Ideapad U and V Series or Thinkpad Edge?

Hopefully this is in the right spot, sorta a which laptop should I buy, but really more a question on which is better?

Simple thing here: my mother's computer is now unusable. She wants a laptop. She uses Dell at work and likes typing on it, I have a T61 and mentioned Lenovo has the best keyboards in the business and I prefer typing on it over my old Dell Latitude, so she is leaning toward a Lenovo. Very basic user, email, internet, looking at photos, webcam/internet calls, and a comfortable keyboard. That's it. 14" or 15" screen. Will set in her office most of the time, portability/weight not important. Style not important. Just good basic laptop with decent performance, decent screen, and a nice keyboard. The rest is open.

Thing is, I've never used any Ideapad, and it looks like both the Ideapad U series as well as the Thinkpad Edge have chiclet keyboards. The Ideapad V Series looks more like a "normal" Thinkpad keyboard.

So my main question here is, do the chiclet keyboards on the U and Edge feel the same as my T61? Or do I have her get the Ideapad V Series? I suppose if I can take it a step further, U450p 14" starts at $749, V460 14" starts at $749, but then I see some of these Thinkpad Edge start in the $500 range, but they have the chiclet keyboard. I'm leaning Edge for her, is that the right move or does the keyboard kill the idea?

Being she likes her Dell, will also shop over there, particularly if the Thinkpad Edge isn't really so great.

Appreciate it.

 

All of them have a significant difference in the feel of the keyboard. I would say that neither of them are like my old T61. The V has a flat and wide keyboard and are closely spaced(I believe it is the same that is on my y460). The Edge has smaller and far spaced keys. The T61 is almost a mix of the two.

If you can, have her try out the Edge in a store since they carry them. It is going to come down to preference and everyone is different.