Thinkpad advice

I'm a long time lurker and finally decided to make an account on nbr to ask a few questions and look for some guidance.

I'm about to finish college(1 more semester this fall) for Marketing and looking to pick up a new laptop with in the next month or two for personal use. I recently fell in love with the new chiclet style keyboard on Thinkpads and went in search of the optimal model for me, but it doesn't quite exist.

I am a huge fan of Sager laptops, but I did fall in love with the build quality of Thinkpads, the design, and the new keyboards on thinkpads.

The T420 was damn close, but the keyboard was wrong. What I'm looking for is:
14-15" Matte Screen(1600x900 resolution)
Chiclet style keyboard
Thinkpad design
Dedicated low-mid graphics card
3+ hours of battery life(4+ is optimal, assuming I set brightness low and turn of most extras)
USB 3.0 ports would be a nice plus, but not a break point.

What will I be doing?
General business-Microsoft Office, Web browsing, watching netflix, and very light game playing(League of Legends mainly, possibly SC2, all playing on Low though, I don't expect to play, nor want to, on high).


So, as I'm new to Thinkpads, I do not know who they handle releases. I am currently going to wait until something comes out with these specs, but I'm curious if I'm asking for too much. Can anyone with Thinkpad experience give me any advice?

I thought the X1 looked to be a great laptop, but many reviews were rough and I do not want a glossy screen(I really can't stand them), and there was no dedicated graphics(not surprised, it's a price for being thin). I do not need something that's sub-4 pounds, I just like the 14" size =/- 1".

I look forward and thank you for any advice and guidance.

 

The only ThinkPads with the chiclet keyboards are the Edge ThinkPads, but those are all WXGA with Intel GPUs.

 

It is not the keyboard that is wrong, it is your expectation of the keyboard that is wrong.

The best chiclet keyboard I've used was a Lenovo ThinkPad Edge chiclet, and that is still quite worse feeling than the keyboard in my W520.

 

It's incorrect that only the Edge has the chiclet-style keyboard; the X1xx series has it as well (of course, they aren't offered with a 14" screen so won't satisfy the OP).

The chiclet keyboard is a significant advance over the old-style keyboard, including in the W520, which uses the standard full-size keyboard. With the chiclet, it takes less effort to type faster and more accurately, in my experience. It's a shame that they don't offer it in more machines. It is the wave of the future: enchanced usability with less thickness and less noise.

OP, there's no Thinkpad that meets all your criteria. Either modify the criteria or look elsewhere. Sorry.

 

I hate chiclet keyboards, but it's a personal thing (I'm quite a heavy typist since I'm used to mechanical switch keyboards). I have a travel keyboard that's chiclety and I constantly make mistakes

However, in my experience it's unusual to see someone prefer chiclet-style over a regular Thinkpad keyboard, and it looks like apart from the couple of models mentioned above (that are probably designed to compete with MBs) Lenovo seems to be sticking with it's "normal" keyboards for now.

 

In my experience, it's not. The ThinkPad island-style keyboard is not a run-of-the-mill one. Many people who have bought ThinkPads with the new style keyboard have preferred it; it's not actually unusual at all. (BTW, in my personal experience typing on one for many months, it is far superior to the keyboard on my new T420 and on my old T60/T61.)

 

The thickness of the keyboard is one of the main things that make traditional style keyboards so much better than chiclets. Thicker = more throw = much more feedback and you don't get that feeling that you hit the keyboard plate much too early. No chiclet can compete with the traditional style keyboards found in the current ThinkPad lineup in my opinion, and I'd like to believe that I'm a pretty good typist with an average WPM of like 110.

Edit:
And yes, I have used the chiclets that come with the new Edge series and the X120e.

 

I should have cut to the chase in my first post, I know there is currently nothing which meets my wants, but when does lenovo tend to release updates? Considering the X1 received the chiclet keyboard my hope is that
more models will get the same treatment.

 

Actually, not. I speak from actual experience using both types of ThinkPad keyboards. The new chiclet style enables more rapid and accurate typing with less effort. I have never gotten "that feeling that I hit the keyboard plate much too early"; I've just gotten the feeling that typing takes much less effort. The resulting lighter keystrokes also make typing much quieter, a real boon in many settings.

As a long-time ThinkPad user who has actual extensive experience typing on the new chiclet ThinkPad keyboard, I disagree.

I find that hard to believe, at least if you're talking about more than dabbling with a few sentences out of curiosity. You'd have us believe that you have experience on both the Edge and the X120e, and are bagging both? Do you work in a Lenovo store? I'm an actual owner with long-term experience, who has experienced what many actual users and owners have: the chiclet keyboard is superior. It's not even close.

 

I don't have too much experience with either the Edge or X120e, as I own neither, but I have used them. I can say that it is definitely the best chiclet implementation I've ever used, but I still prefer the traditional style keyboard. Believe it or not, I actually like it when my keyboard makes at least some sort of audible sound when I type. I might be the one oddball that likes hearing my keyboard when I have music playing through headphones to get a 2nd confirmation besides the press that I have actually pressed the key, but yeah.

Lenovo releases new models when Intel releases new CPUs. So, you'll have to wait until around January or February at least. And I certainly hope that they don't put a chiclet keyboard in a T/W series any time in my lifetime, unless they refine it even more (especially in the throw).

 

I used the ThinkPad Edge with the Chiclet keyboard since my Auntie have one but I still prefer the standard keyboards by some margin since I type faster with them. Still it's a preference thing, there's no right or wrong if you prefer either chiclet or traditional style keyboards.

Lenovo tends to refresh models when a new generation of processors arrive which won't be till next year when Ivy Bridge comes out. Though I be very surprised if Lenovo decides to implement Chiclet keyboards for all the ThinkPads in the next refresh, after all most long term ThinkPad users tend to be stubborn against major changes.

 

it sounds like last year's Sony Vaio Z would be the best fit

 

Yep, it's all personal preference, except that the island keyboard isn't a full seven-row keyboard and lacks the separate volume control keys, unfortunately

Aside from that, I type just as fast on my X120e as I do on my T500, so either one is fine by me. The keyboard on my dad's X220 (pretty much identical to that on the T420/T520/W520) is just as good as the other two.

I doubt Lenovo will include island keyboards in the core T/X/W line, as most Thinkpad users have repeated indicated that they still prefer traditional keys. That, and Thinkpads have historically been very slow to change.

Another great business laptop to consider that does meet all the criteria you specified is the HP Elitebook 8640p. It has an island keyboard, discrete graphics, an available 1600x900 matte screen, etc. Only downside is that it is significantly more expensive than the T420/Edge Thinkpads.

 

Sure, some dyed-in-the-wool non-chiclet users on forums have informally stated that they prefer the old-style keyboard. Of course, most have never actually used the chiclet keyboard for any length of time. The picture is different for people who have. Lenovo has changed plenty of things, including introduing the Edge with different styling, introducing glossy screens, etc. I don't think it's at all clear that they will never introduce chiclet keyboards to the main line. It would make perfect sense to me, for the slimmer "s" models.

 

I thought the X220 used the exact same keyboard as the T420 and T/W520?

Forgot to mention, I actually don't type any slower with a Lenovo chiclet keyboard, it just doesn't feel as good as a traditional style. Again, the main reason why I'm against chiclet keyboards is the typing feedback and feel. I personally touch the keyboard on my computer more than any other component, so I want don't want it to feel weird every time I press a key.