Ask Slashdot: Recommendations For a Laptop With a Keypad That Doesn't Suck

PhunkySchtuff writes "I'm seeking the collective's recommendations on a laptop with a numeric keypad that doesn't suck. For practicality reasons, an external USB keypad is less convenient than a built-in one. A keypad is required for entry of lots of numbers, and using the alpha keys with the Fn key to turn them into a keypad is not acceptable. Looking at the larger manufacturers, it seems that none of their business grade laptops (e.g. Lenovo's T-Series or similar quality levels) have numeric keypads. Looking at their laptops that do have keypads, invariably they are cheap, plastic and flimsy. Looking at Lenovo's offering with a Keypad, whilst it's a 15" screen, the vertical resolution is just 768 pixels, and the build quality of it leaves a lot to be desired. I need to find something that is built to the quality of a 'real' ThinkPad, or even a MacBook Pro, but has a full-sized keyboard with a numeric keypad and there doesn't seem to be anything like that on the market at the moment. This is a mystery to me as to why it would be the case as I'd imagine it's business users who need to use a keypad more than the average user, yet it is the consumer grade laptops that have keypads."

Comments

Toshiba

[basecastula]

P775d-s4360. bought one several months ago. key pad and keyboard rocks. Kinda shitty support however.

Re:Toshiba

[humphrm]

I had to say the same thing. $500 laptop with a numeric keypad, as an accounting geek I love it. I've also seen the Sony Vaio, but for cheap you want to go Toshiba.

Dell Precision M4600

[Anonymous Coward]

I have ordered a bunch of Precision M4600s for my users and they seem to like the keypad. Dell eliminated the speaker grills from on either side of the keyboard that were on the Precision M4500 and used the extra space for the keypad. The resolution is 1920 x 1080 unfortunately instead of 1920 x 1200 that was on the previous models. Screen is 15.4".

Centered

[Anonymous Coward]

Slightly offtopic, but I like my keyboard centered. I don't get it how someone can use a laptop keyboard with numeric keypad.

Re:Centered

[History's Coming To]

Indeed - I worked in a bookshop where we were constantly entering ISBN numbers, a 13 digit string. It's an absolute nightmare to do on the top row, but you can learn to very quickly touch-type on a keypad in minutes. For normal typing yes you've got a point, but for anything involving continual entry of numeric data a keypad is so much faster and accurate it's unbelievable.

Explanation

[mobby_6kl]

The reason keypads aren't or real ThinkPads is that by including the extra 4 columns of keys, the whole keyboard and TrackPoint (or trackpad, if you're that sort of person) has to be shifted left. This means that you end up either sitting in middle relative to the screen with the hands positioned awkwardly, or having to look at the screen at an angle.

I have a T520 and while I was initially upset that it has huge speaker grilles on both sides, I actually came to appreciate this decision, though admittedly it would suck if I had to punch in numbers into a spreadsheet all day. Just get a ThinkPad and this baby

sometimes the question is wrong

[bill_mcgonigle]

"For practical reasons, I'm trying to run my computer off a small fire, which boils water which turns a paddlewheel, which dumps more water into a bucket on a pully which turns a magneto, and I'm not getting a stable waveform. How can I make this work?"

"Just plug it into the wall outlet."

"Read TFS!"

"Consumer Grade"

[cirby]

I work with a lot of different laptop brands - I do convention and trade show computer support, among other things - and a lot of the "business class" machines out there are pretty weak in the specs department - no better (and often worse) than a good-quality "consumer" machine. Construction and case quality is often worse for the "business" machines.

I use a Toshiba Satellite A665 (a couple of years old). It's a 15.6" consumer-class machine, it has a full keyboard, a "real" graphics chip, and an i7 processor. I've only seen a few "business" machines actually in use in the last couple of years that come close in performance or specs. It's handled a lot of travel, been used for everything up to and including running high-res videos and animations on huge screens, and never even hiccuped. It also cost less than $900 when I got it. Machines with better specs are going for under $800 now.

Don't lock yourself into the "business" category - it's often just a way to get a few hundred bucks more out of a category-blinded MIS purchasing department.

Re:"Consumer Grade"

[cirby]

Yeah, that was something else I forgot to mention - I see (literally) hundreds of laptops, from all sorts of brands, each year.

I get all of the sob stories, all of the support nightmares, and then I get to make them work with random networks and projection systems.

The Toshibas are the ones that tend to be problem-free. That's why I bought mine. It's been pretty close to perfect for the last couple of years. The only thing I don't like is a minor design issue - they didn't put screw attachments for the external VGA connector, so you have to rely on friction (or gaff tape) to make sure the connector doesn't come off. That's almost universal nowadays, though, and if you're not a Power Point Ranger, it's a non-issue.

We're talking about a laptop that's traveled across the country (and out of the country) a few times, has been carried to work in a motorcycle backpack (a lot), and has been used to test out and operate high-end and low-end corporate video systems of all sorts. It's the machine we break out when we want to test a system that we aren't sure is working - if the system is working at all, something will show up. Of course, a lot of that comes from having an actual dedicated graphics chip (GeForce 310M) with a bit of dedicated graphics RAM (512 megs) - those shared memory machines tend to have issues with drivers and pushing signals through external ports. It's not really a massive gaming machine or anything like that, but it'll do a lot more than 90% of the "business" laptops out there.

Re:bluetooth/usb

[optimism]

external bluetooth or usb numeric keypad

I'm assuming the OP's problem with a USB keypad is that it requires a cable or dongle. A bluetooth keypad does not.

I have a couple of MS bluetooth keypads that I use with my X-series Thinkpads. These bluetooth keypads are very thin & light, work for many months on a single AAA, and just simply work every time I pull them out. Personally I think it's the best product ever sold by MS.

One huge benefit of a wireless external keypad is that you can place it in the most ergonomic position for your data-entry arm. Or remote-control arm. Or whatever task you're using it for.

With a built-in keypad, you either have a behemoth of a foldable computer (not really a laptop), or a squashed set of keys (not full size) or both.

Re:External is the way...

[optimism]

Trackpoints are 100% useless.

The initial research, back in the mid-1980s, with technical users, showed that Trackpoints were radically more efficient than moving your hand off the keyboard to access a pointing device.

Subsequent research, with mainstream consumers, showed that most people had trouble learning how to use it.

It isn't the technology; it's the ability of most people to get over a learning curve when they have another option readily available.

Try the Trackpoint again...try a little harder...and I bet you'll never go back to a mouse. :)