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Just received my X230, some thoughts

X230-X280, X390 Series
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zqhz
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Just received my X230, some thoughts

#1 Post by zqhz » Sat Jun 23, 2012 3:53 am

I just bought the new X230, with i7 (mode 2325-2DG). I do not think that I was very picky on keyboard. However, after using the new keyboard, I really regret that I have bought the computer. Firstly, the layout was bad, now the Home/End keys and PgUp/PgDn keys are far apart. Those keys are usually used together when navigating a document/webpage, and it is very inconvenient to be force to move the hand all the time. Secondly, the keys are too smooth. The original keyboard has matte finish, more similar to those good external keyboards. The new keyboard is smooth, kind of glossy, so my finger tip always feel greasy, and not th feeling of mechanical contact. The keys are also too large to me.

I have dissembled the keyboard, and found that now the whole keyboard, including the volume buttons and the power buttons are part of the keyboard. Therefore, it should be rather easy to release a replacement keyboard with different layout to replace the island-style keyboard. Maybe Lenovo can release a classical alternative keyboard for those who do not like the new one?

BTW, the palm rest is too warm, not as bad as X60/61, but not too far. So you do not want to type a long time anyway when plugged in (at least in summer, in winter it could be a welcoming feature).

The backlights of the keyboard is useful in some case. However, if you tilt the keyboard up, which often happens when you are sitting in a couch, the light of the LEDs under the keys leak, which is annoying.

I upgraded from an X201. Even though the main motivation for upgrading is to have a faster processer, because the laptop is also my desktop, the keyboard really make me feel bad. Is there any way to fit a X220 keyboard to X230? or fit the X230 motherboard to a X220 case?

PS. I weighted my X201 and X230. X201 weighted 1703 g, and the new X230 weighted 1730 g, both with 9-cell battery. I believe my balance is good, because I also has a T420s, weighted 1770 g. So the question is what is the benefit for users to make the X230 thinner (at least near the hinge) and cause the thermal problem, without reducing the weight, which is more important to the users.

dr_st
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Re: Just received my X230, some thoughts

#2 Post by dr_st » Sat Jun 23, 2012 10:09 am

Hi and welcome to the forum.

It has been discussed in a few threads.

Bottom line is - the X220 keyboard will physically fit, but the key mappings are different, so the relevant keys (the ones that were moved) will not work correctly.

A modified BIOS will be required to solve this. Probably after the new models have been out for a while, some BIOS experts will consider it.

More is discussed here:
http://www.laptopreviews.com/lenovo-thi ... ew-2012-05
And here:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=104151

There has been a rumor posted that Lenovo _might_ introduce a classic keyboard layout for the new models within a few months. At this point it's nothing but an unconfirmed rumor, though.
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

rsutoratosu
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Re: Just received my X230, some thoughts

#3 Post by rsutoratosu » Wed Aug 22, 2012 10:04 pm

Hate the new layout also, its similar to dells if you never used one, i miss the page fwd & back keys.. sucks for me. I do like the feel of the new keyboard.. I hope they make that keyboard.. I like the classic key mapping..

Also I keep hitting f1 instead of f2 as F2 is usually above 1 :( help screen keep popping up

hydrazine
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Re: Just received my X230, some thoughts

#4 Post by hydrazine » Thu Aug 23, 2012 6:55 am

rsutoratosu wrote:Hate the new layout also, its similar to dells if you never used one, i miss the page fwd & back keys.. sucks for me. I do like the feel of the new keyboard.. I hope they make that keyboard.. I like the classic key mapping..

Also I keep hitting f1 instead of f2 as F2 is usually above 1 :( help screen keep popping up
I keep hitting the F1 key as well. Thought I was pretty apt at it having used T390E, T42, T60, R400, T420 and now X230 (as well as other computers/laptops) .. but the placement and no separation makes a difference!

The QWERTY side typing is not bad .. pretty intuitive. Just the F1-12 keys and the elimination of page fwd/bkwd option takes some getting used to. Backlit keyboard is sick tho .. very much an airplane show-off. =)
x - 390 - 2626
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x - T410
X230 - 2306

dr_st
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Re: Just received my X230, some thoughts

#5 Post by dr_st » Thu Aug 23, 2012 7:05 am

hydrazine wrote:The QWERTY side typing is not bad .. pretty intuitive.
It's almost like saying that steering a given car is pretty intuitive because the car goes in the direction one turns the wheel... :)
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

hydrazine
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Re: Just received my X230, some thoughts

#6 Post by hydrazine » Thu Aug 23, 2012 7:47 am

dr_st wrote:It's almost like saying that steering a given car is pretty intuitive because the car goes in the direction one turns the wheel... :)
Very much! It's like the grid of gas pedals and brakes are the right distance apart so there's no over-dip.

