There's nothing wrong with keyboard innovation, the problem is with commodity laptop manufacturers trying to innovate in an integrated device. The important differentiators on laptop are numerous: form-factor, specs, screen, etc. Even keyboard quality is a big factor, so trying to get clever with the layout and soft keys is just begging to throw a deal breaker in.
What laptop manufacturers should be doing is following Apple's lead and standardizing heavily across their entire line and keeping that reasonably in line with national keyboard standards.
Leave the layout innovation to external keyboard manufacturers where there is an opportunity to make drastic changes and sell them based on the strength of that innovation alone. Later the best of the innovations can trickle their way back into laptops.
What laptop manufacturers should be doing is following Apple's lead and standardizing heavily across their entire line and keeping that reasonably in line with national keyboard standards.
Leave the layout innovation to external keyboard manufacturers where there is an opportunity to make drastic changes and sell them based on the strength of that innovation alone. Later the best of the innovations can trickle their way back into laptops.