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Trackpoint USB Keyboard on 15" MacBook 2012 (PN 55Y9003)

Bill Hahn — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 17:00:29 +0000

Check this out.

I use a ThinkPad External Trackpoint Keyboard that is really slim, light, cheap and HIGHLY FUNCTIONAL sitting over the MacBook Keyboard of my 2012 Retina MacBook. It actually fits over all MacBooks (13”, 15”, etc.) keyboards quite nicely and works AWESOME for those who appreciate a Trackpoint.

Here’s the Prod info (Lenovo Part# 55Y9003) https://shop.lenovo.com/us/itemdetails/55Y9003/460/60AC6A0372B14F5BA7B12F1FF88E33C7

My use case is when I use my MacBook for less than 1hr I use the native MacBook Keyboard and Trackpad…and I LOVE the MacBook built-in trackpad. However, when I use my MacBook for extended periods of time I pull out the light/thin ThinkPad TrackPoint External USB Keyboard and simply place it on top of my MacBook Keyboard. It works awesomely well!

Check out my pictures of the Trackpoint Keyboard sitting on top of my MacBook keyboard. It looks strange, but it’s worth it when you are power-mousing-keyboarding for extended periods. Not having to take my hands off the keyboard to mouse is much faster for heads-down working sessions on my MacBook!!!!

https://soapower.com/Pics/ThinkPadTrackpointKeyboardOnMacBook-1.JPG and https://soapower.com/Pics/ThinkPadTrackpointKeyboardOnMacBook-2.JPG

You can also check out my other post on MacRumors on this topic: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=684554

I have included the transcript from my MacRumors post here for easy reading:

Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint Keyboard 55Y9003 works with my MacBooks!!!!!

The MacBook Pro with the built-in Mac Trackpad is wonderful. Howerver, the IBM/Lenovo heritage red Trackpoint eraser head that IBM innovated into the Thinkpad Laptop Notebook computers in the 1990’s is in some cases quicker/easier and more accurate to use.

Therefore, I was VERY EXCITED when I tried to connect an external USB Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint Keyboard and found that the Trackpoint works very well with my Mac!!!! Literally no setup required.

In addition, this particular model (55Y9003) of the Lenovo External Trackpoint Keyboard is VERY thin, sits nicely on top of or in front of my Mac or MacBook Pro keyboard, is VERY light, and fits easily into any Laptop case because it’s so light, thin and small…and btw: Cheap (apprx. $50 U.S.).

It actually feels as though it was MADE for a MacBook. I know that sounds crazy, but the corner pads on the bottom of the Trackpoint Keyboard fit perfectly around the corners of the existing MacBook keyboard dimensions. It’s a crazy good fit on all models of the MacBook and MacBook Airs….trust me I’ve tried them all.

Just google 55Y9003 and/or search for “Trackpoint External Keyboard” and you’ll find MORE THAN ONE style of Lenovo ‘Track’ Trackpoint keyboard available from multiple sources for purchase. It costs around $50 U.S. I ordered mine from CDW.com and it shipped next day. You can also order it directly from Lenovo for about the same price.

I LOVE my MacBook Pro. I love my Trackpad built into the MacBook. And I Love my Trackpoint track mouse ‘red eraser head’ “Stick”…..because it is just simply faster in some cases because you don’t have to take your hand off the keyboard to mouse around. If you get used to using it after a few days, it’s not only faster but also more accurate for mousing-and-clicking. You can click with your hand off the mouse movement stick and you don’t have to worry about moving the mouse pointer when you click. There are all sorts of mousing use cases where the trackpoint stick is better. There are also cases where the built-in Mac Trackpad is better. Now I have the BEST of both worlds because my Mac keyboard and trackpad works SIMULTANEOUSLY while my external USB Lenovo Track Trackpoint Keyboard is attached.

If you keep an open mind and actually use the Trackpoint built into the external keyboard for 2-3 days, you’ll find it is much faster than taking your hands off the keyboard to use a Mouse or Trackpad. It’s just that simple, and truly compelling..

I hope this helps. :-)

I need a trackpoint on a Macbook!

Tina Trackpoint — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:02:47 +0000

After 15 years of using trackpoints (mostly on Thinkpads) I ordered myself a Macbook Pro with the intention to try everything to get used to it.

