Favorite Laptop Keyboards

[MKB]

Which laptops have your favorite keyboards?  It seems as laptops get thinner and thinner that keyboards are getting worse and worse... 

[hwood34]

I remember the keyboard on my Alienware didn't totally suck. It did have these really wide keys that kinda screwed up my typing for a bit after I stopped using it

[Ludovician]

I use a Lenovo Thinkpad T430 and its keyboard isn't as bad as other laptops I've tried. I've heard the older Thinkpads had better keyboards, does anyone have experience with them?

[Joey Quinn]

I don't hate the one on my 2010 Macbook Pro.

[jacobolus]

IBM http://www.ebay.com/itm/131334324931


NEC http://www.ebay.com/itm/261829972636


Apple http://www.ebay.com/itm/141620888151


Bondwell http://www.ebay.com/itm/151632019817

[Altis]

I don't hate the one on my 2010 Macbook Pro.

That era MacBook Pro has quite a good keyboard, for a laptop.

When they slimmed it down a couple of years later, it became much more shallow, less tactile, and less enjoyable as a result. Feels similar to MacBook Air now.

I really liked the keyboard on a Lenovo that I'm not sure they still make. I think it was a G510, though I suspect other models used it too. There's so many Lenovo models it's hard to tell.

[tp4tissue]

The Lenovo "thinkpad" people have been the most vocal about it..

[hwood34]

IBM http://www.ebay.com/itm/131334324931

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NEC http://www.ebay.com/itm/261829972636

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Apple http://www.ebay.com/itm/141620888151

Show Image

Bondwell http://www.ebay.com/itm/151632019817

Show Image

hell, if we're throwing in luggables I guess I'll vote Dolch )

[Bomble]

My macbook's is bearable when I'm at uni. I do plug in my HHKB as soon as I get home though.

[vmod]

MSI GT80 Titan with Cherry MX Brown Switches

[jamster]

I use a Lenovo Thinkpad T430 and its keyboard isn't as bad as other laptops I've tried. I've heard the older Thinkpads had better keyboards, does anyone have experience with them?

The older Thinkpads (I had a T60) had keyboards made in either Thailand or Malaysia (can't remember which) and were quite nice. The slightly newer iterations are made in China (e.g. X20x) and are not quite as solid feeling (keys seem slightly looser/less consistent).

I have no idea what's happened to the current crop of Thinkpads which seem to have moved to the chiclet style- can anyone comment?

[TopreFan333]

I don't hate my Macbook keyboard really -- but it does have pretty weak tactile feedback. My typing speed is much better if I get audio feedback as my keypresses register -- so I use Keyclick as often as I can without annoying people around me.

[trigun0x2]

For the sake of actually being a laptop, I also agree that MBP has the best keyboard.

You can feel the depressing and it's thin enough for the sake of the laptop itself.

[TopreFan333]

You can feel the depressing and it's thin enough for the sake of the laptop itself.

I do wonder about this new "butterfly" switch though. The hands-on report I read said it had almost no key travel. That could be kind of awful.

[hwood34]

You can feel the depressing and it's thin enough for the sake of the laptop itself.

I do wonder about this new "butterfly" switch though. The hands-on report I read said it had almost no key travel. That could be kind of awful.

ugh, just imagine, like typing on a touchscreen

[trigun0x2]

You can feel the depressing and it's thin enough for the sake of the laptop itself.

I do wonder about this new "butterfly" switch though. The hands-on report I read said it had almost no key travel. That could be kind of awful.

ugh, just imagine, like typing on a touchscreen

TBH if everyone got used to no tactile feedback typing, I feel like we'd be able to type faster than right now.
Just a thought.

[TopreFan333]

TBH if everyone got used to no tactile feedback typing, I feel like we'd be able to type faster than right now.
Just a thought.

What are you basing that on? Losing touch feedback doesn't exactly sound condusive to good touch-typing.

Right now with a real keyboard you have feedback on 2-3 senses: sight (seeing the character you typed), sound, and touch (feeling the key travel of the key you touched). When you start typing without tactile feedback on a glass screen, you also lose the ability for your fingers to orient themselves on the home row.

[Jotokun]

I use a Lenovo Thinkpad T430 and its keyboard isn't as bad as other laptops I've tried. I've heard the older Thinkpads had better keyboards, does anyone have experience with them?

The older Thinkpads (I had a T60) had keyboards made in either Thailand or Malaysia (can't remember which) and were quite nice. The slightly newer iterations are made in China (e.g. X20x) and are not quite as solid feeling (keys seem slightly looser/less consistent).

