ThinkPad USB Keyboard with TrackPoint: recent experiences?

Does anyone have recent experiences with the ThinkPad USB Keyboard with Trackpoint? When it first came out I read a number of reviews that described issues with double inserts while typing fast (e.g. ddouble lletters) and "sticky shift" causing problems with initial capitalization (e.g. STicky SHift instead of Sticky Shift). The problems only seemed to affect fast typers. I type very fast (112wpm / 99.8th percentile average on TypeRacer, 146WPM fastest score), so any such issues are likely to cause substantial problems for me.

I'm particularly interested to know if any Linux users have recent experiences with this keyboard, as that's what I'd be primarily using it with.

 

Thanks for mentioning TypeRacer, I Google it and I really enjoy the little time-waster.

 

Yeah, thanks bmasternbrook I am just playing with it. As for now I'm 10. But back to the question - I haven't heard anything more recent about the issues you mention.

 

TypeRacer is indeed quite a good time waster.
It would appear that my WPM varies between like 75 ~ 105 depending on the text. It seems that the more right hand heavy the text is, the faster I can type. Probably because I am right handed. Sorry I can't offer an answer to your question.

 

I can't talk about issues with fast typing as I am not that fast.
But I can make a couple of general comments:

The feel of it is very nice, better than the previous one with UltraNav, and more similar to the feel of the newer Thinkpad keyboards. The keys are a bit stiffer though.

Unfortunately, trackpoint scrolling does not work well in all situations. Sometimes it does not scroll where the internal trackpoint does, for example in the Outlook 2010 folder list or the Word 2010 document structure window.
They seem to have fixed some of the more glaring scrolling issues (problems in Firefox) in the latest driver version (1.07), but it still doesn't work reliably everywhere where the internal trackpoint works.
That can be a bit annoying.

I do miss the USB hub that was integrated with the old UltraNav version, but that's not really a big deal.

 

I recently bought two of these USB keyboards, p/n 55Y9003 like this:
Lenovo - Laptop and desktop - Keyboards & Mice 55Y9003 (US)

One I use a lot and the other quite a bit. I have very fast fingers(musician), so would be susceptible to what you're talking about.

The only real problem I had(right out of the box) was in the thumb clickers being too stiff and particularly needing to be pressed down farther than on the regular keyboard. So, I took the key off and added a small spacer to take up some slack and that fixed things.

I have only noticed a -very- occasional double type or caps problem like you described. Have used these for a few months now and like them very much.

The feel of the keys is a bit different from the laptop. Not sure how to describe, but it's easy to adjust to it. I don't have a problem switching between these and a laptop keyboard.

Got 'em off of ebay (from 'buy' id, if I remember correctly) for around $50-60.

Good value, good buy; wish I'd known about these a long time ago. Convenient to be able to keep the lid closed and reduce the footprint.

Note, tho, that there is no power on/off button, so to do a cold boot you have to lift the lid enough to press the power button on the laptop itself.

Update: I went out and tried that TypeRacer thing and noticed the usb keyboard is noticeably slower to use than the laptop keyboard. So, if you're some hotshot typist, take that into account. That said, the keyboard doesn't slow me down much, as I'm not racing other typists. My typing is short, very fast spurts, as I think of sumpin' to jot down.

 

Thanks for the feedback. The reason I mentioned my TypeRacer score was just to provide a standard of comparison as these issues seem to affect fast typists only. Apologies if I've gotten anyone hooked on a new timewaster as a result

I've also considered the older IBM UltraNav compact keyboard as it can still be found online, but since I'm looking to use this with my T420 the newer Lenovo keyboard is the natural choice.

 

anyone knows is there are way to swap FN - Control key when I'll use this keyboard with my Lenovo Laptop?

 

I have one of these on my work computer and it works great. No double issues for me.