Is the Chicony Keyboard That Bad

I hear a lot of people talk about the Chicony Keyboard as being a sub par keyboard for a ThinkPad. I will be receiving my t60 in a few days and I know it has this keyboard. Other than the try it and see if I like it I want to know what others have to say who have used this keyboard. Is it worth it trying to get it replaced by a better keyboard? Thanks for the help.

 

how does one tell which keyboard they've gotten?

 

I just got a new T60p (2007-92U) which came with the Chicony keyboard. There was a very noticable different between this keyboard and my previous T40p keyboard which was NMB. The Chicony keyboard made quite a bit more noise and had a very different feel (resulting in more typing errors).

The good news is that I called IBM and they sent me a replacement NMB keyboard without any hassle. I'm very happy with the new keyboard.

Ramian, if you search this forum for "keyboard" you'll find a post titled "T60 keyboard/button questions" that tells you how to figure out which keyboard you have.

 

My laptop is in shipping status right now and I know I have the chicony keyboard. I contacted lenovo and they acted like it would not be a problem. From your experience how much of a pain was it to get the new keyboard. I like to have the best if I am spending 1500 and thats with epp.

 

It wasn't much trouble at all to get the new keyboard. I had the FRU# of the replacement keyboard I wanted. Spent about 10 minutes on the phone with IBM and it arrived in less than a week. They never asked me for a credit card number and it doesn't even seem that they want the old keyboard back.

 

You can use the parts lookup to find all the parts used to make your ThinkPad including the keyboad.

 

Parts lookup doesn't really help me since I'm not in the US nor did I purchase my T60 from the US. When I do the lookup, I get a very different config.

Edit: I found out that I had a Chicony keyboard by removing the keyboard and checking the FRU number on it. Is IBM obliged to change the keyboard to NMB even though there theoretically is nothing wrong with the Chicony? Also, is there any chance of getting an NMD keyboard shipped to me (here in Singapore) all the way from US?

 

Are you not happy with how your keyboard types?

 

i checked my FRU number online aand got these two: mfg # = 39T0988, while the FRU part # 39T7118

what kind of keyboard do i have and how do i go about changing it if its the chicony?

edit: when u call IBM, what is the FRU # of the NMB keyboard?

 

If you've got the US keyboard,
Chicony: 39T7178
NMB: 39T0958
Alps: 39T7118

These are FRU numbers.

 

I have the Chicony keyboard and am probably going to get it replaced, not because I'm overly dissatisfied with the fact that it is a Chicony nor because I don't think it is quite as good as that on my old x20, but because the "E" key keeps sticking. Otherwise I would probably be quite satisfied with it as it is not only good enough but is far better than other laptop keyboards that I've tried.

I don't know what is is about this particular key, but it keeps popping up from the bed and then it sticks. If I put some pressure on it it reseats and then is fine again. But sooner or later it will pop-up again. Pretty irritating.

Anyway .. how does this work? They send a replacement keyboard and you replace it yourself? Is that difficult? I've only had this T60p for a few weeks now. And if I'm going to go through the hassle of replacing it I might as well go for the gold and get the NMB. How do I do that? Is it one FRU for the keyboard or are the FRU #s separated by manufacturer?

TIA

 

Got my T60 in late April - my first Thinkpad. And was fine with my clickety clack Chicony keyboard until I realized it was the dreaded Chicony keyboard - that is - once I began reading the forums. It hadn't even occurred to me that Lenovo would ship units with parts that are qualitatively different - it's a bit disturbing. I am going to try to get an NMB. But apart from the feel of the thing - are there serious complaints about quality/durability? Are keys popping off, etc? Please someone, let me know!

 

Oops! Hadn't noticed Nightstorm's complaint about the E key on his Chicony. Well, that gives me some idea. Any other complaints?

And another question: Is the Chicony a new vendor for IBM, or had they been used in previous generations of Thinkpads - T4x's, T 2x's, or in other series?

 

I have a T43 with a Chicony, no complaints about it.