I have no idea what's happened to the current crop of Thinkpads which seem to have moved to the chiclet style- can anyone comment?

I've never used a non-chicklet Thinkpad so I cant compare, but my current laptop is a T430 and it's easily the best scissor switch I've typed on. Tactility is nice, travel is good by modern laptop standards. I don't like the layout, but there are worse out there.

If the feel is comparable, I'd say the older Thinkpads with the better layout would be the best of modern offerings. Assuming that MSI notebook with Cherry Browns is disqualified.

[Jotokun]

Edit: Accidently hit quote instead of modify.

[trigun0x2]

TBH if everyone got used to no tactile feedback typing, I feel like we'd be able to type faster than right now.
Just a thought.

What are you basing that on? Losing touch feedback doesn't exactly sound condusive to good touch-typing.

Right now with a real keyboard you have feedback on 2-3 senses: sight (seeing the character you typed), sound, and touch (feeling the key travel of the key you touched). When you start typing without tactile feedback on a glass screen, you also lose the ability for your fingers to orient themselves on the home row.

That's a good point, I guess some sort of tactile feedback without the need to press button down would be the fastest way to type?

[Huxley2500]

MacBook.

[Lu_e]

I have an older Lenovo ideapad Y550p 'gamer' style laptop...  & while people don't usually praise them, I got along with it quite well. & didn't mind the keyboard really at all; decent travel/actuation (to me at the time [/Grain'oSalt]) and just enough 'noise'.

If you're going for a gaming laptop the Lenovo 'Y' series is still going I think, with decent GPU... but "Y Series: Y430P, Y40-70, Y50-70" are on the 'pre-installed SuperFish' spyware list 

[TopreFan333]

That's a good point, I guess some sort of tactile feedback without the need to press button down would be the fastest way to type?

Well there is this new "haptic feedback" thing in the new Macbook's trackpad. Sounds like that could be a good feedback mechanism, at least for touch-based devices that lack any touch feedback now. Of course, you still don't have the key shapes to orient you to that home row.

For my money I'm still going to want the feel of actual keys if I'm typing much at all. 

[smeggysmeg]

I loved the keyboard on my Lenovo Thinkpad X300. Now, I have a Thinkpad T420, and it's keyboard is pretty decent, but not quite as good as the older ones.

[Lastpilot]

What is a laptop?

[saturnotaku]

I don't hate the one on my 2010 Macbook Pro.

Replace 2010 above with 2011 and you have my feelings. Compared to most laptop keyboards, the "classic" (pre-Retina Display) MacBook Pro's is one of the less offensive ones. Now the MacBook Air and current MacBook Pro, on the other hand - can't stand 'em. I dread the day when hardware failure or utter obsolescence forces me to change out my current MacBook Pro for a new one.

[FoC_Tow]

I don't hate the one on my 2010 Macbook Pro.

That era MacBook Pro has quite a good keyboard, for a laptop.

When they slimmed it down a couple of years later, it became much more shallow, less tactile, and less enjoyable as a result. Feels similar to MacBook Air now.

I really liked the keyboard on a Lenovo that I'm not sure they still make. I think it was a G510, though I suspect other models used it too. There's so many Lenovo models it's hard to tell.

+1 Don't hate the one on my macbook at all really tbh, even tho it is a mid 2012 (so early) retina one.
What I do hate is the overall ergonomics of using a laptop keyboard in general tho... xD

Btw I can't notice any tactical feedback on the Mocbook below... Am I doing it right? 

[Lastpilot]

I thought this one was pretty cool:

[jacobolus]

I thought this one was pretty cool:

It is really cool. I hated typing on it though. Keys are way too stiff for my taste.

[MKB]

Thanks for the responses and photos!

I have used the Lenovo Carbon x1 and it has an ok keyboard...  I think the T and W series had this keyboard for awhile and may still (Perhaps the T530 and W530).  It is chicklet with keys that have a round shape on the bottom...

I tried out the ASUS ux305 which is small, well built and only $699.  Keyboard seemed like a MBB but something seemed off.  I think the keys are stiff?

The MSI laptop sounds awesome...  I may need something more conventional...

[Hiroyuki]

I have a Thinkpad W530, and its easily the best laptop keyboard I've encountered so far... I actually prefer it to the older thinkpads except for the layout. The worst ones I've tried are the ones in Sony Vaio S and HP elitebook or probook (forgot which of them I tried). MacBook pros are okish but I liked the old PowerBooks keyboard better

[derzemel]

I have a Thinkpad W530, and its easily the best laptop keyboard I've encountered so far... I actually prefer it to the older thinkpads except for the layout. The worst ones I've tried are the ones in Sony Vaio S and HP elitebook or probook (forgot which of them I tried). MacBook pros are okish but I liked the old PowerBooks keyboard better

I also have a W530 at work.

