Anybody tried this "Desktop Thinkpad Keyboard"?

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phaxmohdem
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Anybody tried this "Desktop Thinkpad Keyboard"?

#1 Post by phaxmohdem » Wed Dec 17, 2008 12:00 pm

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/cont ... 4D281CCDD9

I'm in the market for a new desktop keyboard.. My current Di Novo unit is starting to hurt my fingers (I think due to its uber short key travel) I was thinking about springing for a Das Keyboard Professional, until I came across this.

Has anybody tried this thing? Is it the same awesomeness that is the Thinkpad keyboard?

Any other keyboard suggestions?
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#2 Post by Thinkpaddict » Thu Dec 18, 2008 2:18 am

I have tried the original Das Keyboard (one of my coworkers had one at his desk.) I think it has very nice action (it is not rubber dome, but mechanical, like the original IBM and Lexmark keyboards.) The downside is that it is rather noisy. Unless you live on your own and are not afraid of annoying your neighbors, I would be weary of it because of that.

The travel keyboard that you put a link for, I haven't tried. I have thought about getting one for a while, but it seems quite a sum of money without being able to try it beforehand. If the mechanism of the keys is as good as a regular Thinkpad's keyboard I would be interested. The selling point for me is the trackpoint (I can't do without a trackpoint anymore, I'm too used to the convenience of using the mouse without taking my hands off the keyboard.)

An alternative between Das Keyboard and the Lenovo keyboard is this: http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/en104wh.html
As I understand it, pckeyboards is an off-shoot of Lexmark, and the same guys that used to manufacture the legendary clicky keyboards for IBM. This one has a trackpoint too, and the keys have mechanical action. I have thought about getting this one for a long time, but again I have an issue with spending the money without trying it first.

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#3 Post by basketb » Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:52 am

I haven't tried any of these keyboards myself (though I'm toying with the idea for quite a while), but folks seem to like the IBM Space Saver II Keyboard. Search on this board here or google it for reviews. Unfortunately, it is no longer produced (as far as I know). So ebay may be your only way to get it.

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#4 Post by msb0b » Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:09 pm

I still have the predecessor to this keyboard. IBM part no. 92G7461, purchased in 1995. It has TrackPoint II, which does not have the "negative inertia" feature of later models. The pointing stick broke rather quickly, I think because of the long lever arm and the caps that required high force to operate.

My favorite buckling spring keyboard is the original PC/AT 84-key. It got a more UNIX-friendly layout with Ctrl key next to A and less activation force than the PS/2 Enhanced 101-key keyboards.

I think I also got the original TrackPoint convertible mouse/trackball somewhere around here...

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Re: Anybody tried this "Desktop Thinkpad Keyboard"?

#5 Post by kkapp » Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:35 pm

I have a very similar model based on the picture in your url. Mine is a Lenovo Model SK-8833 P/N: 41A5091. I am quite pleased with it overall as it has nearly the same feel as my Thinkpad T61p keyboard and is very lightweight and thin.

My only small complaint is the change in position of the Insert, Delete, Home and End key cluster from my much older IBM keyboard it replaced (Model KPH0035, P/N 24P0340). On the new Lenovo they are at the top of keyboard, above Backspace key whereas on the old IBM they were clustered to right of Enter key. It took a bit of getting use to the new layout but not a "deal breaker".

I hope this helps.

Ken

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Re: Anybody tried this "Desktop Thinkpad Keyboard"?

#6 Post by jamerslong » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:58 am

well if your interested in trying one out, they have bought a lot of 10 on the marketplace but it has no 9 key
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gator
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Re: Anybody tried this "Desktop Thinkpad Keyboard"?

#7 Post by gator » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:10 am

I have had two of these keyboards, and to be honest I did not like either. One was an older model (from like 3-4 years back) and the other was relatively newer (~1 years old when I got it in dec 2007) quality was nowhere near the thinkpad keyboards. The only features I liked in this was the embedded tracpoint and the Fn-key combinations that made my life easier. I gave one to my friend who really wanted it and gave the other one to my lab where they really need a small keyboard.

