T60 keyboard/button questions

I was thinking about buying a T43 but then the T60 came out. I'm all for the Duo core processor and the rest of the changes but I have a few question about the new keyboard/buttons becasue in the pictures I've seen they look cheaper. Does the keyboard in the T60 have the same feel as on the T43 or does it feel cheap? Do the mouse buttons feel the same as on the T43? Do the "Thinkvantage" and volume buttons at the top of the keyboard feel cheap? And lastly does the keyboard,mouse buttons, or the volume buttons flex or are they solid as on the T43?

 

Based on what I have heard from others, the answer to whether or not the keyboard feels cheaper is "No". However, like the T43, it will depend on the luck of the draw. You can get either the ALPS keyboard, the NMB keyboard, or the CHICONY keyboard with NMB being the best and CHICONY being the worse; nobody has any control over what keyboard you will get.

 

Thank you. The feel of the keyboard is the main part but I'm still very interested about the volume buttons.

 

I have the Alps keyboard. I like it very much thank you, but I am not a speed typer.

 

The volume buttons & Thinkvantage look definitely cheaper and it most likely will be. If they were ready to spend a little more money on them, they whould have written "Thinkvantage" on the button as IBM wrote "ACCESS IBM", but instead they decided to put that ugly looking sky blue button with Thinkvantage written on top.

The mouse buttons too look much uglier. As for the keyboard, they shoved in the two windows keys and I really am not sure if the new keyboard design is still available from NMB. I received the China made CHICONY keyboard and I called tech support and got it replaced for my T43. You need to make sure if the T60 inded has the NMB keyboard.. the CHICONY keyboard really sucks and you will be ashamed to present it as the good talked about legendary ThinkPad keyboard.

 

My girlfriend's t60 has the NMB keyboard (fru 39T0958), and it feels exactly the same as the NMB on my t43. They still use the NMB, Alps, and Chicony keyboards.

The touchpad buttons are smaller (and I think the touchpad is, too), which I didn't like too much. However, I never use the touchpad, so it didn't bother me, personally. I originally thought the power/thinkvantage buttons looked cheap, but upon using them, I actually liked the feel of them better than the buttons on the t43. They felt a bit more solid.

Strangely, her XGA hydis screen was also a bit brighter than my SXGA hydis.

Overall, I am very jealous of the t60, and would certainly trade up for one if I could. I think most of the t60 bashing is undeserved, and is probably rooted in defensiveness. It didn't seem to me like you would be sacrificing anything quality-wise by going with a t60.

 

Sorry about this "Noob-ish" question, but upon reading this thread, i found myself totally lost over this, NMB, Alps, and Chicony keyboards. Could someone clarify what this all means? And how would someone find out what kind of keyboard they have. Also, i did notice

Does this mean that each keyboard has unique properties that are different from each other?

Thanks for your responses.
BankBen

 

Some prefer the Thai keyboard. You can see what parts where used to make your ThinkPad here.