Internal Appearance and Usage
Say hello to the 15.1" LCD panel, SXGA in spec and running at a native resolution of 1400x1050. More on that later.
Keyboard
The keyboard is close to full size, with the obvious concessions to a mobile form factor; there's no number pad and keys like Home, End, Delete and PgUp/PgDown are all clumped together on the far right edge of the keyboard.
The keyboard, if you are used to desktop, full-size keyboards, is excellent to type on. The key travel is decent without being over the top, it doesn't make an audible click (no, the clicking on old IBM units isn't big and it isn't clever) and you get tactile feedback that you've actually depressed a key.
However the keyboard, due to the form factor it has to be packed into, has to make some layout compromises, compared to a full sized desktop model. So while we get a full set of arrow keys, we get a skinny space bar, tiny left CTRL key that's jammed next to a fairly useless Function toggle, a key that simply not pressed that often and should be moved away from a key that is. It's the only real faux pas though, in my subjective opinion of course. The spacebar isn't that small, the return key isn't too bad either, size wise. You get a large backspace key and the whole thing is fine for typing on for long periods, this article is a testament to that.
Touchpad
The touchpad is a decent size and doesn't sit too close to the spacebar, a position that can cause all kinds of 'oops, I just moved and clicked the mouse' mistakes, so thumbs up to the chassis designer in that respect. However its buttons are pretty terrible. If you're a right-hander like me, you'll move your right thumb down to press the left mouse button. The button only has a small area in which it's possible to easily depress, activating the switch underneath. That area lies around the curve of the navigational pad that you can see under the trackpad. The entire area of the key is depressable of course, but it's a lot harder anywhere else on the key area. It drove me to using an external mouse with the unit whenever possible.
The touchpad is accurate and doesn't require a heavy hand. It's a Synaptics device and inherits the usual quality of their mobile pointing devices, the driver software for the touchpad is particularly good. However despite it featuring the navigational pad underneath, with which you can scroll up and down, as well as left and right (a feature beginning to show up in new mouse models from Microsoft, for horizontal scrolling in documents), I'd rather it be removed in favour of a more recent Synaptics touchpad that's bigger in area and has an integrated vertical scrolling area for brushing your thumb over. That method is quicker, needs less concentration to use and doesn't require a depressing motion from a finger or thumb, reducing RSI. It's not horrible though and horizontal scrolling is welcome, although you have to wonder about its inclusion on a 1400-pixel width display.
Again though, it drove me to using a mouse when I could, depressing that left mouse button became a real pain (literally) at times, as I had to condition my thumb to hit the button's sweet spot.
Wrist area
The photograph at the top of the page shows you everything you need to know about the wrist area. It's big, there's a bigger area to the right of the touchpad for the hand that has to depress more keys (in a usual, traditional typing setup) and while there's no ergonomic rest, the material is a smooth plastic and feels nice to the touch. The only problem lies in the heat generated under the right hand area of the wrist section. Especially with the DVD drive going, or if you block up the exhaust ports under that area on the bottom of the unit, things can get pretty toasty. You shouldn't block those exhaust areas obviously, but with the unit on your knees it happens and things get hot. Not uncomfortably so, it won't ever burn you, but it's disconcerting at times, for want of a better term.Input Summary
The large keyboard makes things simple to use, the trackpad isn't horrible and the wrist area is generous due to the size of the whole unit. But it's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. The trackpad and navigation buttons look good, there's some decent aesthetic design in the whole thing, but it's not as good to use.
Let's talk about the screen.
