Why would not Thinkpads have backlight keyboards

Just take a look at the MacbookPro.

As long as Thinkpad has a backlight, I will rash to buy a brand new T500

 

Can you rephrase that...?

 

ThinkPads use a different light source located at the top of the LCD bezel. It is called the ThinkLight. It is simply a different solution to the same problem.

 

thinkpads have NO obligation to be like a Macbook. they're targeted towards different consumers. if u want pretty, buy a macbook and stop by sephora.com on the way back.

with a thinkpad, your money is not thrown into the laptop to make it pretty. function > form. it is put into the build quality and the speed.

the thinklight serves its purpose. i can use the laptop perfectly fine in complete darkness. it can be easily turned on or off and i'm sure uses less battery than a backlit keyboard.

 

Something interesting going on here... looks and smells like a troll.

 

I'm glad you all understood what OP even said...because I didn't.

 

The ThinkPad would be compromising build quality by incorporating a backlight keyboard, I would think. And, as others have said, if ThinkPads were Macs, then they'd be Macs. But they're not.

 

Because a backlit keyboard would make it look like a toy instead of a business machine. I understand that it would be attractive to dyslexic teenagers, but you simply are not the target audience for a serious computing platform

 

I read a blog posting at lenovoblogs regarding a backlit keyboard option. IIRC the analogy was made to the mythic multi-million dollar pen that NASA designed to be used in zero gravity while the Russians just used a pencil. The blog writer was asserting that a backlit keyboard is like the multi-million dollar zero gravity pen while the thinklight is akin to the pencil: a cheap, simple, and effective solution to the problem. I agree with this logic. Backlit keys add a significant amount of complexity and cost to the keyboard , use more battery life, and possibly decrease tactile feedback. And for what - to keep touch typists fingers warm? I don't think anyone on this forum actually has a use for a backlit keyboard aside from the high-tech aesthetic.

But the funny thing is that if Lenovo offered a backlit keyboard as an option (which they likely will at some point in the future) all you people who are dissing on the idea now would in all probability pay for the upgrade just for the lulz ...and so would I, even after writing the above rationale for the thinklight

 

I use my x200s while laying on the couch or bed so I have the screen open to 145 degrees or more. This means that very little light from the ThinkLight actually hits the keyboard.

 

Just wanted to point out that the story is super false

http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp

 

Even if the story's false, it has the right sort of analogy. Essentially, the point is that why would you engineer a pile of complexity into something, possibly lowering it's reliability and providing more potential headaches, when the lower tech (but not quite as sexy) solution works in just about every case?

For most (obviously not all) of us ThinkPad users, either corporate or home, a backlit keyboard is essentially a waste. Most of the time I'm using mine, it's in well-lit area, and the contrast of the white lettering on the black keys provides sufficient "see-ability", and in any case, I touch type.

One of the main attractions of ThinkPad keyboards has been their rock-solid feel. I've noticed, with mine, the keyboard, backed by the internal magnesium frame, actually feels more solid than this external ThinkPad keyboard I purchased a bit ago.

Just my two cents.

 

That's why he said "the mythic multi-million dollar pen"

And I agree with everybody else, I use the thinklight once in a while when it's dark, and it really does the job. I use it mostly for the awkward fn-key combinations though, because as a touch typist i already know where all of the keys are.

 

does anybody know if the thinklight bulb ever goes out?

 

It is not a bulb, but an LED. And an LED does have a limit on its lifetime, but most likely it will be longer than your own.

 

i think a backlit keyboard would be a bit obselete and expensive since it would have no use for touch typists, but i guess it would be helpful for the hunt-peckers.
I would save my cash for sure by not getting that if it was available on thinkpads

 

It is an LED. LEDs generally have a 60,000-100,000 lifespan. That would be 6.85 to 11.42 years if you always had it on. I don't expect this is an issue for many people.