Basically I have typed fine without looking at the keyboard from the get-go. Haven't slipped into the wrong keys except the F1-12 or finding functional keys.
x - 390 - 2626
x - T42 - 2374
x - T60
x - R400 - 7439
x - T410
X230 - 2306

pianowizard
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Re: Just received my X230, some thoughts

#7 Post by pianowizard » Thu Aug 23, 2012 9:12 am

rsutoratosu wrote:i miss the page fwd & back keys.. sucks for me.
To page forward, you can hold the "Alt" key and then hit the "right arrow" key. To page backward, hold "Alt" and hit "left arrow".
Dell Latitude 7370 (QHD+, 2.84lb); HP Pavilion x2 12-b096ms (1920x1280, 3.14lb); Microsoft Surface 3 (1920x1280, 2.00lb);
Dell OptiPlex 5040 SFF (Core i5-6600); Acer ET322QK, T272HUL; Crossover 404K; QNIX QHD2410R; Seiki Pro SM40UNP

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Re: Just received my X230, some thoughts

#8 Post by twistero » Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:03 am

rsutoratosu wrote:i miss the page fwd & back keys.. sucks for me.
Try Fn+PgUp and Fn+PgDn.
X60 tablet 6363-P3U, 3GB ram, 128GB SanDisk Extreme SSD, SXGA+ screen, Intel 6300
T61 Frankenpad in 15 inch T60 body, UXGA LED-lit AFFS LCD, T9300, 6GB RAM, NVidia NVS140m, Intel 6205, 128GB Crucial M4 SSD, 1TB HGST HDD + eBay caddy in Ultrabay
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hydrazine
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Re: Just received my X230, some thoughts

#9 Post by hydrazine » Fri Aug 24, 2012 4:12 am

Alt + (left or right arrow) works

Fn + PgUp/Dn doesn't work .. read it on a X230 review too but doesn't work on mine.
x - 390 - 2626
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x - T60
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x - T410
X230 - 2306

rsutoratosu
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Re: Just received my X230, some thoughts

#10 Post by rsutoratosu » Fri Aug 24, 2012 10:47 am

yes, thats what I do but when you're used to 6+ years of page fwd and back.. you dont think, you just hit it..
i still use 2 x201 full time and keep my x230 at home (dont wanna get it damaged).

So a bit harder when you're surrounded by 95% legacy keyboard :)

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Re: Just received my X230, some thoughts

#11 Post by barrywohl » Sun Aug 26, 2012 8:39 am

Overall I'm a fanboy for the new keyboard and the new X230T.

I'm coming from 17 years of ThinkPad use, with my most recent ThinkPads at W700, a T61p and an X201T, all currently in use.

I'm running Windows 8 Release Preview x64 on both the X201T and the 3 week old X230T.
I've been an UltraNav Pad fan since December, 2003 when I replaced an A21p with an R50p. The R50p had an UltraNav Pad and I fell in love with it instantly.

I love these things about the new keyboard:
backlit keys.
same great feel on key presses that I am used to.
lights on sound mute and mike mute keys.
delete key placed in easy to find right upper corner.
position nub on the down arrow in addition to "f" and "j" keys.
fingers crossed: less chance for debris to get under the keys and make them iffy.

I think that placing "Esc" "Del" "Fn" and "Arrow right" in the four corners is smart.

I don't miss the "7th row" at all. There are shortcuts for all the keys there I used but rarely.
I think the lack of blue on "enter" is a non-issue. I've got keyboards with and without that feature and it really doesn't make any difference cosmetic or functional.

I don't miss the page back and page forward keys, but only because I didn't really appreciate them. Having read this thread, I will use them more on the X201T and I'll use the Alt-Arrow right and Alt-Arrow left. I think that is great.

The biggest thing I miss on the X230T keyboard is an led below the screen or on the key itself to indicate caps lock "on." Now I keep the on screen indicator on when caps lock is active an that's an okay work around.

My X230T with 16 gb ram, i7 processor and a 500gb SSD drive runs much, much, much cooler than any of my other ThinkPads. It also sips juice modestly better than the others. I use the 3 cell battery the most, but I also have a 6 cell and a 6 cell slice available. Most of the time I'm running off of ac.

I wish the screen were 1980 x 1200. I really do, but it would only matter for me for one application, my office medical records, and I have workarounds for that.
First Thinkpad 755CX in 1995. First IBM: PC 1982 8088 w 64K RAM, dual floppy. Currently in use:
X230T with Win8Pro x64, i7, 500gb ssd; W700 WUXGA RAID 1 Blu-Ray W7Pro x64, occasionally a T61p with Win7Pro x64

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Re: Just received my X230, some thoughts

#12 Post by FRiC » Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:36 am

I just got the X230 yesterday, along with a T430 and a number of the cheaper E330's and E435's. The X230 is for myself.

I like the feeling of the new keyboard, but it seems that I'm typing a lot of transposed letters because I seem to be typing faster, but it could be because the keyboard size is larger compared to my old X61. I don't really mind the changed navigation keys, but I miss the menu key because I use it frequently... can't understand why it's PrtSc now. I also keep hitting F1 instead of F2. It'll take me a few days to get used to these changes. (My first ThinkPad was the first ThinkPad.)

What I hate most about the new ThinkPads is the touchpad being flush with the palm rest. Even on my X230 with the smaller touchpad, I keep accidentally touching the pad while typing. After trying different UltraNav settings I finally disabled it completely. Older ThinkPads with the slightly beveled touchpad is much much better.
X230 | i5-3210M | 8GB | 500GB | WWAN

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