Lenovo ThinkPad T420 Screen, Speakers, Keyboard and Touchpad

Screen and Speakers
The T420 features a 14-inch screen with an anti-glare coating. It is available in two resolutions: 720p (1366×768) and 900p (1600×900); ours has the latter and it’s a good thing it does, otherwise I would complain. A 1600×900 screen has almost 30% more space compared to 1366×768 – that means less scrolling since more lines of text can be shown at once (or more detail in a high-resolution picture). It also makes it possible to use two windows side-by-side.

The screen has 15 levels of brightness and ample contrast; the infamous Command Prompt window looks black with barely a hint of gray. Viewing angles are typical for a TN-type panel like this one; fine horizontally but with significant color distortion vertically. Nearly all notebooks come with TN-type panels. The anti-glare screen coating is more evidence this notebook is designed for productivity – it’s not a mirror like a glossy display and thus does not have annoying reflections. It is easy to clean as a bonus.

The T420 sports two stereo speakers on either side of the keyboard. They suffice for watching occasional audio clips but lack the volume and bass to enjoy music. I appreciate the dedicated volume control (up/down/mute) buttons above the keyboard – they’re convenient.

Keyboard and Touchpad
Like the design, the T420 has a keyboard … pretty much like ThinkPads have always had – a great one. Although Lenovo is controversially introducing “Chiclet” or “island” style keyboards on some more consumer-esque ThinkPad lines, the T-series stays true to form with a standard keyboard (maybe it should be called an “old school” keyboard since apparently “keyboard” isn’t sufficient anymore).

Tactile feedback – what it feels like to press the keys – starts with the key travel, or the distance between pressed and not pressed positions. The T420’s keys have precisely the right amount of travel to allow time for your finger muscles to realize a key is fully depressed; this is essential for fast and accurate typing. Additionally the spring mechanism (it’s not actually a spring, but a scissor switch/rubber dome, but that’s for another article) pops the keys back up immediately yet is stiff enough to let you rest your fingers on the keys.

I could talk about the keyboard all day but will restrain myself to two more points. First, the layout of the keyboard is fantastic; it has the [Fx] keys at the top separated into groups of four as they should be and the home/end/pgup/pgdn/delete keys separated into cluster. Lastly, the keyboard is quiet and subdued for use in meetings and classrooms alike – no clacking or clicking, just a nice low octave sound.

The T420 has an “UltraNav” solution which consists of the touchpad and the red rubber trackpoint in the center of the keyboard. The touchpad sports an anti-glare textured surface which is actually a bit too bumpy for my tastes, coming from a smooth touchpad. On the plus side, the rougher surface makes it highly accurate. The trackpoint is the best in the business, responsive and with an excellent dome shape. I prefer using this since it’s not necessary to remove hands from the keyboard while doing so. Finally, the buttons are quiet and have enough depth to provide solid feedback. They are easy to find by feel.

Overall there are not enough good things I can say about the input devices, they are the gold standard. If you want to buy a notebook with a good keyboard/touchpad and can’t see it in person, a ThinkPad might be your best bet.