IBM 31P9490 Keyboard for Thinkpad (Black) | List Price: $158.07
Discount Price: $84.62
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Brand: IBM
Binding: Electronics
Warranty: 1 year warranty
Features: - 2 USB ports to connect multiple USB devices
- Function (Fn) key allows access
- Keyboard feet help provide typing comfort
- Lets you choose which pointing device to use
- Light and compact
best compact keyboard available. brings thinkpad experience to the desktop. [Posted on 2008-03-04]
I own four of these keyboards, and I've given several to friends to replace their other substandard compact keyboards. I love this keyboard. I'm an avid thinkpad user, so having exactly the same keys at my desk and on the laptop is a big win for me. I also really enjoy the trackpoint, and while I still have a real mouse on the desktop, there are some things I enjoy using the trackpoint for.
The plastic case used in the travel keyboard is very lightweight and feels flimsy as a base compared to the 5 pound laptops it typically appears in. However, I find the key-feel and mechanism the same, and the lightweight base does not negatively affect usability.
Mediocre [Posted on 2008-03-05]
I bought this keyboard for my desktop after falling in love with the keyboard on my T43. The experience has been mixed. The keyboard is certainly good, and if I don't use my T43 for a while I wonder how much better the T43 keyboard could be, but once I return to the T43 keyboard, I realize the desktop version has a ways to go. Note, this evaluation ignores the rather trashy function (FX) and Ins/Home/PgUp/Del/End/PgDn keys. Those are just as bad as, or worse than, those found on free keyboards.
Beyond the keys, the trackpoint is a delight to use. Though light ,the keyboard feels pretty solid.
For those looking for an alternative, I've tried the latest thin aluminum keyboard that Apple makes, and the keys are quite nice. It's a bit different from the thinkpad keyboards, but I think if I were willing to put that much money down for another keyboard, I could easily grow to love it. However, it doesn't have a trackpoint.
Poor quality [Posted on 2008-08-15]
I've used the older IBM branded version of this product (a couple of years old) and this Leveno/ThinkPad version just feels cheap to the touch.
If keys aren't pressed directly down, they get stuck. This is really a problem for keys on edges of keyboard like the arrow-right and the functions keys since I keep my hand on the home-row and reach.
I truly love this style of keyboard, but the quality just isn't there anymore.
Oh, and Leveno, if you read this, including a fancy leather carry case doesn't fool anybody. If anything, it raises expectations that the product isn't cheaply made.
disappointing [Posted on 2008-08-26]
I own a 5-yr-old thinkPad and love the X31 kbd so much, so bought this kbd in hope that I can have the same typing experience with a desktop.
The IBM-made label is fairly deceiving.
Turns out I have to hit keys very hard--driving me mad,
too bad for one that's working around the keyboard, and
try to get rid of mouse for most cases.
The only thing I am happy with is the trackPoint, but that
cannot save the poor manufacturing.
And finally I gave up and returned it.
Waste of time and passion.
I agree this isn't quite as good as a ThinkPad keyboard [Posted on 2008-11-10]
This doesn't feel quite a solid as the genuine article. That said, the ThinkPad keyboards are the best I've used, at least until their spring mechanisms start falling apart. To put that in perspective, I often wear through the black color on the palm rests to the underlying colored plastic; I always wear out the letters on top of the keys. So genuine ThinkPad quality is a pretty high standard.
I'm quite satisfied with this keyboard. I've paired this with the Targus AWE26US laptop stand (Targus AWE26US Ergonomic M-stand for Notebook Computers), which raises the laptop screen to an better height for me. The stand has a hook for storing a keyboard, and since this keyboard has integrated pointing devices, the pair make a nice, neat solution to the problem of the laptop form factor's poor ergonomics.
The layout of this keyboard looks very much like the T4x Thinkpad series; it might even be possible to pop the keyboard unit out of this and pop a surplus "genuine" Thinkpad keyboard into it. I haven't taken this one apart to see because I'm reasonably happy with this unit, but I'll probably look into it.
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