Tuesday, May 26th 2020
Lenovo ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II Stars Selling
For those addicted to the track-point on their ThinkPad notebook, and can't get themselves to use a mouse on their desktops, Lenovo rolled out the ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II back in January 2020, which started selling for USD $85.99. This is a wireless+wired keyboard that's laid out exactly like a ThinkPad T-series notebook's keyboard, with a track-point in the middle, and its two buttons. and a typical 13-inch class notebook's 83-key layout, plus three buttons for the track-point. There are three ways to connect this keyboard to your computer/notebook/tablet: over Bluetooth, over 2.4 GHz RF, using the included dongle, and plugging it directly with the included USB-C to USB-A cable, which charges its battery, as well as lets you use the keyboard as a USB-HID. The keyboard uses the same scissor-type switches found on ThinkPads, with Chicklet keycaps. It measures 305.5 mm x 164 mm x 13.7 (WxDxH).
12 Comments on Lenovo ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II Stars Selling
I'm making do with an aluminium-decked Amazon special from a company called "Jelly Bean" but it's meh and I would gladly pay extra for Thinkpad keyboard quality, even ignoring the handy trackpoint.
Either way, it is also lacking a backlit option.
I do use mine as a SBC KB (Pi, Jetson), since it's the smallest KB with an integrated mouse, so I have less to carry around.
It also appears to be using the Carbon's lower profile KB, since it has the flat mouse buttons. Makes sense, even if I wish they used the current T series KB with more travel (T_90).
@jeremyshaw I'm wondering about the same thing - their previous BT version was purely wireless with micro USB only for charging, and I'm fearing a repeat of history here. If it had the flexibility to work both wired and wireless that would be excellent. If nothing else, I'll report back here once I get my hands on one.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to buying this but I would be somewhat disappointed if the feel is not that of the T590.
More importantly, why do Lenovo insist on doing this? The CTRL key needs to go in the bottom left corner. It's about as mandatory as the ESC key being top left and putting Fn there instead of CTRL is a boneheaded mistake that I have never managed to live with across almost two decades (My first T30 had the stupid Fn placement and for all I know IBM was making that dumb decision long before I was introduced to Thinkpads).
Professional "reviewers" are saying no, but not explicitly stating if they actually tested that out or are they just parroting Lenovo's spec sheet.