POINTING AND INPUT:

The new Thinkpads stand alone from many other manufacturers in that they offer two entirely discrete input methods. Lenovo refers to this as the "Ultranav" setup.

The bottom of the laptop holds the normal multitouch trackpad with two buttons.

Also, centered in the keyboard is the Lenovo Trackpoint, a pressure-sensitive joystick designed to function as an alternate controller. The Trackpoint itself is made of a highly tactile rubber which seems to have just the right amount of "stick" for its intended use. It has its own set of three buttons immediately below the space bar: left and right mouse buttons, and a special programmable button which can perform two different tasks.

TRACKPOINT
I've always liked the Trackpoint for serious word processing. When you're properly positioned to type and want to use the mouse, you have to completely change your arm position in order to access the trackpad. but the Trackpoint lets you just use a finger to get to where you want to go.

The Trackpoint is also unusually accurate, if you set it right. It really is a good design, and Lenovo makes the best one out there.

However, because the Trackpoint is only a single input point, it can't support things like two-finger scrolling or pinch zooming. The third button (available only for the Trackpoint, not the normal track pad) is designed to let you use the Trackpoint either to scroll or to magnify. Those are the only two options for now, though as they are software based there seems to be no limit on what Lenovo could do.

TRACKPAD
Most users are more familiar with trackpads than they are with a Trackpoint. Moreover, there are some actions that you can only do on a multitouch trackpad. As a result, it's probable that even devout Trackpoint users will switch to the trackpad for photo editing, moving around large web pages, and the like.

The trackpad is Lenovo's recent "flush" design. As someone who has been known to eat pretzels near a computer, I greatly appreciate the functionality. No more gunk on the trackpad edges.

The trackpad is among the more highly textured ones that I have used, covered with small tactile dots at about a 2mm spacing. Although this may not make sense at first, it does seem to provide a pleasant feedback as you slide your finger along it, and I suspect it would be less likely to have that "sticky" feel which has plagued other manufacturers' track pads in the past.

I found that although I was able to use the trackpad accurately, it required a somewhat heavier touch than I was used to.

The trackpad supports multitouch, including two and three finger actions such as pinch zoom, scrolling, and moving between pages. All of those features are selectable.

In keeping with its focus on input devices, Lenovo provides an extraordinarily high level of available customization. In fact, I can say beyond a doubt that the T510 provides more options to design your "perfect" pointer interface than does any other laptop I have used. It may be that you don't like the factory settings, but it is very unlikely that you won't be able to find just what you are looking for in the Ultranav control box.