Saturday, March 6th, 2010
Today we bring you a sweet 30% coupon for Lenovo’s Multimedia Remote with Keyboard. Unimaginative name aside, this looks like a really cool device: a small, wireless trackball + keyboard for controlling your PC from a distance. If anyone picks one of these up and wants to write a review, we’d love to publish it on the site. I’ll even send you a little goodie as a thanks! The coupon brings the price down to $41.99 with free shipping, but you may have to pay sales tax. This deal ends on March 9th, but may expire earlier once the coupon allotment is up. How to get the deal - Click here to view the Lenovo Multimedia Remote with Keyboard
- Apply coupon in shopping cart w/no spaces before/after: USPCM16336
Tags: keyboard
Posted in Accessories | 1 Comment » Saturday, March 6th, 2010 Photo of BIOS keyboard config screen of ThinkPad Edge 13 Continuing on the trend of keyboards, my diligent readers reminded me I hadn’t commented on the Fn-Ctrl key swapping that was supposed to be built into the new models, despite having published my full ThinkPad T410 review. I am here to report that all is well and as it should be on the ThinkPad Edge 13, which I am in the process of reviewing. You can see the BIOS menu for keyboard options in the photo above. Flipping the switch to “Enabled” and pressing F10 to save & exit will have you non-ThinkPad traditionalists in all of your Ctrl-Fn glory. Everything worked as expected, but I didn’t leave that option enabled for too long, being rather used to the Fn-Ctrl layout. Another tidbit I noticed when exploring the BIOS, which you may have noticed above as well. The Edge 13 keyboard has supplanted the top row keys with system functions like volume and screen brightness, with the traditional F1-F12 keys relegated to secondary role and requiring a Fn-key combo. Thankfully, Lenovo’s engineers saw fit to include an option to swap this function as well. This adds a few points back to the Edge in my book, having used this keyboard layout before on the HP Envy 13 and Envy 15, being that I use the F-row keys quite a bit as a touch typist. For you T/R/W 400-500 series owners, you could always go out on a limb with a hacked BOIS to get your swapped keys. Tags: keyboard
Posted in ThinkPads | No Comments » Thursday, March 4th, 2010
We found out last November that Lenovo would support switching the controversial Fn & Ctrl keys (not physically of course), but only for the new models announced since then. Thankfully, an enterprising customer has taken it upon themselves to hack the last generation T4oo & T500 BIOS to allow this same key swap. User “middleton” on Lenovo’s official forum is supplying a modified BIOS for ThinkPad T400, T500, R400, R500 & W500 systems that allows the user to swap the mapping of the Fn and Ctrl keys, of course with a very strong “at your own risk” warning label. He isn’t new to this process either, having created this same patch for the IdeaPad Y550 and Y450 laptops. A couple people have responded noting it works perfectly, but of course proceed with caution. Also consider that future BIOS updates from Lenovo will undo this feature and you will have to choose between feature/bug updates, or having your keys swapped. To Lenovo’s credit, rather than denouncing the hard working Russian and banning his files, they chose to cite the obvious concerns with using an unofficial BIOS. Beyond what I mentioned here, you also need to be clear that if the machine is “bricked” or otherwise needs repair due to this “hacking” process, Lenovo’s warranty will not cover that repair. Hit the source link to grab the files and try it for yourself. Let us know how it goes in the comments Source: [Lenovo Forums] Tags: keyboard
Posted in ThinkPads | 4 Comments » Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Lenovo shook another tradition with the launch of its newest ThinkPads, changing the revered keyboard in a major way with a new “chiclet” design. This is understandably a cause for concern among those who liked the keyboard the way it was. Lenovo’s engineers have addressed some details of the new keyboard on their blog, Yamato Thinking. Apparently this type of keyboard is also called an island or isolation style keyboard, the latter of which is Lenovo’s preferred term. They go over the differences in the ThinkPad keyboard design compared to a certain fruit-shaped competitor, and how these differences are supposed to make for a better typing experience. Hit the link at the end for all the details. The keys used in isolation keyboards by our competitors are completely square, but in order to maintain the integrity of this design with other ThinkPads, we selected keys with a curve in the front. This was based on the concept of making it appear as though your original ThinkPad keyboard was sprouting up right in front of you. Our designers were very strict about staying true to the ThinkPad tradition.
