What current production laptop doesn't have a junk keyboard?

[nick[0]]

I've had a Thinkpad X131e for a little over a year now; it came with a Lite-On keyboard with a [m] key that broke the first week.  The warranted replacement was no-name.  I bought the X131e because it was the cheapest way to try the new "improved" [sic] Thinkpad keyboard, and because it's a durable and portable little beast with good battery life.

My X131e keyboard is now 90% worn out, after less than a year, and is literally painful to type on.  From my perspective, it's somewhat junk...not as junk as a Samsung netbook keyboard, but compared to my X61s, it's junk.  Comparing it to a Thinkpad T410, the T410 has traditional not-island keys, and much more travel.  Unfortunately, T410 keys don't always seem to register key presses.  Maybe they need to be *really* firmly bottomed out?  A friend of mine has a two year old Lenovo Ideapad.  That's not a bad island keyboard!

The not-Retina Macbook Pro (unibody?) from 2011-12 had a decent keyboard.  Not as good as what I expect from a Thinkpad, but surprisingly nice.  My sister has one, and it's aged well.  The Macbook Retina keyboard I tried summer 2013 was terrible...at least 35% less travel than the non-Retina.  Let us never speak of the Macbook Air...

With the exception my I-have-no-money-but-need-something-with-good-battery-life experiments with a Samsung netbook and this X131e, I've spent most of my years with IBM Selectrics, Apple-something-probably-ALPS clicky switches, Model Ms, Epson-rebranded something (ALPS, or possibly a really, nice rubber dome...it was a long time ago) a couple of years with a Keytronic, and then back to the Model M.  Oh and the Thinkpad T23, X32, and X61s--4 years with the X32.

On my desktop, I've been using a 1984 IBM Spacesaver forever...years...but as my tendinitis gets worse with age, I'm thinking about moving to a lighter switch like a Topre uniform 45g.  Meanwhile, do I just need to give up on laptops, or are there any that have good keyboards?

[Linkbane]

I have an MSI gaming series laptop, and it has a scissor-switch keyboard made by SteelSeries. It's actually been quite durable, and I used it during the brunt of my typing practice (usually for an hour or so going 120, 130, 140, etc.) and has a good travel; it feels a lot more substantial than Apple scissors as well as pretty much any other laptop board I've seen.

[CPTBadAss]

I'm currently using a CR48 just to surf the net when I'm not at my desktop or out. If I want a nice keyboard, I just hookup my Pure. 60% keyboards can sit on top of the existing laptops or even near them on the desk and they're still pretty portable. Maybe that could be an option for you?

[russm]

If you are looking to keep the good feel of an old ThinkPad keyboard you need to stay in the X240 (12.5")/X1 Carbon (14"Ultrathin and light) or their T series T440s (ultrathin/lite) units. When Lenovo went to the X130/131/140e they went to a total different supplier of keyboards and they looked at these to be close to disposable for a heavy user after 1-2 years unlike older X models that are still working fine after 6-8 years.

[blackbox]

My keyboard on my panasonic toughbook cf-53 isnt too bad. Altough it is no ordinary laptop.

[dustinhxc]

Yeah my 2012 MacBook Pro has a decent one

[Linkbane]

Yeah my 2012 MacBook Pro has a decent one

0/10 bad trolling.

[dustinhxc]

Yeah my 2012 MacBook Pro has a decent one

0/10 bad trolling.

How come? He can buy used ya know...

[Linkbane]

Yeah my 2012 MacBook Pro has a decent one

0/10 bad trolling.

How come? He can buy used ya know...

Taking about yourself in third person confuses me. But I can't see how anyone on earth could like modern Apple keyboards, let alone a mechanical user.

[riotonthebay]

Yeah my 2012 MacBook Pro has a decent one

0/10 bad trolling.

How come? He can buy used ya know...

Taking about yourself in third person confuses me. But I can't see how anyone on earth could like modern Apple keyboards, let alone a mechanical user.

Uhh... I agree with Dustin.

[dustinhxc]

I didn't say I like it anywhere close to my mechs! also I'm on my phone so this keyboard is 0/100 for rating. I hate touch screen keyboards so much. But just saying it is decent for a laptop.

[intelli78]

If I want a nice keyboard, I just hookup my Pure. 60% keyboards can sit on top of the existing laptops or even near them on the desk and they're still pretty portable. Maybe that could be an option for you?

^This

[epzy]

My MacBook Pro's keyboard feels pretty neat. xD

[Linkbane]

I didn't say I like it anywhere close to my mechs! also I'm on my phone so this keyboard is 0/100 for rating. I hate touch screen keyboards so much. But just saying it is decent for a laptop.

Ah, must just be a differing opinion then, haha. The travel on the Apple is just not enough for me to type on; sometimes I feel like it doesn't move when I type. Perhaps my view is a bit biased because the only ones I've used were greasy and shiny, but the keycap method (slightly glossy and pad printed rather than the backlit-friendly and matte) seemed to make it vulnerable to fading.

Agreed with touchscreen. iPad 1/100, 1 point for sound. 

