Comments on: ThinkPad T400 and T500 Keyboard Stiffness: Myth Busted

By: Ian Orford

Ian Orford — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 18:19:14 +0000

Gus, I am sorry but we cannot do anything but disagree with your observations. The keyboard on the Edge 15 is nothing short of superb, and we are not the only ones that say so. Engadget, Cnet, every reviewer that has used the ThinkPad Edge 15 has praised the keyboard!

By: Gus Gus

Gus Gus — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:11:25 +0000

As a touch-typist I must say that the keyboard desing has really gone downhill on the lenovo thinkpads. I used to own two t23′s, and the nine year old machines still amaze me with their amazing tactile response.

I recently bought the budget-end Thinkpad Edge 15″, and all I can say is that while general performance and design is pleasing, the keyboad is *horrible*. The keys show strong resistance about midway through pushing down, yet overcoming this resistance does not mean that the key has been pressed. In effect, one must constantly stay on guard and bang the keyboard harder than usual, lest the input doesn’t “stick”. On top of that, the Enter key gives more resistance than others, which means more work for the over-exhausted right pinky.
To top things off, there seems to be some kind of hollow cavern below the right side of the keyboard. When hitting the Enter, Backslash, or Backspace key, one can hear a resonant thud and light click from the surrounding keys, which react to the vibration.
Thinkpad Edge 15″ has one of the worst laptop keyboards I have ever used. I will never again buy lenovo.

By: Ian Orford

Ian Orford — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:00:24 +0000

You must have gotten one of the very early ones. Ask support for a replacement Florian, they should let you have one if your still covered by warranty. Alternatively buy a T61 keyboard from eBay, it fits and is incredibly strong

By: Florian

Florian — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 11:00:35 +0000

There is definitely a lot of flex on the upper right and upper left side. But what’s much worse to me is that, while I do not yet have my laptop for ages yet and do not use it 8hours a day, the “A” and the “E” key are already falling of the keyboard regularly now, despite typing in a very normal manner and having never had such problems with any laptop before.

By: greg

greg — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 01:42:34 +0000

Interesting that I stumbled across this 2 year old thread after my wife changed jobs and was issued a (seemingly) new ThinkPad T400. She used to have a T43 which I liked because its solidity really impressed me. I was disappointed with this T400 as there seemed to be a lot of flex in comparison. I decided to do a Google search to see what is up with it and came across this site. It is not a perception; this T400 is definitely not as solid as the T43. My wife noticed it right away. Her home computer is a Compaq Evo n620c that is more solid and has a better flex free keyboard. I am typing on a Compaq nc8000 that has a better keyboard. Her new T400 must be an early build, I am glad to hear that the keyboard can be easily swapped out. But it’s not just the keyboard. The chassis is just not as solid. It seems to have gotten cheaper. The weight difference doesn’t seem to be much. The machine is fast though!
Just my $.02

By: Ian Orford

Ian Orford — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:23:25 +0000

No, we had an early model Andreas, we do appreciate however that some people perceived the early T400/T500 keyboards to have flex. We just believe that even the early keyboards in those models were still far superior to comparable business class laptops.

By: andreas

andreas — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 19:20:54 +0000

Ian Orford
ITs not a myth, then why would lenovo build a metalframe under keyboard in the late 2009 early 2010 t400 and t500 models?

Maybe you got that model and then your statement is half true only.

ive one t500 and i changed to nmn from t61 right away, cause it flexed not much but still annoying.

By: JoshB

JoshB — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:05:58 +0000

I put a t61 keyboard in my w500. Its worlds stiffer plain and simple. Now you can argue that thats because my w500 has seen a beating and as such the chassis isn’t as stiff as it once was. I would argue that my t42p saw much more of a beating and the keyboard is still going strong. New vs new the w/t500 keyboard is fine, but once the chassis sees some action the stiffness of the keyboard is compromised. Luckily a new nmb produced t61 keyboard with the nice stiff steel backing plate drops right in. Of course i shouldn’t have to swap keyboards on a w500 after 11 months, as its a thinkpad not some piece of crap dell. Hopefully they will realize its worth the extra 5 dollars for the steel backing plate (which i would gladly pay extra for) to make sure it STAYS stiff.

By: Ian Orford

Ian Orford — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:33:35 +0000

Just go with the T510! Or the new ThinkPad Edge 15″, both superb, with excellent keyboards. Cheers, Ian

By: Fair Trade

Fair Trade — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:14:20 +0000

OK, now I’m in a quandary!
I came here researching whether I should go for a T400 or a T500 in the next month or two… I’ve been loyal to ThinkPads for a while now -T20, T43, T61 – because I love the quality; especially of the keyboard.
Please, can anybody point me in the direction of model numbers so I can see which T400/500′s shipped with non-flexing keyboards, if such a thing exists…