X200 keyboard flex?

[jketzetera]

A poster at Notebookreview.com has been kind to post pictures of his partially disassembled X200.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthr ... 45&page=22

If you look at the following picture

http://jedicore.com/x200/DSC03049.jpg

you will see that the weight-saving feature of the T400 and T500 keyboards (i.e. bottom metal plate perforated with holes) has found its way to the X200 keyboard.

When it came to the T400 and T500, some users found the new weight saving keyboard not as nice as previous keyboards, due to the flex introduced by perforating the bottom metal plate.

I have two questions.

1. Can any X200 user comment on the "flexiness" of the X200 keyboard.

2. Some T400 and T500 users are said to have been replacing their weight saving keyboards, with the old T61-keyboards. Is there any keyboard from the previous generation of Thinkpads that fits the X200?

[Supermans]

A poster at Notebookreview.com has been kind to post pictures of his partially disassembled X200.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthr ... 45&page=22

If you look at the following picture

http://jedicore.com/x200/DSC03049.jpg

you will see that the weight-saving feature of the T400 and T500 keyboards (i.e. bottom metal plate perforated with holes) has found its way to the X200 keyboard.

When it came to the T400 and T500, some users found the new weight saving keyboard not as nice as previous keyboards, due to the flex introduced by perforating the bottom metal plate.

I have two questions.

1. Can any X200 user comment on the "flexiness" of the X200 keyboard.

2. Some T400 and T500 users are said to have been replacing their weight saving keyboards, with the old T61-keyboards. Is there any keyboard from the previous generation of Thinkpads that fits the X200?

How hard do you plan on banging on the keys?? I got to use an X200 that a friend got this week and I don't experience any flex on the keyboard at all.. I didn't press down hard on the keyboard bed either to find out if there was flex but I didn't notice any while typing. If I were you, I wouldn't be unscrewing the laptop unless necessary to keep everything as sturdy as it was when first built. The moment you unscrew everything and put it back together, its not the same as it was since some of the screw's will lose tension strength by micro-stripping and you could over-tighten some parts causing other issues down the road.

[jketzetera]

How hard do you plan on banging on the keys??

Not particularly hard . However, obviously other people noticed the "flexiness" of the T400 and T500. Would be great if you could give an update once you received your X200.

If I were you, I wouldn't be unscrewing the laptop unless necessary to keep everything as sturdy as it was when first built. The moment you unscrew everything and put it back together, its not the same as it was since some of the screw's will lose tension strength by micro-stripping and you could over-tighten some parts causing other issues down the road.

I have lost count on the number of desktops and notebooks that I have assembled/disassembled. Maybe I have been lucky, but I have not noticed any problems from my sometimes frequent assembly/disassembly procedures.

[Supermans]

How hard do you plan on banging on the keys??

Not particularly hard . However, obviously other people noticed the "flexiness" of the T400 and T500. Would be great if you could give an update once you received your X200.

If I were you, I wouldn't be unscrewing the laptop unless necessary to keep everything as sturdy as it was when first built. The moment you unscrew everything and put it back together, its not the same as it was since some of the screw's will lose tension strength by micro-stripping and you could over-tighten some parts causing other issues down the road.

I have lost count on the number of desktops and notebooks that I have assembled/disassembled. Maybe I have been lucky, but I have not noticed any problems from my sometimes frequent assembly/disassembly procedures.

It all depends on the quality of the screws used.. My bet is they may not be the best quality in order to save money. However all this means is you have to be extra careful when unscrewing and screwing not to micro-strip the screws.. I've never had any major problems taking apart machines but many people aren't as skilled as you and I. From what you're telling me, you should have no problems like I described above.

I will look into keyboard flex as I too find it distracting when I type on those keyboards that do exhibit the problem.

