Newbie needs some help

[durzo]

    Hey guys newbie here, I was wondering if anyone could give me a little bit of guidance. I want to learn to play the piano.
    First, I would like to explain my situation: I do not have a piano or keyboard, I have no musical background, I don't even know anyone with a piano. I guess i,m still in the deciding stage , because im sure you all know its a big commitment. But im confident if i speak to more people about the subject I can commit to this endeavor wholeheartedly. Now that I have explained my self, here are my questions:
1)Probably my most important question: Keyboard or piano? I,ve read posts that really promote working with a piano, but I would really like to start with something much cheaper, a keyboard.
2)More specifically, which brands are pretty solid?
3)Even more specifically, what should I look for when browsing pianos/keyboards? #of key, memory, how hard it is to push down a key?

I'll start with 3 questions so I don't overload anyone , but I have many more.
o and please bear with me, if I said something obvious or stupid. Thanks.

[Bob]

You might want to decide how much you want to spend and go from there.  There are lots of posts about different types, but you'd want something with full-size weighted keys, touch sensitive, full keyboard, at least one pedal I would think (I'm not sure how useful a soft pedal is for a keyboard).  A stand for the keyboard.  A chair.  Light to see the music better.

And a teacher.  And materials.  If you're buying a keyboard, you might want to wait until you pick a teacher and then they could help you out before you buy.  It wouldn't be great if you spent a lot of money on something and then the teacher didn't want you playing on it.  I imagine anyone would say go with an acoustic piano though, although I understand what you're saying. 

I suppose on the cheapest side, you're looking at a few hundred dollars for a cheap keyboard -- full size keys, not weighted, probably touch sensitive though.  Take a few months of lessons with that and then upgrade to a better keyboard if things are working out.

[durzo]

Hey thanks for the quick reply . So full-size weighted keys, touch sensitive, full keyboard and one pedal is ideal? Thanks ill look and see what i can find.

[jimbo320]

As being a sort of newbie myself I have a suggestion. I use a Yamaha PSR 413 which is very inexpensive but does the job very well. I wanted to teach myself piano but because of an accident I only have use of my right hand. Therefor I didn't want to spend a lot just to find out that it wasn't possible. The keys are touch sensitive and full sized. Being a synth it replicates grand piano very well.  It also has many different sounds too. The organ sounds are right on. So far so good. I'm learning to read and by using a lot of chords in my playing the sounds are full enough for me.
So my suggestion is going inexpensive until you really know. To me Yamaha products sound the best. Just remember that having fun is the key....

Good luck, James