Poll: Touch pad or pointing stick?

The (hypothetical) scene:

CNET meeting room, day. Three CNET editors sit at a conference table, surrounded by coffee cups. They're debating the merits of a new ultraportable laptop.

Editor 1
Great performance, great battery life, a great all-around machine. There's one feature that could be a major downside, though.

Editor 2
What's that?

Editor 1
Well, there's a pointing stick, but no touch pad.

Editor 3
Gah! That is an absolute deal-breaker. I hate those things!

Editor 1
You know, they don't bother me, but I know some people have strong feelings about them.

Editor 3
To me, this laptop is useless without a touch pad. There's clearly room on the case to fit one in, so why didn't they include it?

Editor 1
Haven't you ever been typing on a small laptop and accidentally grazed the touch pad? Your cursor winds up several paragraphs away. Infuriating!

Editor 3
Yes, but that's minor compared with the frustration of that tiny stick, which is a pointless legacy feature.

Editor 2
You know, I prefer a touch pad myself, and I'd bet that most of our readers do, too.

Editor 1
Well, we should ask.

Editor 2 and Editor 3 (in unison)
Agreed.

So, dear reader, please let us know your laptop navigation preference in the poll below, and feel free to elaborate in the comments.

CNET News poll

Of mice and men
Which laptop mousing method do you prefer?

Touch pad all the way!
Pointing stick FTW
Meh, it doesn't matter to me.

View results

[jdw242]

sounds eerily similar to a Monty Python sketch... "what about a pointed stick?"

[mrcavity]

I hate it when the pointer moves by accident too. Thats why my old hp laptop has a button above the touchpad that turns it off and on. I can't use my girlfriends laptop because I'm always hitting the mouse with my wrist.
Why don't laptop designers just put in a on/off button more often?

[Shaymojack]

I don't even know what a "pointing stick" is.

[c|net Reader]

According to Wikipedia, a "pointing stick" is the little nub pointer such as on an IBM ThinkPad.

[TheDragonBruceLee]

Exactly, My thought...How many of you TouchPad owners have ever even used a Lenovo/IBM ThinkPad? If you could, you would understand why the Pointing Stick is the Superior device.....

[83bj60]

The problem is most people don't know about them because they've never had the chance to test the difference. And the reason we don't see more of them is, because of initial cost, they weren't included in many laptops. Ergo, their price has remained high and that has thwarted their adoption...

Now those of you who remember early laptops must remember trackballs... And those were abandoned as well... They were essentially dust collecting touchpads ;)

[dizzygill]

I don't care for the point stick, but I use it because my typing style far too often manages to get the touch pad and the next thing I know I've destroyed a lot of valuable typing or ended up surfing someplace I didn't plan to go (cursed advertising banners). I turn of the touch pads on all my laptops.

[garythecynic]

The technology is out there to "Ignore accidental trackpad input." I believe what this does is sense the difference from a palm graze (while typing) and actual fingertips. I suppose this thickens the plot some.

[ericaatnews]

I don't get the pointing stick at all. Touch pad all the way.

[jtbuzz]

The stick is far superior because you dont have to take your hand off the keyboard to get to the stick....its right there with one simple finger move. You dont even have to take your finger off the stick to move the pointer around. With the touchpad, its like an exercise for you entire hand.

[c|net Reader]

This survey lacks an important option: I'd like both (with the ability to disable the touchpad as others have mentioned).

[7aji88]

It really doesn't matter to me, but I have a question about this new ultra portable: is it a new Lenovo idea pad or think pad ? Because the last time I checked, only Lenovo still doing IBM's tradition with the red pointing stick in their laptops.

[dancin819]

I had a laptop (a tablet actually...) with a touchpad, and my cursor would end up a few paragraphs away because HP had no option to turn the thing off. I hated the track point on that laptop because it was way too sensitive. Then that computer was stolen, and my new tablet only has a point stick. However, it is a lot more responsive than the old one and isn't too bad to use. I generally use a wireless mouse though. Funny thing is...now when i use my sister's laptop, i ignore the touchpad (which i though i would die without) and use the point stick

The ultra portable laptop in the story could have been an HP compaq 2710p tablet, (which is what I have) because it only has the pointing stick.

[Dan_Ackerman]

The real-life discussion was actually much more heated than that (and we'll leave the issue of how I got relegated to "Editor 3" status for later).

I believe my main point was that only the 40-plus crowd, whose first laptop was probably a ThinkPad with a pointing stick, still even knew how to use these stupid things, and the rest of us youthful, forward-thinking types were part of the touchpad generation.

Especially because there's plenty of room for a touchpad on even super-tiny netbooks, not having one on a 12-inch system is about the dumbest laptop development since the exploding battery craze of 2006.

[Nonny_Mouse]

"only the 40-plus crowd, whose first laptop was probably a ThinkPad with a pointing stick"

Oh, please, my first laptop was a DOS-based Zenith with no mouse at all. Having to resort to age-based comments to try to prove your point is rather petty, don't you think?

