IBM TrackPoint vs Touch Pad...

[RickG]

I really want to buy an IBM Thinkpad laptop. They're built like a tank and have a great reputation for reliability.

However, I'm so accustomed to using a touchpad, I'm worried that I won't be comfortable with the TrackPoint system.

http://trackpoint.almaden.ibm.com/tpuser.html

Does anyone here have experience with this pointing device? Is it easy to adjust from a touchpad?

Any help would be appreciated...

 

[Feanor]

I never liked touchpads, but I know I liked the trackpoint a lot. It actually is better than those teeny mice some use with laptops. The good thing with the trackpoint is that you can make continouos movements with it.

 

[Snake]

I'm a Trackpoint person.

My new ZD7000 has a trackpad only and I miss my Trackpoint something fierce.

Can you adapt? It depends upon your typing skills. If you are a touch typist once you use a Trackpoint you will never want to go back. If you are a hunt-and-pecker then those types are the slowest to adapt to a Trackpoint.

Anyway, many of the new laptops come with Bluetooth. Get the Bluetooth internal (a good thing) and just go with a travel Bluetooth mouse - the Targus Bluetooth Travel is awesome - if you really hate your Trackpoint.

 

[CD44hi]

We have three laptops: a Toshiba Satellite Pro, an IBM Thinkpad (This is my wife's, I don't remember the model) and a Powerbook Titanium G4.

So I use the touchpad with the Mac and the trackpoints with the Toshi and IBMs. I'd say that most likely you will get used to it pretty quicky. At the beginning it may give you a sore finger tip

.

And I agree, the IBM has a such a solid structural feeling to it, no question. The keyboard feels much more "real" than the other two I mentioned. I feel that the mac has an edge on the other two on graphics/display quality.

 

[andrzejpw]

Thinkpads have both the touchpad and the trackpoint. I greatly prefer the trackpoint, and have the touchpad turned off. The greatest advantage of the trackpoint is the fact that you don't have to take your hands off the keyboard to use it.

 

[sleepkyng]

if you use your thumbs on a trackpad (talkin powerbooks here) you never have to move you hands.

 

[jefemeister]

I hate the trackpoint. Touchpads all the way. My laptop (Toshiba M45) has the wide aspect monitor, I only wish the touchpad was similarly wide. I'm not sure why they don't have a middle mouse button included either. I would use that button all the time in Firefox.

edit: I've never had the urge to use a mouse and type at the same time.

 

[Talonz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jefemeister I hate the trackpoint. Touchpads all the way. My laptop (Toshiba M45) has the wide aspect monitor, I only wish the touchpad was similarly wide. I'm not sure why they don't have a middle mouse button included either. I would use that button all the time in Firefox.

I think that you can hit both left and right, and it will register as a middle mouse click (at least on my Dell D600)

 

[Wodgy]

I much prefer the Trackpoint. As someone else mentioned, you don't have to take your hands off the keyboard to use it (using thumbs with a trackpad is much less accurate) and it just feels more accurate. With a trackpad, there are situations where the mouse pointer jumps around because you've brushed against it the wrong way, or unexpectedly, whereas with a trackpoint the cursor only moves if you intentionally push the bar.

It's not that much of an issue anyway. IBM has caved in and now provides both options on most of its laptops. Only the X series and perhaps some of the G series only have the trackpoint. Personally, I'd get the X series as I would prefer not to have a trackpad at all.

 

[kramer5150]

My T40 has both.

I use both, but prefer the touchpad most of the time.
Garrett

 

[JeffL]

Back when I had an IBM 600x, I loved the Trackpoint. My laptop has only a touchpad though, so I use one of those mini-mice, which works well.

The Trackpoint was very easy to use, quick, and you could go from typing to pointing by simply moving your finger. It is a very efficient pointing device, but it does take getting used to.

Still, doesn't compare to a mouse or trackball though.

 

[RickG]

Thank you so much for the feedback, guys. It's a great thing being able to tap into experience like this.

edit:

Just ordered this:

1 2386E9U ThinkPad X40(IBM Think Express
$2,128.00
Program)
iLogistix Series 'O' Label Pack
MS Office
Microsoft Office Basic Edition
2003
512MB PC2700 CL2.5 DDR SDRAM
SODIMM
1 73P3599 IBM ThinkPad Carrying Case - $65.55
$65.55
BackPack
1 26K3382 3 Year Computrace Personal $99.99
$99.99
Edition
1 73P3294 ThinkPad Multi-Burner Ultrabay $269.10
$269.10
Slim Drive

 

[jefemeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talonz I think that you can hit both left and right, and it will register as a middle mouse click (at least on my Dell D600)

I hadn't though about that, but it doesn't seem to work. Thanks for the idea though.

 

[Aman]

I think this is the case with all touchpads, that you can hit the left, right, or middle mouse, and that if you don't have a middle mouse you can hit the left and right together at the same time to achieve the same affect.

I'm sure it's configurable on your Operating System.

RickG: Congrats for the great purchase! IBMs and Mac laptops are the ONLY two worth looking at!

 

[skiingemt]

VERY nice choice with the Thinkpad X40! I got a Thinkpad several years ago and used it until it was too obsolete to be fast enough for me. It was a great laptop. I would now NEVER buy a laptop without a trackpoint. I have never liked touchpads, even though I have had to use them long enough on the laptops at work to be used to them. I have come to terms with the fact that I will never like the touchpad. The trackpoint is so much faster, about as fast as a full sized mouse if you're used to it. You never have to pick up your finger, and the cursor moves as fast as the pressure you put on the knob. I am a very impatient person when it comes to computers. Anyway, have fun with your X40! I'm jealous...

G