Coming from a Thinkpad keyboard

Are there any former Thinkpad, Apple users here? I'm seriously considering the Haswell MBP Retina to replace my X220. My biggest reservation is the keyboard. Should I be that concerned?

 

Among the issues I have with Retina models, the keyboard is one of them. I don't care for the shallower key travel.

As the form factor itself is unlikely to change when the product is refreshed, I would suggest heading to your local Apple store, Best Buy, or MicroCenter and typing on one of the current models to see if it's something you'll be able to tolerate.

 

Its all subjective, and maybe takes getting used to... no one can really answer this for you but yourself. I personally love the keyboard on my 15" rMBP.

 

The main differences are the shallowness (as saturnotaku mentioned) and the fact that the MBP keys are flat whereas the Thinkpad keys are slightly curved. There's also the lack of a TrackPoint and associated buttons, though you probably already know this.

If you can, I'd suggest heading over to your local Apple store, or BestBuy, or wherever and spending some time with the MBP (or whatever you're planning on getting from Apple's lineup) and seeing for yourself if you like it or not. You can certainly measure some aspects of a keyboard such as key travel and curvature, but in the end it comes down to if you personally like it, since "like" is a subjective experience as doh123 says.

 

I migrated from my Dell, which had a keyboard similar to the ThinkPad, to various MacBooks (13" MacBook Pro, 13" MacBook Air, and now a 15" MacBook Pro) and I prefer Apple's setup over the others. They keys are shallower and flat while my Dell had a rather large keyboard travel and the keys were curved much like a common desktop keyboard.

I don't think you'll have too much trouble adopting to a newer keyboard but, as others have stated, it is best for you to form your own opinion regarding this

 

I actually like the rMBP keyboard very much (been a thinkpad fan since 2k) but it's not the keyboard ... had a few other dealbreakers which made me turn away. Here's my list:
1) Retina screen tearing while performing simple browsing tasks, scrolling pdfs, etc.
2) Lack of features and ports like RJ45, Expresscard, vga, etc. For consumers this may be a good change but for networking professionals it's unacceptable. I don't want to carry a bunch of extra dongles around all the time.
3) Heat (CPU)
4) Not future-proof (no upgradeability)

 

This is really about personal preference. I am very used to a ThinkPad keyboard and find most laptop keyboards hard to adjust to. But, I've never had any problems with the rMBP keyboard. Yes, its shallower, but it requires the right strength to press it and has a satisfying amount of feedback. No missed keys.

So, the thinkpad and macbook keyboards are my favorite and I rate both of them highly with the thinkpad slightly better (the trackpoint is an added bonus).

 

I still prefer the pre-unibody silver keyboard that Apple used to have on the MBP.

 

I too have gone from Dell, (XPS 1640) to a MBP, so far, I prefer the Apple keyboard, I seem to be making less mistakes whilst typing.

 

I've been a life long ThinkPad user, so I understand you concern vinuneuro. Basically, it comes down to what you prefer or can live with. Like everyone has already stated, the MacBook keyboard is much shallower and has less travel, but there are plenty of people who like it that way. I've tested the keyboard of the normal MacBook Pro several times. I wasn't impressed but I certainly didn't think it was bad either. I still prefer ThinkPad keyboards but I think I could live with a Mac keyboard.

Just try it out at a local store. You can take along your ThinkPad for comparison.

 

I went to Best Buy a couple days ago. There isn't any comparison. The Apple keyboard feels cramped, the keys are small, the travel is much shallower, the flat keys aren't confidence inspiring. That said, the feedback from the rMBP was decent. It's not the worst, but it's no where comparable to Thinkpad's, but also maybe good enough that it's possible to get used to.

A marriage between Thinkpad hardware and Apple OS would make for the best machine. They're both compromises. It's shame Hackintosh isn't easy on laptops.

 

I use Mac's at home (personal), have used Thinkpads for years at work (T40 I think, T60, T610, T410, X220). I love my Macs, but still prefer the ThinkPad keyboards. To me they are still best in breed for any laptop on the market.