X220 - Problem with short palm rest?

I have read and seen numerous reviews and videos showing that the X220, by using almost all of the keyboard deck for that humongously oversized keyboard leaves virtually no place for your palms to rest other than off the palmrest and on the table below. In practicing that with the smallest netbook I could get my hands on, I found my arms and shoulders in great fatigue after 5 mins. or so and I just had to stop after 10 mins. I'm a writer and I type for hours at at time, and this concerns me. I can always get an external keyboard, but that defeats the purpose of both a small, light notebook and of the allegedly great Thinkpad keyboard.

Comments?

 

If you think a notebook should have a nice cushy palmrest, your expectations are sorely misguided.

 

Technically, for proper ergonomics, you're not supposed to be resting your wrists on the palmrest, they should be level with your hands

I never use the wristrest to... well, rest my wrists, so it's not an issue with me, even on my X120e. I'm glad that Lenovo chooses to stick with a full-size 7-row keyboard on the X220 rather than waste the space with huge slabs of palmrest.

 

I have large hands and I do rest my palms on the palm rest, but even though it hangs just a bit over the edge, this is not a problem and I didn't notice it until the OP mentioned it. Now that I'm focusing on the palm rest in typing this relpy, it does not bother me at all.

Guess we are all a bit different in our likes and dislikes

 

My vostro 1400 broke me of that habit - I now hold my palms nicely above the rests - my 9th grade typing teacher would be so proud. The ample size palm rests on my vostro would leave my palms heat blistered. Of course the silver lining was that I could fry eggs in my hotel room without having to pay for an efficiency unit. Toast is trickier.

 

if you need a laptop with a large enough palmrest, then a x220 or any similar ultraportable is probably not going to be a good choice for you.

i don't need much of a palmrest as i keep my wrists lifted.

 

For what it's worth, I do a lot of writing too. I too had apprehensions when I was considering the X201, but once I got it I found that I had no problem. I do have relatively small hands and I rest the basel of my hands on the palmrest. The curvature of the palmrest is also helpful. Do keep in mind that I am coming from a R400 where I used to rest my wrist wholly on the palmrest.

I think it is a matter of keepign your fingers a bit curled in while using the X220/201 etc. But then again, there is probably a limit as to how much a large hand with proportinate fingers could curl comfortably.

 

my hands are longer than the X220 is deep and i don't have a problem typing on it at all.   i typically float my wrists since that's the proper technique for not killing one's wrists over time.   heck, i have a harder time finding gloves that fit than typing on small keyboards.

 

I need to train myself to do that. I'm a "heavy" wrist rester Sounds like it's probably not good for me.

I noticed it right away on my X220. Actually had to measure the keyboard against my T60P to verify the keyboard didn't shink. That lack of palmrest makes the keyboard feel smaller even though it's not. I was quite surprised that I relied on the palmrest so much.

 

The palm rest on the x120 is too small not because it does not support the hand, but rather the edge is sharp it hurt the hand if you use it for long period of time. I don't it would be a problem on the x220 since it is a bit edge is bit rounded although I believe it is shorter also.

 

I came from using 14" Thinkpads before the X220. Initially I found the short palmrest uncomfortable when typing, but got used to it in two days. I now don't rest my hands when typing or just barely on it. It is significantly shorter, but rest assured it's not an issue. Floating your hands when typing is supposed to be better for efficiency and wrist posture so there's no downside.

 

FWIW i did not have any problems on my X201, i use it when im on the road and the 15" m4400 when im at home.

how on earth do you float your hands? seems like your arms would be killing you after 20 mins

 

I don't rely on the palm rest at all, so it doesn't bother me at all even after hours of typing.

 

The large keyboard is what makes it a thinkpad. I'd rather have a seven row keyboard than more palmrest space.

 

Yeah...while this "floating hands" while typing is recommended, I find it one of the most painful of postures to adopt while typing. I also find that this floating hinds business retards the speed of my typing.

 

I actually find that resting my palms on the palmrests hurts my wrists far more than "floating" my hands. Personal preference, I suppose, although any therapist who knows about ergonomics would recommend not using the palmrest on a laptop to support your wrist while typing.

Not nearly as sharp as a MBP

But in all seriousness, the plastic edge of the X120e is dull/rounded off... I don't see it as a problem, even if you rest your hands on the tiny palmrests.

 

old PC keyboards had no palmrests whatsoever and many new ones still don't.   the only choice was to hold wrists level.   some of us have been typing that way for decades.

 

I started using a wrist pad strip along my keyboard this year. Sure cuts down on the fatigue.