing on it every day. The rough texture wears off and leaves a polished smooth plastic that is shiny. Later, the letters even start to wear off the keys!

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant by "loss of texture through use."

It has nothing to do with quality of the parts.

[bill bolton]

Do a comparison with old model, the difference is huge!!!

The world changes.... I suggest that you put some effort into getting used to today's laptops, because none of the suppliers are going to go back to the way it was!

Cheers,

Bill B.

[Hellbore]

I like the keyboard on the T61P and I have the Chicony keyboard. I compared it to the keyboards on some of my friends' laptops and it feels better than theirs. Compared it to my friend's Dell XPS, a new model Acer, and a couple different HP's.

I think the only reason you don't like it is because you are used to the old one and it feels different. I bet if you get used to it you will like it better.

Of course if you are used to a certain feel and then you use something that has a different feel, you will not like it as much, you will always prefer what you are accustomed to. That doesn't mean the new different feel is inherently worse. Maybe give it some time before you condemn it, see if you learn to like it.

[wil.wei]

I am sure it's not oil on the keyboard...The oil from the finger does affect the looking of the keys but I can easily tell the differences from the edge of keys and the function keys on the top.
The point I want to make is the keyboards are not as good as old IBM thinkpad. I am old IBM thinkpad users. The new model's keyboard is nowhere comparing to the old ones. We should always expect more from the best lap-top producer rather than try to like it...

[erik]

I am sure it's not oil on the keyboard...The oil from the finger does affect the looking of the keys but I can easily tell the differences from the edge of keys and the function keys on the top.
The point I want to make is the keyboards are not as good as old IBM thinkpad. I am old IBM thinkpad users. The new model's keyboard is nowhere comparing to the old ones. We should always expect more from the best lap-top producer rather than try to like it...

please understand that no thinkpad keyboard has ever come with glossy keys from the factory; all the way from the original 700 to today's models.   the gloss on your 5-year-old T30 keyboard has been caused by wear from use.   i've literally seen hundreds of thinkpad keyboards over the last 12 years and never once has one had shiny keys when new.

if you don't like your NMB then try an alps or a chicony.   all three are different in their own way.   none of these keyboards are like the originals -- we all know that.   however, if you want a new thinkpad then you have to deal with a new keyboard, otherwise you'll have to stick with your 5-year-old T30 just because of the keys.

i have an NMB keyboard on my T61p and am perfectly happy with it.   it's not as good as the keyboard on my 600 but nothing is or ever will be.   i just deal with it and move on.   thinkpad keyboard quality changed about three to four years ago so this topic is nothing new.

[rleo25]

My T60 came with a NMB keyboard, and it is almost perfect! I am happy with it, travel and feedback have no par, the plate underneath returns a feeling of strenght and stability when depressing the keys that means zero flex.

This whole keyboard issue confirms that quality is being measured agaist subjective variables. Some time ago NMB was considered the best among the keyboards provided, now it seems that the judgement is shifting towards Alps or Chicony... interesting.

My own conclusion from all of this is: enjoy your notebook and don´t compare it as long as it performs well according to your own needs and standars, perfection doesn´t exist, don´t ask for it.

[sugo]

My T61 came with a Chicony. The Thailand NMB on my T42 is much quieter, gives more resistance to clicks and feelds more solid than the T61 Chicony.

[dr_st]

I have a T42 and a T60. Both have NMB keyboards. Both are excellent, even though they are slightly different.

These keyboard comparison threads are really getting out of hand, IMO.

[andrewb]

There must, however, be a reason why the keyboard issue keeps arising. For the 8 years I have been a TP user, the keyboard has most typically been described as legendary but, yet, one struggles to find a T6X user who thinks so. The odd person, sure, but there is hardly unanimous acclaim in the way that there used to be a few years ago.

I'm with the OP. In the past year, I have moved from a T43 to a T60. The NMB keyboard on the later model is simply not the real deal; so much so, that, if I have a lot of typing to do, I will still use the T43 in preference to the T60 (which is just about on par with a Dell keyboard, imho).