A Tolerance for Crumbs
I mentioned in the T400s sneak peek video that we had tightened up the tolerances between the keys to improve the overall system appearance and reduce the likelyhood of crumbs, or other debris, from slipping into the keyboard scissor mechanisms. We did not do this at the expense of changing the key pitch or altering the contoured portion of the key that you feel. It was of paramount importance that we did not change the typing feel with this enhancement.
What we did was to increase the size of the skirt at the base of the key in order to make the gaps between the keys tighter. We also made the corner radii smaller for the same reason. The skirt is a technical term for the sidewall of the key that flares out towards the bottom of the key. The name makes a lot of sense when you think about the key cap shape. The previous ThinkPad keyboards had a nominal key gap dimension of .7mm. The T400s has a nominal gap of .4mm. A difference of .3mm may not sound like much but it makes a big difference.
Before moving forward with this change our Yamato engineering team did an extensive tolerance analysis and accelerated wear test to ensure we were on track with the change. We wanted to make certain the keys did not rub each other out of the box, or over time as the keyboard wears in. Yes, all keyboards wear in over time. People usually don’t notice it since it happens so gradually.
You can immediately see the overall visual impression that the tighter gaps make. Small design changes can have a big impact to the user experience. You won’t feel this one, but you will be able to see it, and hopefully be less bothered by stray crumbs. Now back to eating my lunch while typing on my ThinkPad.
David Hill
Lenovo Meet the Modder Dean Liou
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 2
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 1
Lenovo H320 desktop
July 15th, 2009 2:12 pm
the biggest place where this will likely show an improvement is in the corners. this looks like a more dramatic change than the 0.3mm reduction between each key.
while i rarely eat around my systems, i welcome this improvement even if only for the aesthetics. as long as it doesn’t impede my ability to prop post-it notes vertically in between the keys (which i don’t think will be an issue at all) then i say “good job.”
david, does the T400s have the same high-wear polymer coating found on the X300/X301 keys? i’m guessing it does as the top photo looks to be from an X300 and the bottom photo appears to match it closely.
July 15th, 2009 4:47 pm
[...] [Design Matters] SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “David Hill speaks on the ThinkPad T400s keyboard; this time about [...]
July 15th, 2009 7:23 pm
Why did it take you so long? (looking at my previous [b]personal[/b] computer – 2004 12″ PowerBook G4 – recently updated by a ThinkPad X200)
July 16th, 2009 6:25 pm
I like this update
may be because I’m a cookie addict.
Well, I haven’t had much trouble with my recent T43 but once in a while I’ve had strange stuff under my keys. But not yet crumbs! Usually things that you’d normally call small but you didn’t believe that they could make it into the keyboard. Like needles, paper clips, small mechanics stuff like the inner parts of a pen or something.
But I don’t like that this otherwise excellent T400s is just a little too small for me. Certainly I would like it even smaller but I need those dedicated graphics… maybe, someday, I’ll be able to have that in a dock at home. But not for now. And the ISV certified ThinkPads is just getting bigger… grr. Why, why, did you take that away from the T series? Introduce the W400 and I’ll be pleased in a minute. But that’s not gonna happen, with my luck…
As always, I see I’ve written quite a lot. But this time it was even more off topic and stray thoughts than ever. So this time I will say “Sorry” instead of “Thankyou” if anyone was lured into reading it all…
Sorry if you read all this!
July 17th, 2009 2:48 am
The much bigger problem than the crumbs is the really shoddy plastics material of Thinkpad keyboards. The material just is totally inferior to other manufacturers.
What I mean is: new keyboard, 8 weeks of moderate use and the keys go shiny. After only 8 weeks!!!
After 1 Year the keyboard looks like totally worn out from a AT&T call center.
Why don’t you folks use some high quality material, have a look at HP or Dell. Their keyboards look after quite some time still like hardly used.
July 22nd, 2009 6:09 am
i agree with francois, the thinkpad keyboards are not as they used to be. they are holding on the brand name and using cheaper plastic materials to lower costs…
July 25th, 2009 7:01 am
@doubletrap: Just for the record, I still haven’t noticed any difference between the “wear-out-/ getting-shiny-speed” of a T42- and a T60-keyboard.