I don't know how good the new ones are. Maybe someone who has bought one of these recently will chime in. I doubt if they use thinkpad keyboards even today - there was a blog postabout this keyboard at lenovoblogs.com and the comments seemed to indicate that they haven't changed. I might be wrong though.
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Re: Anybody tried this "Desktop Thinkpad Keyboard"?

#8 Post by dr_st » Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:04 pm

As far as desktop keyboard go, I can vouch for the Lenovo Thinkplus Enhanced Performance USB Keyboard.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... ps-sellers

I have a couple of these babies at work and at home. The rest is convenient, the keys feel excellent - good feedback but soft enough so that your hands do not get tired. It does not get jammed at random key combinations like the cheap keyboards. It has nice multimedia keys, 6 programmable hotkeys (driver required). The driver also comes with a convenient utility to print a label for the hotkeys.

The USB hub however is not high-speed, only full-speed. Not that I care, but just so someone isn't disappointed.
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Re: Anybody tried this "Desktop Thinkpad Keyboard"?

#9 Post by schen » Wed Jan 14, 2009 6:46 pm

I'm a bit of a keyboard maniac and have tried a lot of different ones over years; including multiple IBMs such as the M Type with and W/O TrackPoint and the later ones as well.... just not the UltraNavs. Interesting that you are using a DiNovo since that's kind of the same route I took since I found that I typed better on a TP vs. ANY desktop keyboard. I'm considering ditching my DiNovo as well since I've found that I make a lot more mistakes on it than I do on my TPs (especially the 600x or the Thai T4x ones).

I find Gator's experience interesting since I just kind of assumed that they'd use the KB mechanism from whatever what current at the time so would have a similar feel to the T4x or T6x. Apparently not though. Anyway, I'd be very interested in hearing more folks' experience with various KBs. I really do like the compact and wireless aspect of the DiNovo though.
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Re: Anybody tried this "Desktop Thinkpad Keyboard"?

#10 Post by Jetranger » Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:11 am

I have the UltraNav 41A5091 keyboard which I use on an HP laptop. My main laptop is a Thinkpad, and of course I don't need an external keyboard for that.

The keyboard works very well. I ordered it specifically to get the Trackpoint ... and it sure saves time not having to move my hand to the mouse all the time. It is quiet and has a full number pad and even has volume controls.

I just wish that it didn't have the useless square pad on it ... I was hoping to get a disk with it that had some utility on it that would let me disable it. Every so often the bottom of my hand touches it, and it moves the cursor.

Other than that - it is great to use.

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Re: Anybody tried this "Desktop Thinkpad Keyboard"?

#11 Post by virge » Tue Mar 10, 2009 1:08 am

dr_st wrote:As far as desktop keyboard go, I can vouch for the Lenovo Thinkplus Enhanced Performance USB Keyboard.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... ps-sellers

I have a couple of these babies at work and at home. The rest is convenient, the keys feel excellent - good feedback but soft enough so that your hands do not get tired. It does not get jammed at random key combinations like the cheap keyboards. It has nice multimedia keys, 6 programmable hotkeys (driver required). The driver also comes with a convenient utility to print a label for the hotkeys.

The USB hub however is not high-speed, only full-speed. Not that I care, but just so someone isn't disappointed.
I picked up two of these keyboards and am using one at work. I was disappointed by the fact that it has full-speed and not high-speed USB ports. However, despite that, I really do like the feel of the keyboards. They're second only to my M13 clicky keyboards. I think its the depth of the key action that really makes my fingers happy. They're also quiet compared to the M13-- and that makes my co-worker happy. I think my M13 should go by the nickname "M16." :D
Current Thinkpads: 600E, 600X, 701C, A31 (Flexview), R51 (Flexview), R60, T42P (Flexview), TR50E, T60 (Flexview), X61s (Ultralight), Z61m (Ti) Non-Thinkpad: Toshiba 100ct

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