Source: [Yamato Thinking] Tags: keyboard
Posted in ThinkPads | 7 Comments » Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
Today Lenovo announced via their Yamato Thinking blog that they will be implementing a BIOS switch in all future ThinkPad models that will swap the functions of the Fn and Ctrl keys at the bottom left of your keyboard. This is great news for some, and a sign of a good faith on Lenovo’s part, but does leave older models out of the key switching fun. This is a great announcement from Lenovo. They recognize the adoption of new users and support of their loyal communities is important and are investing in this change to their products. Unfortunately the phrase “in all future ThinkPad models” leaves a lot of machines out in the cold. Details are still forthcoming, but my interpretation is that the current T400/T500/X200/X301/etc generation of ThinkPads are the ones that will have their BIOS updated. This would leave -61 generation or older ThinkPads, ThinkPad X300, possibly SL400/500, and IdeaPads without nifty key switching. Is this necessarily a bad thing? Sure widespread compatibility would be nice, but the older ThinkPads are mostly a moot point. The majority of the people who don’t like the Fn-Ctrl key layout are going to be the new users, who are more likely going to buy into the new models. This BIOS should apply to all existing ThinkPads, which have been on sale since mid last year and likely cover the majority of complainants. The most people left out in the cold are actually IdeaPad owners, but considering the engineering and development teams are entirely separate between IdeaPad and ThinkPad, I’m not holding my breath for an IdeaPad BIOS update. Source: [Yamato Thinking] Tags: keyboard
Posted in Lenovo News | 12 Comments » Thursday, October 29th, 2009  Today we have here Lenovo’s ThinkPad USB keyboard, their newest external keyboard. If you are familiar with the ThinkPad T400s, you know Lenovo messed with tradition and revamped the keyboard a little. The ThinkPad USB Keyboard replicates the T400s keyboard design in this slim external version. The Esc and Del keys were doubled in length and the spacing between keys tightened up through the use of larger key caps. The key enlargement change was made due to research showing that those are the two most commonly used keys on the keyboard, while the larger key caps were instituted to reduce the amount of crumbs and other debris that finds its way under the keys. (more…) Tags: keyboard, ThinkPad USB keyboard
Posted in Reviews | 25 Comments » Friday, October 9th, 2009
David Hill, of Lenovo’s Design Matters blog and head honcho of design, is conducting an official survey looking for input on creating a wireless ThinkPad keyboard. A little over a month ago, Lenovo released an external keyboard based on the new design featured in the ThinkPad T400s. I’ve been using it the past couple days and it is quite nice (full review coming soon), but many were disappointed about the lack of a wireless version. Now David Hill is seeking input for the creation of a wireless keyboard, citing that while previous surveys indicated little interest in a wireless version, comments around the new keyboard seemed to indicate otherwise. Now is your chance! Visit David’s blog post, linked below, and take the survey honestly. They do ask questions around pricing and how you would truly use a wireless keyboard. If you say you would pay $X more for a wireless version and later balk at the higher price, you’ve only hurt the chances of Lenovo opening up to customer feedback. Stepping off my soapbox, I would love a wireless TrackPoint keyboard. I wouldn’t mind a touchpad as well, but in the end I want a way to type & mouse on my HTPC (currently an IdeaPad Y450) from the couch. My wireless trackball mouse works fine for mousing, but typing on the on-screen keyboard is a pain. The current ThinkPad USB keyboard is a very slim and light, so keeping the same general form factor would be perfect for me. Source: [Design Matters] Tags: keyboard, ThinkPad USB keyboard
Posted in Lenovo News | 6 Comments » Monday, August 31st, 2009
We’ve posted about the forthcoming ThinkPad USB TrackPoint keyboard a couple times now, when we found the product listing and then saw it for sale at Lenovo.com. Now we some pictures thanks to the fine lads and lasses at Lenovo. Bask in its glory. (Second image after the jump) (more…) Tags: keyboard, ThinkPad USB keyboard
Posted in ThinkPads | 11 Comments » Friday, August 28th, 2009 Lenovo’s new ThinkPad USB keyboard with TrackPoint has surfaced on their website, but we still don’t have a picture of the new device.
A couple weeks ago we reported on the new keyboard, which by all indications was a refresh of the slick ThinkPad UltraNav keyboard (one of which I’m typing on). Based on the description, it appeared this would be based on the ThinkPad T400s’ redesigned keyboard, with larger keycaps that prevent stuff from getting beneath the keys and revised system buttons. Lenovo’s product page doesn’t tell us much, but it does confirm the revised buttons: Red backlit buttons for volume and microphone mute
We also know the dimensions measure 13.31 x 9.89 x 1.45 inches and the keyboard weighs 1.34 lb. Unfortunately the normally tiny picture is missing from this product page, although the price is rather nice at $59 with a shipment timeframe of 11 business days. Take the jump and buy one, maybe wait for a special ecoupon for accessories, or stay tuned here for more details as we get them. Tags: keyboard, ThinkPad USB keyboard
Posted in Lenovo News | 4 Comments » Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 Lenovo ThinkPad Ultranav Keyboard - the old version Lenovo has quietly announced a new version of their ThinkPad USB keyboard, and it appears to incorporate design cues from the slick new ThinkPad T400s. Pictured above is the “old” ThinkPad USB keyboard, or ThinkPad UltraNav USB Keyboard as its officially called. The old ones were really based on the T4x ThinkPad keyboards, with the same style volume buttons, no Windows Start key, and a touchpad. There is even a “full size” version with a true number keypad. The new version is officially dubbed ThinkPad USB Keyboard with TrackPoint. There will be no touchpad included in this model, which should please ThinkPad purists greatly. It also includes the bottom-left corner Fn key and supports all of the Fn+F-key combinations you will find on the new ThinkPad T400s. It specifically has the new Fn+F6 “Change camera & microphone settings” combo, which no other systems have at this time. It is a safe bet that this USB keyboard will have the same exact key style and layout as the T400s keyboard, which hopefully includes the high class system and TrackPoint buttons. Unfortunately this keyboard won’t be the best solution for people with older ThinkPads, as a lot of the Fn key support is for newer models only. You can view the breakdown of which Fn+F-key combo’s are supported by which systems after the jump. The keyboard works with any Windows XP, Vista, or 7 installation and even has the little blue ThinkVantage button. However the best part of this keyboard is its price, only $59.99 (compared to $99+ for the “old” versions). It currently isn’t available on Lenovo.com for purchase, but hopefully will be soon. One can also only hope that Lenovo has listened to the cry of its customers for a wireless version of this keyboard. It would be perfect for controlling my Lenovo powered home theater experience. (more…) Tags: keyboard, ThinkPad USB keyboard
Posted in Lenovo News | 6 Comments » | |
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