Today, however, I use a TrackPoint exclusively for nearly all desktop navigation as I find it faster and more enjoyable. In short, I hated using TrackPoints and no idea why they were still included on laptops. Each time I’ve tried using one beforehand, I’ve gotten frustrated within a few minutes and switched to a trackpad or a wired/wireless mouse. Up until last year, I thought the TrackPoint was a useless navigation device. Outside of Lenovo’s Thinkpad line, you can still find them on many HP EliteBook and Dell Latitude models today. TrackPoints were very common on early laptops in the 1990s, including my Toshiba 320CDT and SPARCbook 3000ST, but have been included on many business-grade laptops since then. It’s just like how people today commonly refer to facial tissue as Kleenex in tribute to its earliest common brand name. Wikipedia formally calls it a pointing stick, but you may hear it referred to as a nub or nipple mouse.Īnd while TrackPoint is IBM’s term for it, most people call it a TrackPoint today because it is most commonly associated with original IBM ThinkPads. To ensure that your index fingers can easily reach it, it’s situated in the middle of the keyboard between the G, H, and B keys. Simply put, it is an alternative to using a mouse or trackpad on laptops. The TrackPoint, which has been standard on ThinkPads since the first model in 1992 What is a TrackPoint?.

Rugged build quality (it’s hard to kill a Thinkpad: ).

An amazing keyboard (often touted as the best for professional work).

Lenovo (formerly IBM) ThinkPad laptops are widely known for three things:

Ibm thinkpad red button not working