Since I only use laptops, I can't comment on the quality of different kinds of keyboards. But my latest laptop has a backlit keyboard, which I love!
The problem with a regular keyboard is that I type so much, I wear the letters off the keys. With my old laptop, the letters were visibly wearing away after just three months. After two years of constant use, it only had two or three letters left on the keyboard. And the space bar was actually bowed inward--not bent, but worn down from contact with my thumb. It's a good thing I touch-type, because otherwise I would have been lost! (At one point, I actually tried using alphabet Washi tape to replace the missing letters, but it only lasted a day or two before peeling off.)
The backlit keyboard doesn't use the same kind of lettering--so it's much harder for me to damage the keys with all my typing. To illustrate, I've had my new laptop for probably nine months and the only keys that are showing any problems are E, T, and N. They're slightly chipped, but still readable.
So yes, I adore backlit keyboards. Plus, you know . . . they look really awesome! Mine has a kind of grayish-white light. Very subdued and sophisticated. I would have loved purple or aqua light, but it probably would have been very distracting. The gray light is lovely, but not distracting in the least.
The problem with a regular keyboard is that I type so much, I wear the letters off the keys. With my old laptop, the letters were visibly wearing away after just three months. After two years of constant use, it only had two or three letters left on the keyboard. And the space bar was actually bowed inward--not bent, but worn down from contact with my thumb. It's a good thing I touch-type, because otherwise I would have been lost! (At one point, I actually tried using alphabet Washi tape to replace the missing letters, but it only lasted a day or two before peeling off.)
The backlit keyboard doesn't use the same kind of lettering--so it's much harder for me to damage the keys with all my typing. To illustrate, I've had my new laptop for probably nine months and the only keys that are showing any problems are E, T, and N. They're slightly chipped, but still readable.
So yes, I adore backlit keyboards. Plus, you know . . . they look really awesome! Mine has a kind of grayish-white light. Very subdued and sophisticated. I would have loved purple or aqua light, but it probably would have been very distracting. The gray light is lovely, but not distracting in the least.