X200s keyboard for large hands?

Hi,

I have larger hands, and was wondering if owners of the X200s found that their palms slipped off the end of the notebook when they typed, or if they were able to comfortably rest on the laptop, under the keyboard.

Thanks!

 

The keyboard itself is the exact same one on the T400 (Lenovo says and I've verified myself).
My hands are only slightly larger than most (my fingers are very long) and I haven't had a problem with my palms slipping off.

 

I think Knowthenazz is talking about the "shortness" of the palmrests?

If so, I too seem to slide off the end because my hands are large. In fact, the card reader bezel dug painfully into the stem of the palm when I first got it (came from a much bigger computer). Then I realised I put way too much weight on there, and that I can now use the edge of the palmrests/front of computer as a guide (as opposed to resting my palms on them). It's much healthier too.

I am not being apologetic about it - it was a pain the first couple of weeks getting rid of those habits, and I do wish that they would have foregone the enforced card reader edge and simply went with a slot with no edges.

 

Hi Awdiyo,

Thanks for your input. Yes, I was definitely talking about the "shortness", or lack of depth, of the palm rest.

By a small miracle, I managed to find a local dealer who had an X200s that was returned, and being sold as an "open box". I got a chance to type on it for a short while, and I completely understand what you mean about having to adjust your typing style. I had about 10 min to use the keyboard, and I have to admit I had a tough time finding a comfortable position typing. I guess it just takes some time to get use to it.

I was about ready to purchase a X200s, but, after seeing one in person, I think I might think about it a bit more. Besides the short palm rest, I was also a bit disappointed in the 1440x900 LED display. In the short time I used it, I found it lacked contrast and overall brightness (even on it's highest setting).

Anyways, thanks again.

 

I float my hands with I type.

I'm surprised you found the brightness to be too low...200nits (give or take probably 10%...probably take) max is quite bright. The contrast is understandable but did you play with the display settings as well?

 

Well, to be fair, I didn't actually get to boot into Windows, I only played around in the Rescue and Recovery screen. Understandably, the store didn't want me to go through the initial Windows installation process. Would it be better if I used it in Windows...possibly for it's colour management?

Oh, and I also noticed a fair bit of keyboard flex on the left and right edges. I read about this problem with posts back in late 2008, and I thought this problem was fixed, and a non-issue now. Perhaps it was an model built several months ago.

 

Well on mine there is zero keyboard flex. If I press really hard on the edge of the expresscard port I can get it to flex a little bit there but that's the only place it flexes. I don't know which keyboard this is to be honest, but it certainly doesn't flex.

Regarding the screen, it would certainly help if you got to play with the contrast in windows. Mine is plenty bright. I seldomly use it on full brightness. because in all but the brightest environment I find it rather "harsh" if it's turned all the way up.

 

If you want a good screen, get the tablet.

 

The keyboard flex was especially bad near the Esc and F1 keys. When was your X200s built? Did you get it recently?

Thanks for your input regarding the screen. With that, I'll definitely hold my limited observations about the screen with a grain of salt. I agree, on paper, 250 nits should be plenty.

Thanks!

 

I just tried pressing F1 and escape rather hard, but nothing. However, my X200s is rather new (six weeks or so), and the keyboard was swapped for another localisation. Come to think of it, pressing different keys at various places pretty hard, it feels like it's solid, as if there is no "air" under the keyboard, if that makes sense.

 

Thanks for the tip.

So the superbright screen is better?

Coincidentally, the last time I called Lenovo Canada, they said that they could see a new screen for the X200s listed as an 1200x800 LED. Is it possible that it's of a superbright variety? Or even a glossy one? One can only hope

If I do buy an X200s, I'm going to wait for the SL9600 anyways, hopefully it'll come out before July... and maybe it'll have some more screen options

 

Cool, I'm glad to hear that. Perhaps the machine I tested was from an older build then.

I wonder if Lenovo would replace it under warranty if I did receive a flexing keyboard.

 

Wait, are you hoping for a glossy screen?

That's not going to happen.
If glossy and the associated over-saturation of colours is what you're looking for, you will never be happy with a matte screen, no matter how bright it is.

 

Well, I'm not waiting for a glossy screen, but if one becomes available, I'd certainly consider it. However I do understand that on business laptops, it's almost always matte finish. I was hoping that perhaps a superbright option might become available though.

I was thinking that my desktop LCD is matte, although not LED, and it has almost 450 nits, and I'm very happy with it. I view it at 42% intensity. So perhaps a little more brightness is all I need for better lit environments. Even a matte, 275 nits on a X200s would be a welcome difference. Maybe it's just wishful thinking though.

 

The tablets are AFFS screens, which are close cousins to the IPS screens found in older ThinkPads. They have very good contrast and wide viewing angles. Most notebook screens now are junk. It's why I'll be sticking with my IPS R60 for the foreseeable future. I don't need a lot of power, but a good screen is hard to come by these days. An enterprising user here manages to swap the tablet screen into an X200.

 

Thanks for the info.

I'll definitely look into the X200 tablet based on your recommendation.

Thanks!

 

The Tablet is great. If you think you might enjoy the tablet features and can handle the moderate weight/price penalty over the x200s, I highly recommend it.

I have the 285nit LED superbright display. I love this display and highly recommend it. The "multi-touch" display is basically the same, but will be dimmer and have a fair amount of grain due to the touch layer.

The CCFL panel is also worth considering as it seems to be a Hydis rather than Samsung display. However, the LED display is brighter and more energy efficient so I would recommend it over the CCFL regardless of the manufacturer.

 

Hi,

Thanks for sounding in. I appreciate your input.

From the reviews I've read, the display sounds very impressive. I don't mind the cost or weight increase. The only problem is that I don't think I'd be using it as a tablet much, only as a notebook. Where do you find you use the tablet option the most?

So the increase in quality of the display from the X200s has more to do than just being 285 nits, it's of superior display from what I understand. That's too bad, I was hoping that the new display option might be just a tad better (at least brighter) than the current 1440x900 LED option. We'll see I guess.

If I go the tablet route, I'll definitely get the superbright LED one though.

Thanks!