Some PC users like to use a mouse. Others prefer trackpads. But some folks consider Lenovo’s TrackPoint system to be the gold standard for input.

Typically found on Lenovo ThinkPad laptops, the TrackPoint puts a pointing stick in the center of the keyboard and left and right buttons below the space bar. This lets you move a cursor without lifting your hand from the position you’re using to type.

Earlier this year Lenovo introduced the Lenovo ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II wireless keyboard with a built-in trackpoint. Now it’s available for purchase for $100.

It basically looks like what you’d get if you ripped the keyboard off a recent Lenovo ThinkPad laptop. But this is a wireless keyboard that’s designed to be used with any Windows or Android device — so you can use it with your desktop computer or Android phone or tablet.

The keyboard measures about 12″ x 6.5″ x 0.5″ and weighs about 1.1 pounds. It has a rechargable battery that allows the keyboard to run for up to 2 months on a charge, and you can refuel the battery by plugging in a USB-C to USB-A cable. Lenovo says it takes about 1.6 hours to get a full charge.

The Lenovo ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II can be paired with your PC or mobile device via Bluetooth or by using a USB dongle (which supports up to two devices).

Sadly for folks who prefer Lenovo’s older ThinkPad keyboards featuring taller keys with deeper key travel, the new keyboard is based on recent ThinkPad designs. It has 84 chiclet-style keys with scissor switches and 19.05mm (0.75 inch) key pitch.

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23 replies on “Lenovo’s wireless ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II is now available for $100”

  1. I think that is really nice. I prefer the track point over the track pad.

  2. @Chris K. and Ergo Expert
    Funny you’d say that, I actually keep hitting the wrong key when occasionally writing on a keyboard that has the (for me) “wrong” order of Ctrl – Fn. Just goes to show that it’s simply a matter of what you’re used to.

    @Brad the update you did on the site layout some time earlier this year does horrible things to page usability on my phone. For some weird reason, it displays the complete article again at the end of the article and before getting to the comments, just in a slightly narrower box. Quite annoying. Even more annoyingly, sometimes when reading comments the page keeps jumping up and down a few rows (like it’s loading and unloading stuff somewhere else on the page maybe?). Recently, it doesn’t happen that often luckily, but happened at least once while writing this comment. Also, typing seems to have an unexpectedly long delay, like the site is too heavy and lots of computing needs to happen in the background, what you get when trying to browse modern websites with an ancient computer (but this is a fairly modern phone).
    Just to give a little feedback, don’t know if I’m the only one with these issues.

  3. I just have to give feedback to dumb engineers:
    1. scroll wheel, please!
    2. function and control has bto be switched.
    3. Do not have Home and End as separate keys, just integreate with left and right arrows. Much, much quicker to use, and allows for more shortcut keys on top row.
    4. Page Up and Page Down keys also should be integrated into arrow keys with function key. Thi si kncredibly fast and easier to use, and also has the advantage of leaving a blank spot in the keyboard that help your fingers feel where to position themselves while not looking.
    5. The top row of shortcut keys are positioned very poorly. Oft used keys such as volume need to be on the extremem left and right, like volume up and dow, NOT mute. Make the Mute just to the inside of Up and Down.
    6. All those shorcut keys should be standardized. Each laptop has a new position for each function!!!!!
    7 Unit also needs to be USB pluggable for certain and quick responose when needed.
    8. Thin it up and get rid of bezels(yes, I know that effects the ergonomics, but where are you going to take this huge thing?).
    9. Bluetooth needs to connect to over 6 devices. Life is complicated these days. This is not 1996 anymore.

    Dah! When will engineers ever learn?
    The old Sony Vaios like the Sony Picturebook showed us all THE WAY. But no one ever gets it.
    Those old Vaio designers and maybe Steve Jobs are the only people with brains.

