Thanks for the tip on SharpKeys. It worked like a charm and my End key works regardless of if the FunctionLock is on or off. Seems a shame to have to do this at all. I don't understand the reason for dropping/moving/combining so many keys.

The X240 keyboard is definitely a step back from my X200 keyboard, but not so much that I would rather still be using my X200.

The overall benefits of the other aspects of the X240 outweigh the marginal keyboard and mouse configuration.

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Thanks for the tip on SharpKeys. It worked like a charm

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... until you connect an external keyboard.

On the topic of this: Is there any information available on the topic of replacing the X240 keyboard straight away with the superior X201 keyboard, including the hardware clickers for the trackpoint? I would not mind losing warranty (if possible buying without warranty in the first place), just to get something similar to an X201 with high-res display.

Although I'd prefer mounting the X240 LCD-panel in my X201, since the choice of ports and accessories is simply superior to the X240's. Does anyone know the panel built into the X240? Is it an eDP or an LVDS-connected panel?

Otherwise, please suggest me a laptop with a trackpoint and a high-res screen. Nobody seems to make such a device anymore.

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Otherwise, please suggest me a laptop with a trackpoint and a high-res screen. Nobody seems to make such a device anymore.

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The X240 now has a 1080p screen option (not available when X240 was first introduced), also the X1 Carbon and T-Series laptops.

That said, many of us agree with your opinion of the new keyboards and trackpoint buttons. Lenovo has taken an unfortunate turn in their designs.

Yes, it does have a high-res screen, but no, I do not consider it to have a trackpoint anymore, since it does not have physical clickers.

What it has is now in a totally unusable state (I did fiddle with the T431s recently to try out this new fancy trackpad). On average it detects between 90 and 95% of my intended right-clicks correctly, but the remaining 5% of the time it will left-click for me instead. Considering the sheer amount of right-clicks made during a working-day, that would drive me insane within a day or two.

Best thing I can think of right now is to buy any laptop with a high-res screen (Zenbook or Samsung 7/9-series) and carry the Thinkpad bluetooth keyboard around with it and use that for working. Although it will look stupid, it is a better experience and a lot cheaper as well.

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The overall benefits of the other aspects of the X240 outweigh the marginal keyboard and mouse configuration.

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Glad to see this thread has a healthy lifespan. I cannot disagree with this statement more, actually, now that I've had a few months with the machine, and anything I can do to save a power user from a bad purchase decision is a good deed in my book.

The keyboard has other uselessness, more minor than the end key and mostly what I've already detailed, but interestingly, it doesn't go away, mainly I think the because many of the keys are just too small to be usable. I still regulary hit PgDn when I mean Up or Left Arrow, or vice versa. Or F6 or F4 when I mean to hit F5. And I still don't need a PrintScrn button where the context-menu button should be. Not at all. Now, a context-menu button on the other hand...

The click-pad thing remains infuriatingly inconsistent too. But there are other frustrations too: power management has still NEVER worked (doesn't sleep, hibernates at 7% regardless of settings, can't handle screen dimming, and on and on and on), and I have tried every reinstallation trick in the book. Various Lenovo system-software versions have caused BSODs (though to their credit, they seem to catch these themselves, and fix them quickly). And though the machine is fast (mine has 12GB RAM and an SSD), the battery life is not what I would have hoped, and when I alternate between this machine and my X201, the speed just doesn't feel like that much of a plus next to all the minuses.

To prospective buyers: I hope you do a LOT of research before pulling the trigger.

To Lenovo: as said before, I am done with your machines. It was a good 15 years or so, but you clearly don't care about this end of your market any longer. Too bad, it was yours for the taking.

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The overall benefits of the other aspects of the X240 outweigh the marginal keyboard and mouse configuration.

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I cannot disagree with this statement more, actually, now that I've had a few months with the machine, and anything I can do to save a power user from a bad purchase decision is a good deed in my book.

 

The click-pad thing remains infuriatingly inconsistent too. But there are other frustrations too: power management has still NEVER worked (doesn't sleep, hibernates at 7% regardless of settings, can't handle screen dimming, and on and on and on), and I have tried every reinstallation trick in the book. Various Lenovo system-software versions have caused BSODs (though to their credit, they seem to catch these themselves, and fix them quickly). And though the machine is fast (mine has 12GB RAM and an SSD), the battery life is not what I would have hoped, and when I alternate between this machine and my X201, the speed just doesn't feel like that much of a plus next to all the minuses.

 

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Eyep, sorry that you feel that way but I guess it is different strokes for different folks.

I am not a programmer, but I am a heavy laptop user, spending a good 5+ hours on my X240 everyday and a lot of time on airplanes.

Is the keyboard/mouse setup worse than my X200. Yes, no question. Is it so horrible that I would keep using my 5 year old X240? Not a chance.

Power management is a non-issue for me and I love my real-world 12+ hours of battery life. Currently in Taiwan and used it non-stop from Portland to Narita and again to Taipei on a single charge. I was working on Word and Powerpoint pretty much the entire flight and had iTunes going on the background. Would not be possible on my X200 even with the extended 9-cell battery.

Keyboard typing is fine. It wasn't great, but it was fine. Certainly better than the HP Elitebook that I had the misfortune to try for about 3 months. Gave that piece of crap back to IT and bought the X240 and expensed it (one of the benefits of a smaller company)

I don't know how you can state that your performance does not feel any different from an X201. It is nowhere near the same class of speed and if you are a programmer and doing compiles, I would be surprised if the compile speeds are even close. My X240 blows my X200 away and while I would love to have my X200 keyboard back, that won't keep me from really enjoying my X240.

BTW the shorter screen height makes it even easier to use on the airplane as I really don't worry about someone reclining the seat in front of me and cracking my screen.

I would like to know how you got 12GB of RAM because the most Lenovo sells is 8GB. Did you do the upgrade yourself? Maybe that is what is causing you some of your problems?

I am not defending the new keyboard and fully integrated mouse/touchpad. They are a definite step back but it isn't a reason not to upgrade from a 4+ year old machine.

The keyboard is a B+ compared to my X200 The backlit keyboard is a huge step up from the old Think light (or whatever it was called). The touchpad itself is probably an A- (it really is quite good) but the integrated mouse buttons specifically the ones at the top of the trackpad get a barely passable C-. I do miss the feel of real mouse buttons and the middle mouse button is pretty bad (that gets a solid D- in my book as it impossible to avoid it when trying to do a left mouse click a lot of the time), but the result is nothing fatal. You just see the scroll graphic appear. I move my thumb another 0.25" left and all is good. I would love to see Lenovo go back to real buttons on the top, but that probably won't happen for cost reasons.

Thank you eyeP for sharing info on Sharp Keys. I fixed my end/insert nonsense! 

You rock!

Cheers,

KS