Is there a good reason that the touchpad still exists...

i think ive seen HPs with blue trackpoints before (or compaq)

 

Fujitsu-Siemens Lifebooks too. Grey IIRC.

 

I think a couple of models in the Dell Latitude range still have trackpoint nibs.

Pretty much every consumer oriented laptop (besides the Vaio P) is touchpad only.

 

I own x61s and I don't like trackpoint in just one thing: left mouse clicks. I have to actually HIT the trackpoint in order to make a click. I had to make much smoother moves on my previous laptop with a touchpad. Other than that I like the trackpoint. Of course, I could use the buttons, but it's not as convenient as using a trackpoint for clicking.

 

I don't see how just using the left and right mouse click buttons instead of physically using the trackpoint to click is inconvenient, i just have all my left hand on the homerow, but the thumb, which i rest on the left mouse click, and my right hand index finger uses the trackpoint, i find it very fast. You should try, maybe i will upload some pictures of this hand position to show.

 

I'd appreciate if you do that. Right now it's inconvenient for me to use buttons

 

i love trackpoint, and have the touchpad permanently disabled via bios (so no turning it back on in windows!)

i also genuinely don't understand how it can be inconvenient for one to use the buttons. i personally use it this way : right index finger on the trackpoint, and the right thumb is in charge of the three buttons.

 

When did people get this... "the world revolves around me and my reasoning of right" midset. Chances are I think your choice in computer is dumb. Chances are you think my choice is dumb, or at least not optimal. But you know what, I can respect someone else's needs and I know that maybe someone else might want something else. What is so difficult about you understanding that Lenovo can have both there without bothering anyone. Don't like the trackpad, turn it off. Don't like the trackpoint, again turn it off. The whole world is happy.

The point is that some people prefer X and others y.

And for reference I owned a track-point in 1998 when you did not get a choice, your Thinkpad came with a track-point and you liked it. Trust me, even with my Ideapad's thumb size, overly sensitive trackpad, I can safely say, I prefer it. Are you shocked? Someone with a different opinion than yours. I will alert the presses.

So, to answer your question, Lenovo includes them for people like me.

/rant.

 

Thank you for bringing some sense to this discussion.

 

I really like having both options actually. I've had my Thinkpad T61p for a year and I find that being limited to one or the other is actually pretty crappy. For webbrowsing, I like the trackpad, and for document editing and programming, I really like the trackpoint. So having both is a huge plus. If you don't like choice OP, then too bad.

 

Ah who remembers the days before touchpads!!??

When Apple introduced the touchpad, it was a revolution. It was far easier to use and required no fine motor skills to use. Noob friendly.

 

I do. I've been in the field since the 70's.
Renee

 

I never liked the touchpad, always hated using them. I was perfectly happy with my trackball and before that nothing, just as I am happy with my trackpoint. I just wish there was an option to get rid of my touchpad on my t400 like the x200. But yes I do remeber the days before touchpads, they weren't bad at all .

 

I can't believe the little eraser has survived this long . . . One of the main reasons I haven't bought a think pad

 

Wait, what? I understand people not buying a computer because of Fn-Ctrl, because it doesn't have a trackpoint, or because keyboard/trackpad/touchpoint quality is too low. But you won't buy one because it has a feature you won't use? Take off the red cap and you barely notice it's there. Is it really that awful?

 

After a couple of hours with my new T500, I'm coming to the same conclusion.

Bill

 

I'm a pretty smart human being. I adapt fast.

 

What is it that bothers you? Because the thinkpads have options that others desire which you don't? The others could have equally say that you have an obstinateness of unwilling to adapt the touchpad. This thread is absurd.

 

What problem is there with this thread?

 

Because of how vested people are in this discussion.
It is really simple: some people like the touchpad. Some people do not. Some people require a touchpad while others want a trackpoint.

Options are never a bad thing. This thread is largely pointless though and I am just contributing to its extension!

 

variety is the spice of life..... so even our black old bento box thinkpad gives us some spices to our mundane Thinkpadder's life..LOL...

 

Yup. The more women the merrier!!!

Oh wait, we were talking about touchpads.........

 

(thinks...Shall I keep the thread alive, hmm...hmm...Oh, what the heck)

I love the Trackpoint, personally. Of course, that's said from the perspective of someone who can routinely type 80-90wpm, and hates the inefficiency of taking his fingers off the keyboard to use a touchpad-style mouse, and who knows a lot of the Windows hot-key combinations in order to avoid using the mouse when it interferes with typing.

For those new to the scene, there was a time when a few vendors like IBM and Toshiba offered the Trackpoint as the ONLY option on their laptops. Toshiba discontinued the practice sometime after the Pentium II/AMD K6-2 era I believe. IBM continued much longer, until they realized they were losing business due to folks that couldn't wrap their head around the Trackpoint design. Some were novice users. Others had poor coordination. Some were happy with what they already had, and suspicious to change, and some people just genuinely don't care for the Trackpoint as opposed to a touchpad. So IBM added the touchpad to gain sales --a wise move, which also gives the ThinkPad better resale value than older ones had.

P.S. To Surfasb --Think of the ThinkPad like Audrey Hepburn. A classic never goes out of style.