Unfortunately it looks like I will have to return it, even though I love everything about it, virtualization, switching with gestures between windows, linux and Mac OS, it is great,

but it is SO frustrating having to move my hand and fingers away from the keyboard all the time to move them around that touchpad to move the mouse! An external mouse is not an option. My hand should stay where it is.

I dont want to drag something and suddenly I am at the edge of the trackpoint, can#t drag no further, could never happen with a trackpoint.

Does anyone want to try and take the ultranav out of one of my old Thinkpads and put it into the Macbook Pro Mid 2012 I have sitting here?

Otherwise it looks like it will be a return and I will get the Lenovo X1 carbon :(

Love the Trackpoint

DaveSF — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 18:26:37 +0000

I also love the Trackpoint. I’ve used the IBM/Lenovo USB Travel Keyboard with Ultranav on all my computers for about ten years (and also stuck with Thinkpad notebooks). Love it love it love it. I also use a mouse, and I find the compact keyboard (without the numpad) offers a more natural hand position for the mouse. I’ve used some non-Thinkpad trackpoints, and never find them as usable as the one on the Thinkpad. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once I got used to the touchpoint, I found it almost impossible to suffer through trackpads.

However, in 2012 I find Lenovo’s machines lackluster. I just replaced a W520 with a Retina MBP because the W520 and power-brick is just way too big. I like the IBM/Lenovo/Thinkpad Trackpoint much better than Apple’s glass multi-touch clickpad, but the clickpad is “passable” enough to avoid double size and 40% of the weight. I just find myself resorting to a mouse more often while traveling.

I’m also sad to see Lenovo slip to a 6-row keyboard, though I’m guessing it’s still better than competitive offerings. Sadly, the upcoming Lenovo T430u is 14” and 16:9. I want them to make a T/W530u at 15.4” and 16:10 aspect ratio. Then I could have a thin-and-light graphics workstation and still keep my trackpoint.

Cures RSI, speeds up programming and makes you happy

Pasi — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 19:42:51 +0000

I use TrackPoint keyboards whenever I can, both at home and at work. Besides being a charm to use it cured my RSI! I have become so addicted to the device that the existance of a TrackPoint is now the main requirement when choosing my next laptop. Too bad there is no wireless keyboard with TrackPoint as I really hate it when I can´t use a TrackPoint with my HTPC. I guess the main problem is the power consumption of TrackPoint devices (?).

wireless

aramis — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:06:17 +0000

Almost seven years now since you wrote this little homage to the trackpoint. And still: there’s no wireless trackpoint keyboard out there. Not even one! What’s wrong with that world? I mean: how is mankind supposed to evolve any further without it? Imagine all the time we have spent already moving one hand from keyboard to mouse (or touchpad) and back again. Altogether it might sum up to decades, even aeons — aeons of useless time wasted on a redundant zero-sum movement. We could have done better. All the precious source code we could have written instead, all our wonderful thoughts that would populate the web — if we’d had the time to write them down — are now lost forever, just because of some copyright issue. The lasting absence of human settlements on mars is clearly IBM’s fault. No doubt about that!

Besides, I love to work and study and read and surf the web outside in the open loggia of my apartment. In winter I put on a sleeping back to keep myself warm and place a wireless keyboard on my lap, so I can keep my arms inside the bag while typing. Yeah, It might look weird: sitting there in my sleeping bag, motionless, staring at the text prompt in front of me, but it’s totally worth it for working outside raises a unique awareness and creativity. Anyway, a wireless trackpoint keyboard would be nice for that!

I am also trackpoint lover

zamroni — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:30:06 +0000

I am also trackpoint lover and don’t like touch pad. If configured properly, trackpoint is a very nice pointing device. When the laptop is in my lap, e.g. while sitting in car or in airport boarding room, nothing beats trackpoint. Patent licensing may cost something, but I thing the main cause why trackpoint is because manufacturer does not default it to useful setting (heaviest touch + fastest mouse speed).

Funny

Sam — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 22:24:49 +0000

I never thought of the trackpoint this way. Since I have both trackpoints and mousepads (plus usually an external move) on every laptop I use I’ll give it another try. In fact, I often try not to use the mouse at all, by using window managers (xmonad) and web browsers (firefox+vimperator) easily controllable with the keyboard only.

I lose $17/hour when I don't use a trackpoint.

