Lenovo Blog

I bought my first ThinkPad (the classic ThinkPad 600) in 1998. I immediately decided it was wonderful and swore I'd never use another brand of computer again.

There was a time after that when they just kept getting better and better: the A30p with a beautiful 1600x1200 IPS display, and then that same display in the slimmed-down and faster T60p.

I also bought a bunch of old beaters to use as test machines and what not: 750's, 755's, a 360, and I was so happy when I tracked down a 701c with the butterfly keyboard.

Then for a while you could get used working A30p's in good condition for $300 or so. Did I mention the 1600x1200 IPS display? :-)

I love the TrackPoint [1] and those great displays, and even better, all the machines had the same great keyboard! When other laptop manufacturers were fiddling with this layout and that, every ThinkPad had the same exact keyboard, and it was a good one too. I could move from one ThinkPad to another without thinking about it.

Then, they hired a keyboard designer.

You could see the trouble coming in this poll:

http://blog.lenovo.com/design/keyboard-layout-survey-details-matter

The poll itself is gone, but the comments on the blog post are still there. The poll had all sorts of layout tweaks - moving various keys around in an A-B-C-D test - just the kind of thing a keyboard designer would want to do.

Then the new keyboards started coming along. Commonly used keys were moved around, and the F1-F2 keys were jammed into a solid tight…

I think Jony Ive lifted an entire industry and perhaps a generation to “good design” (and brought a lot more attention to Dieter Rams[0][1][2]). That we’re here talking about it (for the 3rd(?) time on HN front page) is a testament to that. That said, I think humans got lost in the process, at least occasionally, but not just recently. I don’t recall which models, but sometime the MacBooks adopted really sharp edges on the bottom slab - I found it uncomfortable to sit at (did my piano teacher have input, as a final “keep your wrists up!” order?). Or the orientationally challenged hockey-puck mouse[3]... Compare with the (not problem-free, mind) Thinkpad, which may seem more designed and exciting when you see it’s got a singular inspiration that they seem to have honoured for years[4] (how brave is that, to not change?).

I wonder if Apple didn’t feel self-imposed pressure to keep asserting its design dominance, and therefore look for ways to change. We’re all just armchair quarterbacks here though. in the end I think Jony Ive did more good than harm.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieter_Rams

[1] https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/apple-design-doesnt-fall-far-from-brauns-tree-176668

[2] https://youtu.be/YdVG4LcoY4Y

[3] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_USB_Mouse

[4] http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/the-japanese-essence-in-thinkpad-bento-boxes

Do you mean http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/retro-thinkpad-its-alive/ the Retro ThinkPad? It's coming, I am waiting and if it sports the old seven row keyboard and Thunderbolt then I am buying and not asking the price. Do yo know why? Let's run some numbers! If I charge 130 USD / hr as a consultant (as consultants handle their own taxes as such, it's the equivalent of a 130K yearly which is not crazy high for a sr sw architect/developer) and this machine makes me 1 percent more effective than the second best then it's earning me 10 bucks a day. An 5000 dollar machine will earn itself back in two short years. And this is at 1% while I believe the difference to be much, much bigger. I am ready to invest but there's no product since the T420 family which would be worth investing in. It also gives us an idea of the lifespan of these machines: the T420 family is from 2011 and it's not like they are on their last legs six years later.

Also, read the https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=73419.0 Matias Ergo Pro review on some interesting design decision that went into that particular keyboard. (And yes, it's the one I use vertically and can only recommend doing the same.)

Interestingly enough, some gaming laptops are the ones that at least attempt to have a semi decent keyboard by using mechanical switches.

Haven't tried it yet, but it's a risky departure from the previous long-standing design (and it applies to all of their models being released this year - i.e. the previous 7-row layout is history). They seem to be taking the redesign seriously though - some more information on their blog: http://blog.lenovo.com/design/thinkpad-x1-designing-the-ultimate-keyboard

My worry is that they've moved the page/up down keys quite illogically down next to the arrow keys. It just doesn't map right mentally - moving pages up/down shouldn't have to involve clicking keys either side of the arrow keys:

http://allthingsd.com/files/2012/05/Lenovo_tablet_X230t_standard_06.jpg

Not too happy about the home/end keys for similar reasons.

Making the keys more ergonomic is fine but it seems there really was no incentive for them to change the layout to a 6-row one other than arbitrary stylistic reasons.

That all said, it's probably still the best notebook keyboard on the market. I have a MacBook here and feel/tactility of the keys is superior on my old 2010 ThinkPad (if only just - they're both great keyboards) - on the new models, layout issues asides, it's supposed to be even better.

But consumers did not choose 16:9 over 16:10, because consumers cannot tell the difference. We can thank TV panels for that switch:

LENOVO: "Again, we can thank the LCD manufacturers for this change. By cutting everything in the same aspect ratio, they have less waste per large sheet of glass. Since these manufacturers make more selling TV displays than laptop displays, the PC vendors have almost zero say in this change. We simply have to adapt."
http://blog.lenovo.com/perspectives/display-ratio-change-again

> Really the notion that manufacturers, except for brave Apple, unilaterally decided to force this on users is completely asinine.

In the case of the iPad, it's completely true. Apple decided that 4:3 screens were the best form factor for a hand-held tablet. So they made 4:3 happen, rather than settle for common and cheaper 16:9 or 16:10 screens. Guess what ratio Android tablets use.

Lenovo laptops have had a bios setting since 2010 that lets you swap the fn & ctrl keys. That doesn't swap the keycaps though.

Some history of the placement and many comments http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/fn-versus-ctrl-let-the-games-begin

A series of posts where they asked for feedback, then acted on it.

Thinking about changing the key configuration http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/switch-mode-for-fn-ctrl-keys

They decided to make it bios switchable showing screenshot http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/switch-mode-for-fn-ctrl-keys-follow-up

Announcement of implementing it across many models http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/switch-mode-for-fn-ctrl-keys-start-up