Typing Challenges on the Lenovo IdeaPad U110, Pictures

In this GBM Shortcut video, I talked about how much I’m struggling with typing on the Lenovo IdeaPad U110. it is probably the least comfortable keyboard I’ve used to date, and I’ve found it to be a very frustrating experience.

I thought I’d give a little more info, as well as some pictures ( click them to see larger resolutions ). Please keep in mind that these are my experiences. As keyboards are normally a very personal issue, your experience may be completely different than mine.

• With the keyboard being very glossy and slick, my fingers slide very easily on top of the keys
• There is not a clear delineation between the keys, thus there is no easy way to find where one key ends and another begins. The space separating each key is rather narrow. I can’t emphasize this issue enough, as it is the primary culprit as being a bad keyboard for touch typists.
• Each key is indented with a slight angle to the right. When the keys are pressed, my fingers get caught under the corners of the keys around it. Thus, I’m not able to type as fast as I normally do on the Latitude XT, X61, and other Tablet PCs.
• The track pad is also slick and glossy, thus I’ve found it harder to control the mouse with.
• The touch controls, which are used to launch applications, is a cool implementation. However, they are not practical. The touch controls light up when pressed and dark when not being used. Thus, it is hard to know where to press on the dark bar in order to launch the applications. The design lends itself to accidentally launching the wrong button. It would be nice for Lenovo to design the unused portion of the dark bar to actually turn the lights on so the main touch controls can be seen. Generally speaking, I’m not a big fan of touch based controls for volume and such. I’d rather have a physical button to press for volume, applications, etc. That’s just me, though.

I will say this, though – my eight year-old daughter came up to me a while ago, pointed to the bright red etching on the case and said “Oh, that is pretty. Can I use it?”

 

Notice the indentation in the keys	Notice the indentation in the keys
	Notice how the edge on the keys angle from left to right
touch controls when not used	touch controls when pressed