Nonny
[e-mail]

[Jacques_G]

I'm 26 and I can't stand the touchpad: off in the BIOS immediately. I've used only Thinkpads for 6 years and if they remove that nipple (which is what it is) there will be riots...even if I am the only participant.

The thing about touchpads is that they are usually terrible on laptops, though there are some exceptions. But if you type a lot then the nipple is the only way to go - you don't move your hands away from the keyboard, you obviously don't hit the touchpad by mistake and after about an hour with it you are as precise as a (good) touchpad for anything except photo editing.

[tomtomtom]

I haven't had a chance to own a ultraportable laptop. However, I am a big fan of IBM's trackpoint (aka. pointing stick, nipple, etc) This is my 3rd IBM/Lenovo laptop.

Using a trackpoint does give you added productivity as you can maneuver the mouse without having leaving the home keys on your keyboard. I admit, it does take sometime to get used to, but once you are in it, you are really into it. Again, it is really a personal preference but I am really glad that Lenovo decided to keep the trademark red pointing stick in the thinkpad line helping it stand out from other business line competitors.

I have used both Dell, HP and Toshiba's pointing stick and found that they reside deeply into the keyboard and is quite difficult to use.

[ycantifindone]

This is an interesting debate that I have heard a lot about recently. I myself am an IBM point stick man. I've never really liked the touchpad on any laptop I have used, and really stick with IBM/Lenovo products because of it. I will say that other brands such as Dell have a horrible version of the "eraserhead" pointing device and I usually use an external mouse on other laptops that I use. I like the IBM incarnation so much in fact that I use it over my external mouse that is always connected to my laptop. My reasoning behind it I guess is that my hands never leave the keyboard, and its a lot more accurate and easy to use at least on my T60p. I'm happy to play devils advocate on this one! TOUCHPADS FTL

[83bj60]

IBM used to sell a keyboard with a Trackpoint. Horribly expensive, but it worked great, although IMO not as great as the Trackpoint on the old ThinkPad I still have.

Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't just use this old monochrome Windows 3.11 thing to ease my typing blues... I can't wait to upgrade from my present touch pad laptop with Vista to a good, non frustrating XP machine with a nice black keyboard with scalloped, responsive keys AND A GOOD TRACKPOINT!!!

[ycantifindone]

This is an interesting debate that I have heard a lot about recently. I myself am an IBM point stick man. I've never really liked the touchpad on any laptop I have used, and really stick with IBM/Lenovo products because of it. I will say that other brands such as Dell have a horrible version of the "eraserhead" pointing device and I usually use an external mouse on other laptops that I use. I like the IBM incarnation so much in fact that I use it over my external mouse that is always connected to my laptop. My reasoning behind it I guess is that my hands never leave the keyboard, and its a lot more accurate and easy to use at least on my T60p. I'm happy to play devils advocate on this one! TOUCHPADS FTL

[khicon]

It totally depends on what computer the pointing stick is on. If it's on a Thinkpad, then it's fantastic and easy to use. If it's on a dell or HP, then I just get frustrated. I happen to be using a T61p right now, trackpoint is the way to go.

[odessit3]

Pointing stick is awesome. I use a Lenovo Thinkpad x61s and I'm so used to the pointing stick that I can't even use the touchpad anymore. It's very convenient, you don't even have to move the hands of the keyboard. I was never a fan of the.

[jedmmj11]

My sister has an IBM and the pointing stick (its called a trackpoint) is very sensitive and quiet easy to use (u can left click with it)) so if the touch pad is sacrificing the portability then scrap it

[KHFleischer]

Touchpads and pointer sticks both suck. The only good way is a USB mouse and a nice rigid plastic mousepad to use on uneven surfaces.

[83bj60]

I don't disagree... Mice are more precise, but they are slower than Trackpoints. In any case they sure beat touch pads!

As for laptop mice, HP used to have a laptop with a retractable mini mouse with mousepad that you could retract like a CD drive from the right side of the keyboard ;)

[liz_windsor]

I prefer a roller ball, but have never seen one on a laptop

[nxman]

Love Trackpoints love ThinkPads specially the new ThinkPad X200!

[jwatersphd]

I have a trackball that i have attached to a platform that cover the keypad on my notebook. i also have an ergonomic keyboard that sits on the same platform. it's a little cumbersome as far as portability goes but it raises my productivity markedly. the keys on most notebooks are not smaller or more closely spaced than on my microsoft 4000 ergo keypad but they are not separated so my arms have to be cramped together. and there is no place to use a regular mouse. i hate touchpads because they always seem to pick up some motion i make and all of a sudden i'm performing operations i did not intend to
james h waters phd

[LS1-PWRD]

I have never used a "pointing stick" and I absolutely abhor the "touch pad". Give me a "trackball" any day of the week, in fact I have and use "trackballs" on all the computers here, whether it is a laptop or desktop (4). When in a "pinch", I'll use a "mouse" but that "touch pad is a royal pain in the butt and who ever thought it up should be .............................. .