The Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Aura Edition being showed off at CES 2025 lacks the iconic TrackPoint nub in a nod to a new, modern design that includes Lenovo AI Now.
I think it works fantastically well. I personally like it much better than a touchpad. It lets me move the pointer without taking my hands away from typing home position.
It’s not just for decoration. You can use it as a legitimate pointing device. Nudging it will move the mouse cursor and tapping it with your fingernail is clicking.
It takes some getting used to but you can definitely use it for normal office tasks if you wanted to. That being said, I still personally prefer a mouse. But I have known some people who like using the nipple.
It isn’t a dealbreaker for me, but it really is nice. It takes getting used to, but it cuts down on the need to move to the touchpad or mouse. If you’re working in tight quarters, or have mobility issues, or hand issues, it can end up being a major improvement. It’s a ymmv thing of course, but I end up using it more than I thought I would when writing.
Is it actually usable? I never owned one
Used one for a few years and I loved it:
But, there’s no mouse wheel or scroll gesture and maintaining pressure on the nub is maybe more tiring than a trackpad.
It’s also very chill to do things 1-handed with (no euphemism).
I use a mechanical keyboard with one on my desktop, I actually use it quite a lot.
That sounds awesome! Is it a Unicomp EnduraPro or is there some other option?
TEX out of Taiwan makes a few.
I think it works fantastically well. I personally like it much better than a touchpad. It lets me move the pointer without taking my hands away from typing home position.
It’s not just for decoration. You can use it as a legitimate pointing device. Nudging it will move the mouse cursor and tapping it with your fingernail is clicking.
It takes some getting used to but you can definitely use it for normal office tasks if you wanted to. That being said, I still personally prefer a mouse. But I have known some people who like using the nipple.
It’s fine. Takes some time to get used to. Some people really love it, but I don’t think it’s that great.
I can never get mine to go where I want first try, and sometimes the pointer drifts on its own after I take my finger off.
It feels a lot like using a game controller to control your mouse, if you’ve ever used Joy2Key or similar programs.
Dunno. I have one on my semifake E580 and I just used it to check if it works. It’s a bit awkward for me.
Oh yeah.
It isn’t a dealbreaker for me, but it really is nice. It takes getting used to, but it cuts down on the need to move to the touchpad or mouse. If you’re working in tight quarters, or have mobility issues, or hand issues, it can end up being a major improvement. It’s a ymmv thing of course, but I end up using it more than I thought I would when writing.