I don't think I've ever encountered a laptop with a keyboard I'd describe as a heavy duty typing tool. Most of them are absolute crap frankly.

But I still don't see students needing a full blown laptop to take notes. Hell, myself and pretty much any sane student would prefer they didn't because nothing is more annoying than one or more people typing during a lecture. As for people who travel around for work, again, unless your job requires more power there's no benefit to carrying around the extra weight and bulk. And they hardly make up the average laptop user. Most people required to travel for work are provided a computer by their employer unless they're self employed. And even then, the majority will never use it for anything a tablet can't handle.