This autumn I finally needed to buy a new laptop and spent some time testing and figuring out which keyboard I like the most. The funny thing was that the only seriously decent laptop keyboard is in a model that has a limited release and will probably sell out in the coming weeks: The ThinkPad 25th anniversary edition.
How can it be that to get a seriously good keyboard for programming, I need to get a novelty laptop and get it fast until it sells out. If you have a chance to test it somewhere and can take a hit with a FHD panel, this is definitely a fast and robust laptop.
I just received my T25. They are already unavailable in the US. I will soon be making a comparison video between the T25, my X62, and the old X300.
I will say that the panel itself is a good panel, 1080p aside. It is like the one in the T450s - good white point, linear constant-current backlight driver (no flickery low-freq PWM!)
I was so lucky to find one from a local computer store. I've been writing code with it now for two days and I must say it's the best laptop I've ever used. The keyboard is just too good, but it's also sturdy, fast and feels nice. And I've had four thinkpads, two macbooks and one asus. T25 might be the pinnacle of laptops for me. Lenovo would be stupid to not continue using these keyboards in some of their models.
I think FHD is a feature. Even on a 15" laptop it is around 140ppi, thats... a lot. And FHD saves on battery life significantly on anything not Apple. I specifically ordered a Precision 7520 this week with an anti-glare FHD with no mic or webcam because 140+ PPI is a good balance for me and it extends battery life significantly.
96 ppi is the old standard. 140ppi generally gives a very nice and crisp screen. The 220 or so on most MBP retina is nice, but probably overkill starting around 180ppi in my estimation.
Agreed, and I'm happy that I'm not the only person with this view on display density. I can deal with HiDPI displays if it allows me to to a 1:2 integer scale without losing too much real estate, but any scaling between there loses small pixel details. As someone who appreciates sharp bitmap fonts and pixel graphics, the retina MBP is a big irritation.
It's definitely ok! I just had a ThinkPad X1 Carbon to test from work and I kind of liked the WQHD resolution with the crisp colors. At least for 15" screen and keeping one Emacs and one terminal side by side was a nice way to work and I could easily read the text.
Not complaining though, everything else in this T25 is so much better.
How can it be that to get a seriously good keyboard for programming, I need to get a novelty laptop and get it fast until it sells out. If you have a chance to test it somewhere and can take a hit with a FHD panel, this is definitely a fast and robust laptop.