Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Comparing keyboards on the HP EliteBook tablet series (2740p vs. 2730p)

I've been reviewing the HP EliteBook 2740p and I really like this convertible tablet PC.  Several people have been asking me to compare the 2740p to the older 2730p, so here's a short blog post describing some of the differences between the 2 keyboards.

Here's a photo I took comparing the keyboards on the HP EliteBook 2740p (left) and the 2730p (right). You'll see that the keyboard on the 2730p has the traditional scalloped keys.

The new 2740p has a keyboard that somewhat resembles the chiclet-style keyboard (but it's not a true chiclet keyboard). The top of the keys are flat and they are not scalloped. In recent years, we've seen a resurgence of the chiclet keyboard design. You'll find chiclet keys on Sony Vaio laptops, Apple MacBooks, and even on the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge.

Which is better? Scalloped or chiclet? I'm not particularly picky when it comes to these types of things, but you may have a preference.

1 comment:

  1. I have a 2007 and a 2010 MacBook Pro with scalloped and chicklet keyboards respectively. I prefer by far the older scalloped keys. In fact, I have also replaced my keyboards on my two MacPro desktop computers with real keyboards instead of the aesthetically pleasing yet annoying to use chicklet keyboards they come with. I type about twice as fast with scalloped keyboards. Anotheer example as with the iPhone 4 anntennae in which apple has chosen aesthetics over function.
    -- Rob Schertzer, MD, MEd, FRCSC

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