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I'm just curious ... I wonder if any manufacturer has ever tried to make a laptop with actual full size keyboard.

By ACTUAL full-size I mean not just having a numpad. I mean one that has a keyboard with FULL layout exactly like you expect in a desktop keyboard. So my "ideal" keyboard has:

  1. A numpad. Bonus points if it has both dot and comma keys.
  2. The arrow keys are where they belong, below the INS DEL HOME END PAGE UP/DOWN 3x2 group.
  3. No compacting of arrow keys in the same space, or of any other keys whatsoever. Preferably F1..F12 are in groups of four, like expected, for easy access without looking. No tricks to save space that will impact on usability.
  4. No keys out-of-place. No FN key on the left of CTRL. In fact, having no need for a FN key at all would be even better. Ideally any keys like volume, brightness, toggles for mute, mic or wireless, media keys, etc., if present, would be their own separate key on a separate extra row above the keyboard.
  5. And, for crying out loud, NO MISSING KEYS like / or ? requiring Alt Gr!

Things I don't mind:

  • Having just the left winkey is enough. No need for 2 of them.
  • I don't care about having a scroll lock key, as long as it's always off.
  • I wouldn't normally care about having num lock key, as long as it's always on. Though it's possible it might be needed, I dunno.
  • No need for abnormally large right shift key. Even if the spacebar is smaller, I don't mind.
  • I don't care about fancy extra keys like calculator and whatnot. Back/forward keys would be nice, though, but not absolutely needed.

I don't care if keys are tiny like in a netbook, and really close to each other, and the notebook is larger than normal. I just wish someone would make a laptop totally focused on typing, with full keys layout. This would be particularly good for programming and gaming.

Has anyone seen anything like that?
If not, do you think it would be impossible to make, or is it possible that we might get one eventually?

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  • Also I searched for that a lot. My current best idea is to use a rooted Android phone, with a VR helm and with an USB or bluetooth keyboard. It would likely require a lot of cables, but it could allow me to work on long travels.
    – peterh
    Jan 22, 2021 at 22:26
  • There are not only many available, but even sites attempting to quantify which is 'best' eg binarytides.com/best-laptops-with-numeric-keypad (although none on there have good photos of the actual keyboard, which is kind of dozy;) Just google "laptop with numpad"
    – Tetsujin
    Feb 13, 2021 at 12:06
  • @Tetsujin I think you didn't understand... Having a numpad is not enough (I know there are lots of these), I want ACTUAL FULL KEYBOARD LAYOUT. Like the desktop keyboard. Where even HOME/END/INS/DEL/PAGE keys are in the proper place, above the arrows (item 2 in my question). So one that's even wider than numpad keyboards.
    – geekley
    Feb 13, 2021 at 19:45

1 Answer 1

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Laptops with a full size keyboard exist but are few and far between due to the actual size limitations of the laptops. there are only two that I know of that come close.

The acer predator X21, it's a full size keyboard, however the numpad is low profile and reversible so you can use it as a trackpad. this is a 21 inch curved monitor "laptop"

The only one that I can think of that is even close to what you describe is the DELL XPS M2010 and even that one moved the arrow keys to make room for a touch pad. The laptop In question is 20 inch.

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  • Hm, very interesting to see those; I'll upvote your answer. So they do exist in very niche markets only. I'd like to see companies trying to make a regular one for general purpose use, aimed at programmers, writers and other people that work a lot with the keyboard. I do think it's possible to pull it off without increasing the size that much, by making keys a little smaller and closer to each other, and reducing lateral space. I don't know anything about laptop trends, but do you think we might get something like that eventually? Maybe some years from now?
    – geekley
    Apr 1, 2021 at 20:58
  • @geekley Sadley I doubt it. We've been seeing laptop sizes being reduced, as well as bezel sizes. To get a a modern full size keyboard with comfortable typing layout we'd need a 21+ inch laptop, that's just a size that's not practical. the full function, more compact layout where keys are shoved together is probably as good as it's going to get
    – skippy
    Apr 2, 2021 at 21:51

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