Tablets are fine for the basics, like staying in touch by email, simple blogging etc, but they fall down when it comes to things like photo and video editing, and connecting to other devices. That said they are getting better, sadly they're not getting cheaper. For three price of a decent tablet you could buy a proper netbook, which would take up hardly any more space and give you a much more versatile machine, be it Linux or Windows.

If you really do want something light weight, with a touch screen, then I'd get one of the newer large screen Android smartphones on contract. You won't pay the upfront price of a tablet, you'll have all the same functions plus a phone you could unlock and use with locally bought SIMs, in a package which is easier to carry. Samsung have just brought out a 5" screen phone, the Galaxy Note, which looks like it could be the perfect combination, it even has a built in 8mb camera, all in something which will just fit in the back pocket of your jeans.

Yes I have a tablet, the Samsung Galaxy 10.1", possibly one of the most user friendly. It would be okay for a short trip of less than a month but I wouldn't take it for a 6 month trip, it would become too frustrating. The wi-fi isn't as good as a laptop either although the battery life is amazing, it's a great device for watching movies and listening to music. It's main advantage is that you can pull it out anywhere, it turns on instantly and you can check things quickly then be back on the road again.

Personally for a longer trip I'd be looking at the new ultra-books from Asus, those things are amazing, I was playing with them in the shop the other day. They're so small and light they're almost like tablets anyway.

A friend of mine uses a RAM mounted Fizzbook Spin netbook/tablet in his 4x4. Aimed at the school classroom, 10.1" screen,

"designed to pass a 50cm drop test, and has a water resistant keyboard, 4.5 hour battery life, surfaces resistant to reasonable damage and improved dust resistance. A built in carry handle improves handling"

The current 250GB version is about £400

Fizzbook | Home

" • Processor - Intel® Atom™ N450 Single Core, 1.66GHz, 512K L2 Cache
• Operating System - Genuine Windows® 7 Starter or Professional 32-Bit
• Memory - 1GB, DDR2, 800MHZ capped at 667Mhz bus
• Chipset - Intel® NM10 Express
• Graphics - Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
• LCD Display - 10.1 inch WSVGA (1024 x 600) Resistive touch panel
• Audio - High Definition audio
• Speakers - 2 x 1.0 Watt with 2 channel
• Microphone - Integrated single analog
• Hard Drives - 160GB SATA HDD 2.5 inch 5400RPM
• Optical Drives - No
• Power - 4-cell 7.4V (2200mAh cell) Li-Ion Battery / 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion
• Camera - 1.3 MP Integrated Webcam (standard on all configurations)
• Bluetooth - No


• Wireless - Wireless 802.11b.g.n
• Externally Accessible - Kensington lock
• Ports - AC Power-in, RJ45 connector, VGA, 2 x USB 2.0, 2 x Audio
• Card Reader - Secure Digital (SD/SDHC) Memory Card
• ME (PC ABS) - Rubberised Chassis
• Handle Bar - Handle Bar
• Web Camera - 1.3M pixel rotatable
• Keyboard / Touchpad - Water resistant Keyboard / Touchpad
• Security - TPM Module
• Height - Height 195mm (7.67 inches)
• Width - Width 265mm (10.4 inches)
• Depth - Depth 30.5mm to 38mm ( 1.20 to 1.49 inches)
• Starting Weight - 1.59kg (3.50 lbs) with 4 Cell battery and 1.65Kg (3.63lbs) with 6-cell battery"


:)

Since I do a bit of photo editing, I got really fed up using a standard netbook (samsung nc10) as it was soooo slow. I also find the widescreen format very limiting when editing documents and portrait photos. I trawled the net and bought a refurbed Lenovo X61. For less than the cost of a netbook I got a full-power laptop with a 4:3 screen which still folds to practically the same size as a netbook. They are more robust than most netbooks with a rubber suspended hard-drive, a magnesium case and splash-proof keyboard.

Worth a look.

the perfect travel computer?
 

I've had an asus netbook running windows 7 (MT91), that was quite cheap, but I have to ditch it because it is sooooooooo slow. I reckon this 10.1 inch android tablet coming very soon from Asus will be just about ideal for travel:

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime review -- Engadget

Detachable keyboard for real typing, potential 18 hour battery life with the extra battery in the keyboard, solid state drive, massively expandable storage, and a the first tablet with a quad-core processor that should handle high demand tasks like video editing much better, also will be able to run the newest Android 'Ice Cream Sandwich'.

Well.....maybe you need a machine which will edit video in a hurry. I don't. I need something basic, reliable, and cheap enough so that if it breaks or gets stolen I'm still ok. Diffrent strokes.

Mark

Are there some decent video editing apps for android?

Ryan

back to a real computer
 

Unfortunately there don't seem to be any good video editing apps for android. Tablets now ship with the Android Movie Studio, but it seems to be even more limited than Imovie.

I'm now leaning towards a 11'' macbook air for more all around functionality.

well, this settles my delima. i'll buy a ?????????????????????? jeez, complicated. who really cares about my pics/videos/bloggins?