Home > Consumer Reviews > IBM 31P9490 Keyboard for Thinkpad (Black)

The IBM/Lenovo "Thinkpad" keyboard is very useful in many environments. I use it for PC builds and repairs. I only need one USB plug and I am fully ready to go. I also don't need to reach over to get the mouse.
I use if for everyday computing. Very effecient because I don't have to move my hands from the keyboard.
I so love these keyboards.

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.

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.

I have used this keyboard infrequently for about 3 months. Recently, a problem developed. Every 5 minutes or so, both mouse devices will stop working, and then start again in a few seconds. The key quality is cheap and uneven, as some have mentioned, but not horrible. The trackpoint is prone to drift, and often is unusable due to the drift. Since that was my main reason for buying this keyboard, I am very frustrated. The keyboard is supposed to have a one year warranty, so I thought I'd try to talk to Lenovo/IBM about it.

I first talked to a generic claim handler, who requested that I fax my receipt to them. I did so. I got a call back within a few hours from someone else saying that they did not have a warranty for the item referenced in my receipt. Strangely, the part number advertised on Amazon (which matches the part number on the box) does not match the part number on the keyboard. When I realized this, I called the representative back to tell them the number printed on the keyboard. I left 2 voicemails trying to get in touch with her prior to the 48-hour deadline until she closed the case. She left a voicemail for me about 3 hours prior to that deadline (Sunday), without referencing either of my voicemails. I called that representative back today, and was informed that this product was not covered under any warranty - despite what Lenovo's own product page says. I called the general service center again, and was referred pretty quickly to a local service center. I called the service center. They told me that they were a software provider, and not a hardware provider, so they couldn't help me. I again called the general service center. When I told them my reference number to try to get through the initial information faster, they informed me that my case had been closed due to a lack of response (on my part). I have just completed my 5th conversation with an IBM or Lenovo rep, and my issues are still unresolved.

Anyone who finds this trail as frustrating as I do should avoid this product (and Lenovo/IBM, who are proving to be incredibly inept at customer service) at all costs.

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.