How is the keyboard in the dark?

[gri]

I share your concern, and will be able to answer next week when mine arrives. I use my laptop a lot laying back in bed... often in the middle of the night. Of all the laptops that I have had, my 2009 MBA is the easiest to use in the dark. My Alu MBP (silver backlit keys) was OK... but not as good as my MBA.

I have owned number of laptops with the LED light that shines down from the bezel. Several were IBM Thinkpads... and I also currently have an HP 2530. While those are much better then relying simply on the screen illumination... they are still vastly inferior to the backlit keyboards that I have used.

If I do not like the new MBA... I'll be giving it to my wife (who has been patiently waiting to inherit my existing MBA). Even though I am an proficient touch typist... I suspect that this will be a pretty big downgrade. I'll be willing to bet that the next upgrade will reintroduce a backlit keyboard... and I'll buy a new one then. Luckily for me... my wife is satisfied with my hand-me-downs... and she only uses computers while sitting at a desk in a well illuminated room.

/Jim

Please, report your experience next week! Maybe even PM if done so I know...

 

[MooneyFlyer]

Just use your existing MB without the backlight on, you'll get the feel for it. I miss it too but it's not that big of a deal...

 

[Eric-PTEK]

I typed this entire response with my eyes closed, see its not that hard.

Seriously, who ever looks at a keyboard?

If anything the feature was annoying on my MB Pro because if I did have it on, the reflection on the screen was annoying.

 

[happyslayer]

I can type and I looked at the keyboard plenty during my writing sessions on my old Rev B Air. Function keys and cutting and pasting are not typical keys so I generally want to look at the keyboard when I'm doing it. I loved the backlit keyboard!

That said, it isn't that bad without it. Total darkness is actually better because the screen is pretty bright and illuminates the keys.

Low light conditions are worse, because it's dark enough to not see the lettering but too light to get the benefit from the screen brightness.

Anyway, it's not a deal breaker and I have mostly gotten used to it.

Just an opinion to someone that owned the old Air and now owns the new.