(rrrrrowl)

 

My first notebook was a Toshiba I bought in 1997. It had a trackpoint and also two buttons, one above the other instead of side by side, IIRC, below the keyboard. That worked for me till 2003 when I bought an HP Pavilion with a touchpad. Toshiba's quality seems to have taken a hit, so I moved to HP. Another Pavilion in 2007, and now I had a ThinkPad with all the options. And, yes, I'm having to relearn using the Trackpoint.

As stated above, when I'm typing, I prefer the Trackpoint and two mouse buttons at the thumbs. I use a lot of shortcut combinations, too. But when I'm on the web, the touchpad is nice for a more relaxed approach.

Edit: After using the Trackpoint, I'm starting to find it more usable for web browsing than I had initially thought. Part of the reason may be the touchpad on my T500, especially when it comes to scrolling, is not as good as on the Pavilions I've had. Too, the TP touchpad is smaller than I'm used to. However, the Trackpoint is becoming more comfortable to use.

Bill

 

Not all touchpads are created equal!
I absolutely loved touchpads from the t4x, r5x, t6x. They were accurate and responsive to my touch, the mouse buttons also gave a very nice response when pressed. But the touchpads on other laptops I've owned, dell lattitude cpxj, acer travelmate 3200, asus v6j, toshiba satellite 1805, were all, in my opinion, lacking in quality and performance that the Thinkpad touchpad's possess. Using my friend's R52 for the first time shocked me because of the sheer quality of the touchpad. I could even play first person shooters, namely counter-strike with amazing accuracy with it. I feel kind of iffy with the new touchpads on the t400's t500's etc, feel a bit different. But I'll always vouch for the Thinkpad touchpad. Having said that, I do appreciate the trackpoint on the thinkpads as well. I used to abhor the thing, but probably only because of poor implementations in other laptops.

I'm forced to use it as i currently use an x200 tablet, I really wished they had a touchpad on this, though the space is limited. I'd imagine though, the x61 tablet would have room.

 

The Dell XT2 has a similar form factor to the x200Tablet. Yet one has a touchpad and one doesn't. I'm not quite sure why.

I do prefer the touchpad to the trackpoint.

But then ask me would the touchpad change my preference between the XT2 v the x200T? Unlikely. Price is a bigger concern since the XT2 was so friggin expensive.

edit:

My favorite pic of Hepburn has always been the Breakfast at Tiffany's. She has cute dimples.

 

My Inspiron 8000 came with a touchpad and trackpoint in 2001. I remember using both depending on the situation, but I primarily used the touchpad.

Bought a Thinkpad R51 in late 2005 and also sort of used both. However, since then (and now I'm on a T500) I am strictly a touchpad user. Not only that, but I must be super-noob or something because I actually use the touchpad's left mouse button instead of tapping the touchpad. I also use PgUp/PgDn to scroll web pages. When I got my T500 I tried using the trackpoint for scrolling but didn't like how it worked. (What I really wish I could do is configure the trackpoint's left/right buttons to emulate PgUp/PgDn.)

I could never get the trackpoint configured the way I wanted. Either it was too sensitive or not sensitive enough. By contrast, the touchpad works very well for me with sensitivity and pointer motion maxed out.

Regarding PalmCheck - touchpad touches while typing have never been a problem for me on the Thinkpad because of the touchpad's size and placement. It is low enough and small enough to not get in the way. The MacBook's touchpad, however, wreaks all kinds of havoc on my typing position. It also doesn't help that the MacBook touchpad is perfectly flush with the rest of the palmrest.

 

I tend to rest my left thumb, rather than my palms, on the touchpad. Sometimes throws off my typing as it will click my cursor somewhere. I guess that is another reason to go with the trackpoint. Wayward thumbs.

 

one of the reason that T6x, R6x, Z6x use a smaller touchpad areas, was the fact that it prevents people's palm from touching it inadvertently.

 

Coincidently enough, Laptop Magazine's review of the XT2 suggested making the touchpad wider.........

 

Back then, the touchpad technology is still not as sophisticated. But nowadays with touchpad that can sense the difference between your fingers and your palm, the use of larger palmrests is inevitable as a point of differentiation.

 

The T400 I have now is my first laptop, and I fell in love with the TrackPoint from the first minute. I have never ever used the touch pad.

 

I have a T61 and the main reason I have chosen Thinkpad is the option of both touchpad and trackpoint. I personally prefer the trackpoint because I am able to use it with just my left hand.

My question is: why is the offer of both touchpad and trackpoint not the main tendency? Yes, some people like touchpad while other people like trackpoint. So the industry should offer both. I can't believe the increase of cost would be that big just because of the addition of a trackpoint. And it is annoying to be forced to buy expensive business machines so as to have a trackpoint. I would really appreciate to see companies releasing economic laptops with both touchpad and trackpoint.

(this discussion about price may seem nonsense given that economic or business laptops are already cheap in u.s. and europe, but the world surprisingly includes other places where the price of a business laptop is close to the absurd)

Companies are stupid. In the name of a few dollars less in the price they are risking to lose a good share of clients with preference for trackpoints.

 

because Trackpoint is invented by IBM engineer, and no one does trackpoint now like IBM/Lenovo.