Clevo Keyboard Layout?

I've been looking at Clevo notebooks and it's come to my attention after further looking that their keyboard layouts look like they really suck. Why can't they use the traditional four row number pad layout? It's not like they don't have the room! I can understand that layout on their 15.6" models because of the lack of room, but do they have to have the exact same layout for every single one of their notebooks, including the overly generously spacious 18.4" X8100!?

Do they not realize it's not nearly as good as the traditional layout? At least for the 17"+ notebooks, why can't they do it a la Alienware with the up, down, left, and right keys slightly below the row for some extra room while keeping the keys full sized if they can't fit them all in with the provided room? It just gives their notebooks, especially the X7200, a cheap look as if Clevo completely overlooked the keyboard. It's even more frustrating because the keyboard is pretty much the most important component related to user interaction, even more-so than the touchpad and screen. At least you can get an external mouse (which many people do) and you at least can hook up your notebook to an external monitor (which, too, many people do), but most people aren't going to use an external keyboard over the provided one.

Oh, and besides all the other models, it just makes the X8100 look like a darn joke. Seriously, Clevo? It looks like you care more about the gaming controls than the keyboard itself! Are you too cheap to develop different keyboards for different models, because it looks you're using the exact same keyboard for every notebook! C'mon Clevo, fix your keyboards! And while you're doing that, can you give us at least an option for backlight if you don't want to offer it standard?

/rant

 

Apologies if it seems blunt, but you're not the first person with a complaint against Clevo keyboards and likely not the last. If it's really a deal-breaker for you, there are plenty of alternatives for high-performance gaming machines from more mainstream manufacturers.

 

To be honest, I'm glad OP brought this up. I started looking at the current Sager models because I figure that's what we'll get with the Sandy Bridge and next gen GPU's beginning of next year which I plan to buy. I realized the 17" had the same darn keyboard as the 15". It was a bit disappointing to see. Backlit would definitely be a nice touch.

I also wonder why sager doesn't offer dual hard drives in their 15" machines. It's not like they design for small and light.

 

I don't mind their 15" notebooks not having a second HDD since most other companies don't offer dual HDDs with 15" notebooks, so it's not like Clevo is behind the trend in that category. I bet the reason Clevo's notebooks aren't "small and light" is because of extra necessary cooling or whatever, so I can understand their opting out to offer dual HDDs. But the keyboard situation is really quite horrible. Sure, mostly everyone is offering backlit keyboards, but I've been using an HP notebook without a backlight and it is too terrible, but the layout thing unacceptable in my opinion.

This isn't a budget notebook company. This isn't Gateway or Fujitsu, this ODM makes some of the most powerful gaming notebooks in the world and have pioneered many new concepts and ideas into their notebooks, yet they're behind the trend on something as simple and straightforward as their keyboard. I really hope Clevo can create a new keyboard layout for their barebones and/or offer keyboard backlighting for a new revision on their current barebones; I don't think it's that difficult to do the latter.

To all who may/will say "then don't buy one", I probably would buy a notebook from them if they could fix their keyboard. And if it isn't just me complaining, couldn't the Clevo community push Clevo to create a better layout for their larger notebooks? No one on here really mentions it and I find that quite odd since, to me at least, it's more than juts a little issue...

 

Yeah keyboard would be good. The one on my NP8662 is far from great. It's satisfactory, but I've seen much better in netbooks even.

Regarding dual drives, I understand 15" notebooks don't typically have them, but these are considered power notebooks offer above and beyond the typical machines. In any case it would be great then if they would at least offer a configurable option with a caddy in place of an optical drive. I have had the darnedest time trying to find one to work properly with my NP8662.

Either way, I'm most likely going with a 17" for my next notebook unless I can find a 15" with specs I want, mainly 1080p screen and dual drives. I'd really like a Blu-Ray drive as well.

Speaking of keyboards anyone know how good the ones are in the NP8690 / W860CU? They look nice but not sure if they have the good tactile feel and response I had with the Envy 14 I carried for a short while.

 

Clevo is not exactly pleasing everyone with the keyboard design (layout, backlight, etc). But it shouldn't really be a deal breaker for anyone. Most of the time you will use it in your home, which you should buy external gaming keyboards and mice for.

 

External mouse, yes. External monitor, probably yes, too. But even though these are the definition of desktop replacement notebooks, they still are notebooks, and no one would want to carry an external keyboard everywhere they go with their notebooks, especially one of the large gaming ones.

I have an HP DV6t and the up, down left, and right buttons are miniscule. They are half the size of normal keys packed together in between the 0 of the number pad and the right control button. It's extremely uncomfortable to use any of them. It's hard to get a feel for them so I sometimes press the wrong button if I'm not looking.

This is more than when companies think it's better to have the function key where the control key is, the current layout has the right shift key be half sized, the right control button be double sized, and has the right arrow and up arrow directly next to number buttons. It's horribly done and if you use the right shift a lot then you'll be in for a tough time.

I remember using a keyboard where the enter key was shaped like a T without the right side of the horizontal line (pardon the terrible analogy, I just couldn't think of any better way to describe it) and whenever I tried to click enter, I'd hit the apostrophe because the longer part of the enter key ended up being where the forward slash button is. It became extremely hard to type on and frustrated the crap out of me. I basically had to relearn how to type when using that keyboard. This layout is just as crazy, so any time I'd use a standard keyboard for whatever reason, I'd probably have similar mistakes and frustration.

Unless absolutely necessary, such as the space constraints with the 15" models, there is no reason to use such an unorthodox and funky keyboard keyboard. The layout of Clevo's 17" notebooks is an absolute dealbreaker for me and 100x more with the X8100 since there's way more than enough room to fit a full size keyboard.

I just don't get it. I just don't get how Clevo could continue to do this. It makes me do a facepalm every time I think about it. They have such good products and they pioneer so much, yet they can't do something as simple as get a half-decent keyboard it. Even if it's not a dealbreaker for anyone on here, it probably is for more than just me.

*sigh*

 

Well like I said, I don't think it's good for clevo to keep doing this. But it shouldn't be a deal breaker for most people.

 

Eh, no. I buy a laptop for what it is, and a reason I buy it. Othewise I'll buy a Shuttle SFF PC.

 

I was just hoping if enough people complained and we got it through to Justin and the other resellers that maybe Clevo would change it a la the X7200 HDMI-in situation. Of course this is far different from whether Clevo decides to put a small component, a component that has no effect whatsoever on any other component, in or not, but you'd be talking crazy to disagree that the keyboard layout isn't a dealbreaker to some if not many people.

Unfortunately, Clevo hasn't gotten the message and, if I'm not mistaken, they've used the exact same keyboard layout for all their models created about 2 years ago and forward, so this isn't some sort of new thing and Clevo must not be getting the message if they're continuing to develop new models with the same keyboard.

Just my thoughts.

 

Time to start spamming the company with hordes of anti-keyboard complaints is my suggestion, while you're at it make sure you do it in Traditional Chinese to have any chance of being taken seriously.