Visitor — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 11:57:49 +0000

I’m an average to above average speed touch typist (75 wpm) and a computer programmer; when I’m coding I’ve timed myself and found that I can generate 20% more code per hour with my trackpoint vs a touchpad. I bill 100/hr, what this means is that it costs my clients 20% more when I work on my Mac vs my Thinkpad. When i’m billing by project vs hourly then it means I’m only earning $83/hr if I budget the project using my normal algorithm ( which I developed while working on a ThinkPad ). That’s a big paycut… So it costs me $17/hour to use a computer without a trackpoint! This is what makes Macs expensive, not their actual pricetag.

Why people dislike trackpoints:

1) it has no benefit to anyone who is not a touch typist. if you need to glance at the keyboard frequently to type then you can’t take advantage of the speed increase that comes from keeping your fingers registered on the keyboard at all times. 2) in a default configuration with pointer speed set to medium, trackpoints are very slo…ooow. In order to make the most out of trackpoint the pointer speed has to be set to the highest speed, and enhance pointer precision has to be turned on. 3) learning curve is 2 hours. people don’t have patience for something they can’t learn instantly.

Lenovo Thinkpad Track Trackpoint Keyboard 55Y9003 works with Mac

BillH — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:36:31 +0000

Lenovo Thinkpad Track Trackpoint Keyboard 55Y9003 works with Mac MacBook etc!!!!!

The MacBook Pro with the built-in Mac Trackpad is wonderful. Howerver, the red Trackpoint eraser head that IBM innovated into the Thinkpad Laptop Notebook computers in the 1990’s is in some cases quicker to use.

Therefore, I was VERY EXCITED when I tried to connect an external USB Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint Keyboard and found that the Trackpoint works very well with my Mac!!!!

I had a trackpoint on my

Visitor — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:10:56 +0000

I had a trackpoint on my first laptop, and liked it, especially with the concave cap.

When buying a new laptop, I specifically limited myself to ones with pointing sticks. I ended up getting a Dell Inspiron, and when it arrived, there was no pointing stick! I wrote to them to ask what happened, and found out they had been removed, along with some of the ports on the back. I looked on eBay and found a keyboard with trackpoint for the same model, and installed it. It worked! But not very well. The Dell trackpoint sucked, and the thumb buttons sucked, too, and I eventually stopped using it and just used the touchpad. I wish IBM-style trackpoints were available for every laptop.

Plug and play

Michael Geary — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:56:09 +0000

I didn’t use any drivers on the Mac Mini - I just plugged in the single USB connector from the TrackPoint keyboard and everything works - the TrackPoint as well as the keyboard itself.

Be sure you get the new Lenovo ThinkPad keyboard - it’s greatly improved over the old one and cheaper too.

The part number is 55Y9003 which you can Google to find sources for the keyboard.

IBM USB Keyboard w/ Trackpoint Device on the Mac Mini

Thomas — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 23:00:15 +0000

Hi, I just bought a Mac Mini and I want to use the IBM USB Keyboard with Trackpoint device. You said it works for you. Did you just plug the keyboard in to a USB port on the Mini and it worked automatically? Or did you have to do something more, e.g. use the installer cd that comes with the keyboard, or download drivers from the net, or something else? Any info you can give me is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

KVMs

RS — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:44:09 +0000

These keyboards are wonderful, but they do have one serious limitation for me…KVMs. There’s only one USB cable coming from the keyboard, and it combines mouse and keyboard information. Most KVM switches proxy the real keyboard and so if you plug your trackpoint keyboard in to the keyboard slot of the KVM, you lose the mouse…if you plug into the mouse port, you lose the keyboard. The only thing that worked for me was to get a KVM that does USB peripheral switching too (I used an IOGear GCS1734 (or some earlier version of that)…this worked but the hotkeys for switching won’t work so you’re stuck with the buttons on the KVM. Supposedly some very new KVMs may be able to handle this situation correctly (same problem exists for multimedia and wireless keyboards), but I have not tried it out.

Function key?

Visitor — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:38:17 +0000

I currently use one of the thinkpad keyboards you linked to and I’m thinking of getting a Mac Mini and using a KVM switch to switch between it and my PC. Your key mapping is good information but do you use the Function key on the ThinkPad keyboard for anything? Does the Mac Mini recognize the function key as anything? Also, could you use the page back and page forward keys near the arrow keys for anything? Any input would be helpful. Thanks!

Mouse click

Zoltan Till — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:13:01 +0000

Michael, This is a great tool, but I didn’t find the click, double click and right click options. Can you help me? TIA, Zoltan