I love the crispiness and the tactility of the keyboard it has. I usually wasn't very fond of laptop keyboards because of the short travel the keys had and the fact that most of them felt mushy, but the one on the W530 amply compensates. Also the track point, I never understood it before, but now, I use it most of the time, with the mouse used only for excel work.

[Hiroyuki]

I have a Thinkpad W530, and its easily the best laptop keyboard I've encountered so far... I actually prefer it to the older thinkpads except for the layout. The worst ones I've tried are the ones in Sony Vaio S and HP elitebook or probook (forgot which of them I tried). MacBook pros are okish but I liked the old PowerBooks keyboard better

I also have a W530 at work.

I love the crispiness and the tactility of the keyboard it has. I usually wasn't very fond of laptop keyboards because of the short travel the keys had and the fact that most of them felt mushy, but the one on the W530 amply compensates. Also the track point, I never understood it before, but now, I use it most of the time, with the mouse used only for excel work.

I totally agree with you about the trackpoint, I totally prefer that to touchpads nowadays

[SquawkVFR]

While I'm not super great at touch typing on it, the keyboards on my current and previous Macbook Pros have been great for use on the go.  When I'm at my desk I still plug in a standalone keyboard/mouse, but I didn't drag peripherals while I traveled for nine months last year and didn't feel the sacrifice was worse than the inconvenience of dragging around a separate KB/M.

Also, the Apple's trackpad is hands down the best I have used, and  I'm curious to try their new haptic feedback touchpad.

[epicepee]

My ThinkPad T440's keyboard is pretty awesome.  It's a little louder and "harder" than older ThinkPad keyboards, but it's still the second-best I've ever tried.  I still carry my MX Blue 60% when I can, though; it's easier on the fingers.

[zombimuncha]

I remember the Sony SZ series as having some not-too-shabby keyboards.

[SamirD]

I'm glad I found this thread.  I was wondering where the dice fell with favorites in the world of laptop keyboards.

My favorite is on an IBM Thinkpad 486sx that a friend gave me.  For a time back in the day when Toshiba was the undisputed king of laptops, they even put the IBM keyboards on their laptops.

These days, I just have a carry case with a full size IBM M in it.  If I need it, I have it.

[hwood34]

Using some of the old laptops that we have lying around school and I found that the Thinkpad T500 keyboards are pretty decent feeling, nice snap

[TimIsABat]

I love Lenovo laptop keys as well as MSI

[blueangel2323]

Which laptops have your favorite keyboards?  It seems as laptops get thinner and thinner that keyboards are getting worse and worse... 

I would have to say ThinkPad, especially the old IBM style, although the chiclet style Lenovo's aren't bad, at least in terms of tactility. I don't like the layout though. HP ProBook and EliteBook keyboards are decent, as are MacBook Pro and older MacBook Air keyboards (I have the original 2008 model and the keyboard is pretty good). The newer MacBook Air keyboards are crap as they have almost no key travel.

I use a Lenovo Thinkpad T430 and its keyboard isn't as bad as other laptops I've tried. I've heard the older Thinkpads had better keyboards, does anyone have experience with them?

I'm typing on one as we speak. Personally I prefer the older style, especially in terms of layout. Tactility is similar, but the older style sounds more solid (a low thump) whereas the new chiclets have a higher pitched sound (thunk). Still miles ahead of most laptop keyboards with their "snap" sounds.

The older Thinkpads (I had a T60) had keyboards made in either Thailand or Malaysia (can't remember which) and were quite nice. The slightly newer iterations are made in China (e.g. X20x) and are not quite as solid feeling (keys seem slightly looser/less consistent).

I have no idea what's happened to the current crop of Thinkpads which seem to have moved to the chiclet style- can anyone comment?

I agree about the lack of consistency, although it's still by far my favourite laptop keyboard. Even on the same keyboard, my Esc key feels mushier than the rest, while the Fn key is a lot more tactile. I don't have anything older than my X220 so I can't compare with the supposedly superior earlier versions.

See my comments above re: new chiclet style Lenovo keyboards.

I don't hate the one on my 2010 Macbook Pro.

I find even the current model MacBook Pro keyboards are ok. They still have decent key travel, unlike the new MacBook Air keyboards. I just don't know how long that will last though, as the industry is moving towards thinner and thinner keyboards with no travel, even for desktop keyboards!

[ideus]

X61, its keyboard is great, and with a Professional Series Samsung SSD it is still my working laptop. It rocks.