I can see where a backlit computer would be nice to have; but, for me I don't have much desire. For me the keyboard needs to work perfectly and I wouldn't want to risk that by having every key include an LED. A backlit keyboard would probably be more expensive. Not to mention that it would add complexity. Plus, which keys/parts of keys are lit up? Are only the letters lit, or the secondary functions lit as well (* for 8)? Are the function keys lit (Like on the F7 key do the pictures of the trackpad and mousenub light up)? And with 80 keys or so does one ever fails, is it worth fixing when it does?

More problems, more cost, little gain for me. I don’t see the need.

 

the thinklight actually does help a bit - but not like the macbook air backlit keyboard (that is the only backlit keyboard ive ever seen in person)

would i like that? sure. but does it fit on any thinkpad laptops? no. these are business laptops and macbooks are for regular consumers, not really business. and plus the thinkpad keyboard is always better than every other keyboard and i'll tell myself that adding a backlight will degrade that quality

i dont use it for business at all, but i wanted a semi-ultra portable with great battery life and i absolutely love that i bought this laptop. never use the thinklight really but have on occasion and really did help

 

ThinkPads are not for flirting purposes. They're built for something much more serious.

 

. For when you get down to business.

 

While I have yet to have an opportunity to work on a backlit keyboard, I agree with you here—that and if your display is tilted more than 90 degrees, the ThinkLight is just plain blinding.

 

ThinkPads are supposed to be business machines. How many businessmen have laptops with backlit keyboards?

 

One benefit to the ThinkLight over a backlit keyboard is that it can act as a light source if you wanted to look at a physical document.

 

I don't see the need for either backlit keys or the ThinkLight, but in terms of function, backlit keys are much better.

I have a Thinklight on my A31, and turning it on is worse than just using the ambient light from the LCD, even when I have a dimmer black background webpage on the screen. The glare reflected off the keys when the Thinklight is on makes it harder to see the letters than if it were off. This glare is primarily off of the more wear-polished letters than the rarely used keys like the F keys, but even those keys are harder to read with the Thinklight on.

 

Touch typing!
Plus backlighting means less battery life.

If you're adding backlighting you might as well add glossy screen, touch sensitive buttons for media controls, different colors to choose from, and more bloatware. =)

 

Good point. The ThinkLight is a nice idea, just poorly designed/thought out/implemented.

 

I would assumed backlight/thinklight keyboard as an ease of use. What I see here are just, yeah cuz it's not Mac, it's not for gamers, it's a business thing. Do you guys really do business?

 

i do business. and mac's are only for teenagers and the college bunch. sorry but i dont see macs being used in any real world application. maybe other than hollywood and music(because they get paid to use macs) i dont see any other major industry that uses macs.

 

http://lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=35

 

In general there are some professional mac users in video, music, graphic, and photography industries (you mentioned some). There is no NEED, but some like the mac interface and familiarity (if they used it over the years). But you're right in a broad sense.

 

if there's a will, there's a way. and with lenovo customers, there is no way we'd sacrifice our speed and brand image for a backlit keyboard. i wouldn't even sacrifice the touchpoint for a backlit keyboard

 

Great info.

 

Actually, I think I would prefer a backlit keyboard to the ThinkLight. Why? Because of the location (and therefore direction) of the light. If the light is coming up from underneath the keyboard, your hands cannot cast a shadow over the keys, blocking the light. I agree that most backlit keyboards look cheap, but I think it could be done to look professional.

That said, I hardly use the ThinkLight as it is, so I really don't care all that much.

 

Why don't we just put Maximus keyboard on thinkpads for the sake of lighting?

 

You mean this? Because we don't need a button for every program we have installed. =P

 

I never use my thinklight. Why? Because the light from the screen is enough. I touch type too, so there is another reason.

 

People in this threat are saying no business notebooks have back-lit keyboards, but im pretty sure the new dell latitudes have back lit keyboards.

 

yup. and it looks good there methinks