[jketzetera]

I asked the same question about keyboard flex at Notebookreview.com and got this response:


Keyboard comments:
I noticed the design of the key was much the same of the Tseries. I have to say that it feels pretty darn solid. The keyboard feels great and there isn't any major weak spot. I think the "worse" flex" is if you hit the Fn the shift, capslock, and ctrl keys right next to it SLIGHTLY depress. VERY slightly. If flexing is an issue with the x200, then the keyboard should not be of worry. There is more flex on the top of the screen near where it is attached (near the center). I am not sure why the keyboard does not exhibit the same issue as the tseries but it might just be that the chassis itself is thinner and the keyboard is supported by the main body of the laptop itself.


I am getting dangerously close to ordering an X200

[Supermans]

I asked the same question about keyboard flex at Notebookreview.com and got this response:


Keyboard comments:
I noticed the design of the key was much the same of the Tseries. I have to say that it feels pretty darn solid. The keyboard feels great and there isn't any major weak spot. I think the "worse" flex" is if you hit the Fn the shift, capslock, and ctrl keys right next to it SLIGHTLY depress. VERY slightly. If flexing is an issue with the x200, then the keyboard should not be of worry. There is more flex on the top of the screen near where it is attached (near the center). I am not sure why the keyboard does not exhibit the same issue as the tseries but it might just be that the chassis itself is thinner and the keyboard is supported by the main body of the laptop itself.


I am getting dangerously close to ordering an X200

If you're going to order one, do it quick, because apparently it is becoming Lenovo's bestseller thanks to all the very very positive reviews and word of mouth of those who have received it. Mine is getting delayed another two weeks because they say tehre is a shortage of the 9 cell battery.. So if you order it and don't want a delay, get the 6 cell...

[jketzetera]

If you're going to order one, do it quick, because apparently it is becoming Lenovo's bestseller thanks to all the very very positive reviews and word of mouth of those who have received it. Mine is getting delayed another two weeks because they say tehre is a shortage of the 9 cell battery.. So if you order it and don't want a delay, get the 6 cell...

Thank you for the advice. I can understand that the X200 is becoming popular. There were three reasons that made me go for the X6xs rather than X6x series before,

1. I wanted a cool running notebook.

2. I wanted a quiet running notebook.

3. I wanted a display that at least was of average quality (the Ultralight although being Lenovos high-end option was not more than an average display).

For those three preferences, I was willing to choose a low voltage model that sacrificed 600 - 800 MHz in clock speed. The X200 seems to deliver on all three accounts above (its display is brighter than the Ultralight).

Therefore, to me the low voltage model is less attractive this time.

[Supermans]

If you're going to order one, do it quick, because apparently it is becoming Lenovo's bestseller thanks to all the very very positive reviews and word of mouth of those who have received it. Mine is getting delayed another two weeks because they say tehre is a shortage of the 9 cell battery.. So if you order it and don't want a delay, get the 6 cell...

Thank you for the advice. I can understand that the X200 is becoming popular. There were three reasons that made me go for the X6xs rather than X6x series before,

1. I wanted a cool running notebook.

2. I wanted a quiet running notebook.

3. I wanted a display that at least was of average quality (the Ultralight although being Lenovos high-end option was not more than an average display).

For those three preferences, I was willing to choose a low voltage model that sacrificed 600 - 800 MHz in clock speed. The X200 seems to deliver on all three accounts above (its display is brighter than the Ultralight).

Therefore, to me the low voltage model is less attractive this time.

I'm a videophile/audiophile and a critic on all sorts of HDTV display's. I did get to see and use an X200 the other day and was impressed by the color saturation and brightness of the screen. I was able to put in my memory stick with pictures that I use to judge color and contrast and the color levels are as good as any high end laptop monitor. I didn't get to adjust any settings because the laptop wasn't mine, however the black levels could have used some adjusting as the default leaves them at not true black.. I don't know the contrast ratio of what the X200's monitor is but it can't be bad in my opinion from what I've seen. The only bad thing on the laptop is perhaps the poor location placement of the speaker on the bottom of the laptop.. You just have to pray you don't get a crackly or bad speaker because it will drive you nuts... It is at least as good a speaker compared to the one that comes with the iphone..

[Conmee]

Edited... I moved my response to the X200 Owners thread.