    1. 1 – In the Ultranav products the middle mouse button is the “scrollwheel”
      2 – Can be configured
      3 – That would be very bad for people who actually use those buttons.
      4 – Once again, if you use those keys a separate key is always better than a secondary function. You can use Autohotkey to assign them as secondary function thou.
      5 – dedicating the first Fn group to sound seems pretty logical to me, it’s in one group and closest to the Fn key so you can use them with one hand.
      6 – You’ll have to organize a group meeting with all the other manufacturers. Lenovo is mostly consistent on this part. Then again earlier you wanted them to remove keys that are in the same position on all their laptops for the past ~7 years…
      7 – It is. It’s Bt _OR_ a USB dongle deal. It’s not a gamer keyboard so the less-than-ms time the USB dongle needs doesn’t matter.
      8 – This is not a mechanical TCL gamerrrrr keyboard.
      9 – 6?! Why not 16? Or 256?
      I’m sure all the engineers have sleepless nights having failed to design a mass-produced consumer product that 100% meet your very specific individual needs.

      1. That’s just the point, you don’t get it!
        It’s not MY needs. Its human’s needs, and these have been solved by smart leadership in the field before by Vaio engineers and then followed by Steve Jobs. again, you don’t have the vision.

  4. Oh, they also messed up the Function and Control key. Thanks, again Lenovo!

    1. I’ll never own a Lenovo laptop or keyboard until they figure out that the Ctrl key needs to go on the bottom-left. Their Chromebooks are fine… my old N21 has a big, fat Ctrl key in that space. But their Windows laptop keyboards are atrocious.

      And no, I don’t care that I can swap them in the BIOS. I shouldn’t have to. Plus, my experience with their Windows laptops and desktops on the professional side makes me not want them anywhere near my house.

      1. Guess u can have a Lenovo Laptop then, Chris. 😉
        Because since a few years (!), Lenovo offers a functional switch within BIOS for Ctrl and FN key in their laptop devices. Very simple option to activate, fn works as CTRL then. (a simple Google Search would have brought u this commonly known information btw, but hey. You are welcome)

        1. Ok, I actually didnt read your last section. Sorry.

          But I don’t understand the problem then? Is it so important to u, that they print Ctrl on the right place? Because that is the only thing missing then. Like who the eff cares? Nitpicky.

    2. Having Ctrl further to the right is more slightly comfortable than having it on the far left when you try to do things like Ctrl+V, and it doesn’t take long to get used to it. Why should I have to move my pinky farther for such a commonly used key? Lenovo has it in the right spot.

    3. They’ve been doing fn in the bottom left since the IBM days. 🙂 Personally I put control on Caps (where it belongs o_o) for the best of all worlds. 😀

  5. Love, love the pointing stick. But biggest problem is it does not scroll the page! We need to combine this with a scroll wheel somehow. Maybe down under the function key or something?

    1. Muddle button + the movement of the stick does the scrolling. It’s actually better than a scrollwheel as you can adjust the speed of scrolling by applying force to the stick.

      1. Yeah, I love the trackpoint + Middle scroll. 😀 Horizontal scrolling is easy, too! (Not 100% sure if it’s enabled by default or needs to be enabled on Windows.)

        1. On Windows 10 you need to install the drivers for the keyboard before it has the Thinkpad style functionality. Otherwise it uses the default browser middle click which isn’t as great as it toggles on and off with each click.

          One disadvantage with the Thinkpad software is that the middle click functionalities in the browser are overridden, so you can’t close a tab with middle click.

  6. The thinkpad tablet 2 bluetooth keyboard from nearly a decade ago has the very under-rated optical trackpoint instead. I miss that.

    This has BLE, but only advertises 2 months of battery life. What did they put in there, a hearing aid battery? An alkaline AA would probably yield a year. A small lipoly could probably get a couple of years.

    I mean, who am I kidding, I’m probably going to get one someday, but I will grumble about it nonetheless.

  7. Fantastic keyboard… for about $40. $100 is just too much for a keyboard.

    1. Why though.

      Everyone knows that Thinkpad keyboards are high quality. Plus: It can connect either way through dongle or Bluetooth with PC and Android and has a good battery inside. Build quality itself is nice as well (as I have one). Its neat, its fairly light and compact, feels great and works fine. (and I like the look of it, but that is subjective)

      So why exactly are all these positive things not 100$ worth to you? You said for yourself: it is fantastic, and yeah it really is. I know enough keyboards that are even more expensive and don’t deliver this degree of quality. I think the price is justified.

      The only thing really missing here are backlit buttons, true. But aside from that: This keyboard has it all for the typical office

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