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IBM 31P9490 Keyboard for Thinkpad (Black)
See it at Amazon.com for $99.00Average Customer Rating
(3.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent Item
(5 out of 5) by Rafiq Abdul on Jan 4, 2007 (Pittsburgh, PA USA)I am very pleased with this item since it certainly helps me ergonomically (the primary reason that I bought this system for. Built-in Touchpad and Trackpad instead of conventional mouse). Initially looked like it is not compatible with non IBM systems but later found that it is perfectly compatible. I am taking this to office and other places as well. Thanks IBM and thannks Amazon (for offering me at a cheap price).
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Not worth it
(2 out of 5) by Sung M. Kim on Feb 7, 2009 (New York, NY USA)Verdict: do NOT buy this item at least for this price (consider to get this ONLY if price drops to around $30)
Justifications:
Quality falls a lot shorter than what you would expect compared to thinkpad laptop keyboards.
FIRST, keys are not assembled sturdy enough to have a soft-touch feel.
SECOND of all, all function keys work only for Lenovo PCs/Laptops (it was not made clear in the advertisement)
LASTLY, trackpad does not work well (I have been using ThinkPad for 2 years so I know how to configure it correctly) no matter how well I configure the setting with keyboard driver that you need to probably download (CD comes with the keyboard but it failed to install on Windows XP w/ SP3, although I ended up getting it installed after many tries) from Lenovo site.
On the otherside, keyboard is quite light-weight and small enough to put in my backpack to carry it around when travelling.
Moreover, I don't have to carry my mouse around.
Beware that if you are fast-typist (I type 85~90WPM), then you might not like this since a lot of keys you would use, like "Delete", "Home", "End", etc keys are too small.
Justifications:
Quality falls a lot shorter than what you would expect compared to thinkpad laptop keyboards.
FIRST, keys are not assembled sturdy enough to have a soft-touch feel.
SECOND of all, all function keys work only for Lenovo PCs/Laptops (it was not made clear in the advertisement)
LASTLY, trackpad does not work well (I have been using ThinkPad for 2 years so I know how to configure it correctly) no matter how well I configure the setting with keyboard driver that you need to probably download (CD comes with the keyboard but it failed to install on Windows XP w/ SP3, although I ended up getting it installed after many tries) from Lenovo site.
On the otherside, keyboard is quite light-weight and small enough to put in my backpack to carry it around when travelling.
Moreover, I don't have to carry my mouse around.
Beware that if you are fast-typist (I type 85~90WPM), then you might not like this since a lot of keys you would use, like "Delete", "Home", "End", etc keys are too small.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Very Good Keyboard when modified
(4 out of 5) by Dave P. Jones on Jan 21, 2009 (Alexandria, VA, USA)After using for two days it seemed to rattle too much and the keys just didn't feel right compared with excellent thinkpad keyboards on their laptops. I thought about a solution and bought a foam mouse pad (9" X 12") which fit under the bottom of the keyboard perfectly. What an amazing difference. The keyboard no longer rattles or vibrates, feels solid, and the keys feel crisp. Putting the foam pad under the keyboard changed its charactar entirely. I recommend everyone who buys or owns one try this before dismissing this excellent little keyboard.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
disappointing
(2 out of 5) by An Duo Wang on Aug 26, 2008 (philly)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.
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.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
best compact keyboard available. brings thinkpad experience to the desktop.
(5 out of 5) by David Jeske on Mar 4, 2008 (San Francisco, CA United States)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.
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.