The original picture was removed, but here is one:<p><a href="http://techreport.com/discussions.x/22838" rel="nofollow">http://techreport.com/discussions.x/22838</a>
The important (and unfortunate) difference is that this new keyboard breaks apart the ins/del/home/end/pgup/pgdown block.<p>That's a dealbreaker from a developer perspective. In fact it's the reason the new Thinkpad I just ordered is not an X1. The X1 is a nicer machine in every other respect, but it has a funky keyboard layout, so I can't use it for development without taking a big productivity hit.
I'm typing this on an Apple keyboard connected to a Macbook, sitting next to a Dell Vostro v131 and all 3 share this design trait. They are no Model M, but they are usable.<p>I still need to find a good way to make all computers on my desk share the Microsoft Natural and the Apple trackpad, but I'm not holding my breath.
I've been fearing this. Boo.<p>The keyboard is one of the prime motivators for me to stay on ThinkPad. I guess if I don't beat the launch, I'll pick up a last-generation machine used -- hopefully at some discount -- and hope that it "lasts awhile".<p>I've been asking around, including on HN, whether anyone has experience with Lenovo's chicklet keyboards and whether they've managed to reduce if not remove the suck that I've experienced with other brands' chicklet keyboards.<p>P.S. I seem to recall seeing a story/photo implying that the T430 will have a chicklet keyboard, as well. Can anyone confirm or refute this?
I own a ThinkPad X120e with one of these keyboards. Unlike the MacBook keyboard, the new ThinkPad keyboard is very stiff and sturdy with no sway. It's surprising just how sturdy they feel, despite looking so weak.<p>But the bigger selling point is, the keys have <i>curvature.</i><p>And that's important for any touch typist, and the reason I chose the X120e over every other netbook/ultrabook I tried.
That is well known by now, here [1] is an article explaining the advantages of the so called chiclet keyboard (given that this is no marketing idea)<p>Here probably a picture of the X230 [2]<p>[1] <a href="http://blog.lenovo.com/design/thinkpad-x1-designing-the-ultimate-keyboard" rel="nofollow">http://blog.lenovo.com/design/thinkpad-x1-designing-the-ulti...</a><p>[2] <a href="http://images.tweaktown.com/news/2/3/23890_09_spotted_lenovo_s_ivy_bridge_powered_thinkpad_x230_ultrabook.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://images.tweaktown.com/news/2/3/23890_09_spotted_lenovo...</a>