This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Many laptops now feature backlit keyboards. The ThinkLight is no longer found on recent ThinkPads.(January 2021) |
ThinkLight was a keyboard light present on many older ThinkPad families of notebook computers.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/ThinkLight_0644.jpg/220px-ThinkLight_0644.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Thinklight.jpg/220px-Thinklight.jpg)
The series was originally designed by IBM, and then developed and produced by Lenovo since 2005. The ThinkLight has been replaced by a backlight keyboard on later generations of ThinkPads, and Lenovo has discontinued the ThinkLight in 2013.[1]
Description
editA white or amber LED (depending on model) is located on the top edge of the display, illuminating the keyboard to allow use in low-light conditions. It is activated with the key combination Fn-PgUp (the bottom left and top right keys of the keyboard). Later ThinkPads use the combination Fn-Space instead. Lenovo later started to include backlit keyboards, and some models included both the ThinkLight and a backlit keyboard. For those models, the Fn-Space shortcut is also used in conjunction to control a backlit keyboard (if the laptop has it). The on-screen display of ThinkPad computers will display a light on and a light off indicator. The ThinkLight can be activated when the monitor is on or off but not while the computer is off.
Some ThinkPads, like the Z and R series (though not all - some R61 and R32 models still have the white light) feature an amber LED due to the lower cost, while other models, like the T series, use a white LED (which is generally preferred).[2]
The G series and SL series omit the ThinkLight.
A few ThinkPads (17" W700 and W701) have featured the ThinkLight with dual white LEDs.[3]
Alternatives
editThe HP EliteBook series notebooks contain a similar keyboard light called HP Night Light. Unlike the ThinkLight, it is activated by a physical button next to the Night Light, rather than a keyboard shortcut. Third-parties offered external LED-based illumination solutions for the HP 200LX series of DOS palmtop computers in the late 1990s.[4][5]
The Dell Latitude ATG series laptops have also contained a pair of red LEDs which are controlled in a very similar way to the IBM ThinkLight and also serve to illuminate the keyboard.
Some computer manufacturers have opted for backlit keyboards instead of illuminating the keyboard from above; but some ThinkPads included both the ThinkLight and a backlit keyboard (for example, T530, T430 and X230 models).
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Winkler, Tobias. "Review Lenovo ThinkPad X240 Ultrabook". Notebookcheck. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- ^ "Typing in the Dark".
- ^ Winkler, Simon Leitner & Tobias. "Review Lenovo Thinkpad W701 Notebook". Notebookcheck. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- ^ "A Light at the End of the Tunnel". www.palmtoppaper.com. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- ^ "Tutorial: Build an LED light for the Palmtop - hermocom". hermocom.com. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
External links
edit- IBM UK ThinkPad Designs
- ThinkLight on ThinkWiki — section listing ThinkPad models that feature the ThinkLight