Got an NMB keyboard with my new T61p

I got my new T61p yesterday, and it's got an NMB keyboard! I thought those were gone long ago, but I guess not.

 

Nice! I originally got the Chicony, exchanged the keyboard and got another Chicony, but the 2nd one isn't quite as stiff as the first.

 

What is NMB? And how do you check what keyboard you received?

 

NMB is one of the three manufacturers of keyboards found on the Thinkpads (the other two are Chicony and Alps).

You can check your keyboard manufacturer by punching in your serial number and machine type into the parts lookup page found here. Take the FRU found next to your keyboard and check it against the keyboard FRUs found here.

 

Ah these are back then?

 

Nice! Yeah, I have an NMB on mine too. I've tried the Chicony and Alps on display models around town. Definitely not as snappy as the NMB.

 

Really? I thought Chicony was the snappiest. Followed by NMB, then Alps.

 

Maybe snappy isn't the right word to describe it.

NMB definitely feels better than Chicony and Alps, to me.

 

quick question:

my incoming t61p is supposed to have an alps keyboard.
the t60p i'm using at this moment is an NMB keyboard.

could i switch them?

 

lol too bad that you have Chicony.

 

my chicony feels/sounds fine to me.

 

It's actually not that bad. lol

The way I think of it is like this...Chicony being the "snappiest", that will also mean it'll last longer and not get mushy as quick as the other brands over time.

 

Aw man, I have ALPS.

 

The thing is, it doesn't really matter which brand you receive because each of them is still, IMO, being a ThinkPad, it is still better than other notebook keyboards. Think of it as Alps, Chicony, and NMB are like Porsche, BMW, and Lexus. It's still the best of its class, ya know?

Apparently, when I bought my notebook, Chicony was thought to be the worst of the three but I just don't think I agree. My Chicony is a pleasure to type on, especially for a light typer.

 

I can't seem to find which manufacture is my keyboard. Here is what I got from the part lookup for my X61:

Mfg #: 42T3435
FRU #: 42T3467

can't find the corresponding manufacturer: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/s...vm&operatingsystemind=49979&machineind=374632

 

It seems like it is a NMB according to this:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?p=361355&sid=b5dd330a73bf7895bead30e253f911a1

 

hmm...that is strange I got the X61 Tablet keyboard. Maybe that is why my keyboard flexes slightly?

Is the area between the ThinkVantage button and power button part of the keyboard? Because when I press down in that area, it flexes considerably. That doesn't seem normal.

I verified it is a NMB according to this article:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=44310&highlight=keyboard

 

i received an ALPS with my keyboard, then I asked for a NMB.
i prefer the ALPS, the distance is alot farther and keys are more clickier. the NMB feels like any other keyboard, too short distance and mushy.

ALPS is a bit loud though.

 

I am not sure if it is for the keyboard - but I think there are reports of flexing in that area in other models (T61/ R61) too in the other threads. I have never seen an actual X61T , but the keyboard does not look all that different from X61/X61s.

 

every time a thread gets started on the keyboards, it always goes on forever!

 

All Thinkpad keyboards seem alike to me. I've handled well over 100 R40s, T42s, T60s, and Z61ts in my part-time job with my school's IT department, and they all seem the same to me.

 

I remember a thread awhile back claiming that NMB was supposedly the "best", and the other two closely followed. I don't know, to me, a Thinkpad is a Thinkpad, and all the keyboards feel the same to me . . . . I also have the NMB in my new T61, and love it ! Best keyboard I've ever had on a laptop by far !

 

Anybody has pictures to show the difference between these 3 keyboards ?

 

Lift up one of the keys very gently and take note of the spring mechanism. If I remember correctly, an NMB has blue circular pads, the Alps has a spring mechanism that points upwards, and the Chicony has a spring mechanism that points downwards.

Edit: Pictures

 

THX THE NMB seems to be better than the 2 others

 

Nice T61p on order there Alber. I know that's gonna be a long week or so for you

 

At the risk of being OT. How is your ship date so soon. Mine is nearly identical and yet is 2 weeks later than yours. Maybe it's because I ordered through the Student site?

 

I highly disagree -- my lowend Toshiba Satellite M115-S3094 had a much better keyboard than the Alps that came on my T61p. Besides the regular abomination of moving keys (IBM/Lenovo with their damned Fn key and Toshiba with much more) the Toshiba had much better feel. The T61p Alps is very mushy. Combine the mushyness with coming from the narrow and tighter Toshiba I'm feeling a bit down as hand cramps are up and typos more common.

I'll go hunt down an NMB .

 

lol..I had NMB in my inspiron 6000.
I like chicony better cause NMB takes too much effort to press the keys.