 

I'm beginning to like the chicony keyboard on my T60 more and more. In fact, I now think it feels better than the ALPS on my T30 and somewhat on par with the NMD on my T42. While the NMD on the T42 (and on some of my friends' T43), is a lot quieter, the key travel on the chicony seems better. I've also played with the display model T60 which apparently had the ALPS keyboard, which felt very different from the ALPS on my T30. I think that even if the keyboards on Thinkpads are made by different manufacturers, those by a particular manufacturer on different Thinkpad models are not and should not be comparable. So, even if NMD's Thai keyboards may have been king on the older Thinkpads, it may not necessarily be the same on the T60. I'm very satisfied with the Chicony keyboard on my T60 as well as the LG-Philips LCD. While I've never tried the NMD keyboard on the T60, I wouldn't bother getting a Chicony keyboard replaced for a NMD.

cheers!

 

It's heartening to hear a good review for the Chicony. You are making an excellent point, too - there's variation within brands. I'm now less panicked about seeking a replacement. I'm new to Thinkpads (long coveted) and don't have a basis for comparison with prior models. On the other hand, I tried out the NMB keyboard on a T43 in a showroom, and, man, that was a nice ride for typing fingers!

 

I believe I have the Chicony and am happy with it (it's at home, and I'm at work so I can't verify right now). I have never used the NMB, my past notebooks have been Dells, and my keyboard is far better than those. Past notebooks from Dell were an Inspiron 4100 and an old Latitude CPsomething 233 MHz.

 

Just ordered my new keyboard. NMB

 

The Chicony really isn't that bad - it is what I'm using right now on my T60. The NMB may be called "better" by many but the Chicony is far far ahead of what many of the competitors use. I'm not the least bit concerned about mine at all. I do like it as well ;D No hard feelings here. Beats all the other laptops that I've personally tried.

 

May someone please post the pictures of the Chicony keyboard? I have the NMB keyboard and posted the pictures in this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=57417&page=3

 

They keyboards look exactly alike. IBM tells them how they want them to look, it's the internal workings that might be (are) different.

 

and possibly the color of the little bumpers under the keys would be different. but from above they should look alike.

 

Yes - you are all correct Looks the same with different keyboard internals. The Chincony really isn't that bad. I enjoy the typing feel quite a bit to be honest. It has a nice firm push to it. There is no mistake to whether a key is pushed or not. I have never tried the other IBM keyboards however so I'm not able to compare.

 

Does anyone else (besides me) with the NMB keyboard have any problems with the spacebar?

If i press the spacebar towards either side, off center, it misses.
So I have about a 10% error rate with the spacebar while typing.

Is it my typing or the keyboard ?

 

What type of keyboard is on the T40?

 

While the only NMD keyboard I've got is the famed Thai-NMD on my T42, I have tried the NMD keyboard on my friend's X60s, and have not noticed the problem you mention. The Chicony and ALPS keyboards I've got on mine and my bro's T60s do not have this problem either. You might want to get it checked out.

 

I've never tried another Thinkpad keyboard but I have the Chicony on my Z61m and I love it. It's quite possible that the others are better but as long as I don't know what they feel like, I can't yearn for them.

 

I called IBM service and told them that I wasn't satisfied with the chicony (even though I am) and told him the FRU for the NMB keyboard. They were out of stock and told me I had to keep calling back if I wanted it. They offered me the ALPS but I didn't want to settle with many consider the "better" of the 3 keyboards. I don't think I'll call for the NMB again unless I'm really bored. Overall, the chicony keyboard is not bad, it's great. Better than my logitech keyboard and microsoft natural ergonomic 4000 I use for my desktop.

 

Yeah, my function key went out and I'm waiting for the Alps stock. I think the estimated ship date is the 20th, either that or I should be expecting it on the 20th. It's ok, I hardly ever use the function key.

They said I could wait for the NMB, but they have no idea how long that's going to be.

It's probably good that they don't let simple dissatisfaction add to the backorder, get people who have actual problems in first.