[Dianoda]

I'm currently using a surface pro 2 w/ type 2 cover and it's not bad.  My only complaints are the up/down arrow keys being too small and the location of pg up/pg down could be better, but for actually typing it's alright.  Low, low travel, and the actuation force isn't very high either, but the point of actuation is very clear so surprisingly it is not very fatiguing to type on and I can type nearly as quickly/accurately on it as I can my LZ.  Touchpad is super small but has improved somewhat since launch via software/firmware improvements (still, it doesn't really compare to the touchpads found in apple devices or even the better windows machines).

[blackbox]

I'm currently using a surface pro 2 w/ type 2 cover and it's not bad.  My only complaints are the up/down arrow keys being too small and the location of pg up/pg down could be better, but for actually typing it's alright.  Low, low travel, and the actuation force isn't very high either, but the point of actuation is very clear so surprisingly it is not very fatiguing to type on and I can type nearly as quickly/accurately on it as I can my LZ.  Touchpad is super small but has improved somewhat since launch via software/firmware improvements (still, it doesn't really compare to the touchpads found in apple devices or even the better windows machines).

Tried the surface 2 pro cover. Found it to be ok considering the size constraints it haves.

[ideus]

I'm currently using a surface pro 2 w/ type 2 cover and it's not bad.  My only complaints are the up/down arrow keys being too small and the location of pg up/pg down could be better, but for actually typing it's alright.  Low, low travel, and the actuation force isn't very high either, but the point of actuation is very clear so surprisingly it is not very fatiguing to type on and I can type nearly as quickly/accurately on it as I can my LZ.  Touchpad is super small but has improved somewhat since launch via software/firmware improvements (still, it doesn't really compare to the touchpads found in apple devices or even the better windows machines).

Tried the surface 2 pro cover. Found it to be ok considering the size constraints it haves.

"to be ok" comparing with what?

[blackbox]

I'm currently using a surface pro 2 w/ type 2 cover and it's not bad.  My only complaints are the up/down arrow keys being too small and the location of pg up/pg down could be better, but for actually typing it's alright.  Low, low travel, and the actuation force isn't very high either, but the point of actuation is very clear so surprisingly it is not very fatiguing to type on and I can type nearly as quickly/accurately on it as I can my LZ.  Touchpad is super small but has improved somewhat since launch via software/firmware improvements (still, it doesn't really compare to the touchpads found in apple devices or even the better windows machines).

Tried the surface 2 pro cover. Found it to be ok considering the size constraints it haves.

"to be ok" comparing with what?

to be ok compared with other keyboards that have similar size constraints. Like the included mac keyboard

[jacobolus]

Mac laptop keyboards are... okay.

I stopped by a windows store (I think that’s what they’re called?) a couple weeks ago, and tried every keyboard in the place. They were all garbage. Either very flimsy or very mushy or both, with almost no travel, no real tactility to them. Every generation of Thinkpad keyboards from 5-20 years was better than any of these (including the current Lenovos).

The most interesting keyboard in the place was the MS Surface Pro “type cover”, which wasn’t great to type on (super super low travel, not my preference), but was still impressive considering how thin and light it is.

I think there are some other sort of okay Windows laptop keyboards, but you’re going to have to hunt for them. Looking for the business/professional product lines may help, compared to the consumer versions.

[___q]

This is probably heresy to a lot of the ibm-era-thinkpad people, but I quite like the keyboard on the Thinkpad x230 (one of the first of Lenovo's "chiclet"-style laptops).  They've been doing some pretty stupid things with the layouts on their newer laptops, though, so I don't know if I would recommend a new one.

The modern mac keyboards are pretty decent. Nothing particularly special, but non-offensive and reliable. I certainly like them more than the keyboard on Dell Inspirons, for instance.

I did not really like the surface pro type cover (the newer one).  It was surprisingly usable given the space constraints, and far far better than the touch cover, but I wouldn't want to have to use one all the time.

[jacobolus]

Ah, must just be a differing opinion then, haha. The travel on the Apple is just not enough for me to type on; sometimes I feel like it doesn't move when I type.

Basically every laptop on the market today has keyswitches with <2mm travel, unfortunately.

[jacobolus]

The not-Retina Macbook Pro (unibody?) from 2011-12 had a decent keyboard.  Not as good as what I expect from a Thinkpad, but surprisingly nice.  My sister has one, and it's aged well.  The Macbook Retina keyboard I tried summer 2013 was terrible...at least 35% less travel than the non-Retina.

I think you’re mis-remembering. I have two of these sitting side by side, and measure ~1.6mm vs ~1.3mm. In practice, for me, this is a noticeable but not all that dramatic difference. Other than the travel difference, the keys feel fairly similar.

[Justintoxicated]

I really wish I did not knock a beer over my x61s lenovo. I wasn't into keyboards back then but that's 1/2 the reason i loved that one so much.  I have been shopping for a new laptop but have not found another keyboard quite like it.

This one looks a little different but I bet it still feels like crap

[YuukiHaruto]

Call it heresy but whenever I travel I use a G84-4100  )

[Mr. C]

I have ASUS Prime Ultrabook. It has a typical island keyboard (backlit) but my Leopold FC660C matches it perfectly. So that's what I use for extended typing.