I encountered three problem when choosing an inexpensive keyboard that has weighted keys.

Firstly there is no standard for the terminology that the various manufactures use. A weighted feel can be achieved by an electro mechanical means (like the Yamaha CP series graded hammer keyboards) or by a purely electronic means and they are all described as weighted.

Secondly it can be difficult to really test a keyboard and tell immediately what the feel is like. You can convince yourself that a certain model is better but I found it hard to retain a measure of feel when moving from one demo to the next. Only when I got a keyboard home and played for an hour did I really understand the feel. It would be even harder for a beginner who cannot play at all. A professional would no doubt be able to tell much quicker but then they don't need this forum's advice.

Thirdly some people, seem to be perfectly happy with a less than true weighted keyboard but you need to measure their advice against your own situation. If you have learned on an acoustic piano or you may want to play one in the future or if you want to play the keyboard like a piano rather then playing chords on a synth then you will definitely be disappointed with anything less than true weighted.

As a crude screening method, I suggest that if you want a true weighted experience then be suspicious of any new 88 note keyboard that costs much less than $1000 and weighs less than 40lb. You will also need to sacrifice lots of fancy features and multi sounds that you will probably never use and the keyboard may not have speakers because, in my opinion, feel is by far the most important feature of a keyboard.

Tony