Favorite Laptop Keyboards?

MacBooks or ThinkPads.

In a laptop? A pox on them all. There are keyboards that I don't mind so much. But none that I like. Laptops seem to be all about the screen, and then it everything else based on that.

From a strictly keyboard perspective, I've had relatively good experiences with Acer. Lenovo (formerly IBM) Thinkpads have a satisfying "clack" as I press them.

For key layout, nothing built into a laptop has satisfied me. I prefer to go out and buy a USB keyboard. Something I call "pseudo-ergonomic."

Like this one. The keys fall right under my fingers:
http://www.frys.com/product/4560577

The ones under US$30 like this one tend to be mushy. But that's the "curviness" I'm referring to.

I can't speak to Macs. But their layout seems the same.

Thinkpads ARE business laptops. They therefore come with a lot of "management" utilities included. Like a networking utility that can store location profiles and switch to the appropriate one as it detects the characteristics. Not any included games or anything like that. There's a more consumer oriented line called Ideapads. But I don't know about the keyboards there.

NOTE: I convinced my previous employer to go with Thinkpads over HP's. I don't know if that makes me biased. I'll put it out there for full disclosure.

Grunkins said:

Anyone have favorite companies for keyboard quality and feel?

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Yeah, I'm on my third Sony Vaio and the keyboard on the latest is lovely to use, even for extended periods. Has those low-profile kind of keys on it.

Mind you, I've got short, stubby fingers, my back is arched, and my arms don't hang right at the shoulders, but that keyboard is absolutely my best friend.

I'm with robjvargas, pretty much: anything more than a couple of minutes of typing, and I'm going to want an external keyboard. It isn't just the arrangement of laptop keyboards that's annoying, it's the tactile quality, too.

The keys on my Compaq laptop (CQ61) are great. Full-sized keys with a decent throw, despite them being low profile. I can easily pump out 5k on them with no ill effects.
I can't speak for many other brands, though, as I've had few laptops in my life.

The best keyboards aren't built into laptops, but fortunately they plug into them:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235727

Grunkins said:

It was my understanding that they are largely business computers (I don't even really know what that means).

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Every PC vendor has both consumer-class and business-class notebooks. I recommend people always buy from the business-class lines (Dell's are the Latitude and Precision lines, HP has EliteBooks, etc.) even though they are more expensive, because they tend to be built better than the consumer-class crap.