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Netbook, laptop, tablet or smart phone ?? Netbook, laptop, tablet or smart phone ??
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Communications Connecting - internet cafes, laptops, smart phones - how to connect, use, which one, and intercom/radio systems.
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 8 Dec 2013
*Touring Ted*'s Avatar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by casperghst42 View Post
I've been using an 11" Air for a couple of years, and nothing beats it ... actually there are a few things which does; Samsung and Asus have similar computers (13" though), more options and more ports....

Just a small hint for protecting an 11", get a book book cover, and an 8L Sea to Summit bag - it fits like a glove.

Casper
£800 !!

I can't pay that for something I'll probably sit on and break
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Old 8 Dec 2013
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Ted,

I'd probably stick to a little netbook. My Wife's got a little Samsung, it cost almost bugger-all and is surprisingly fast and the battery lasts for ages.

If I was feeling flush, I'd consider a tablet with a plug in keyboard.
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Old 8 Dec 2013
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Ted, if it helps, here's what I recommend.

I had a couple of 10 inch netbooks before and they suffered from smaller screen resolution and no onboard video card (made it very hard playing movies or editing pictures)

I switched a couple of yrs ago to a 12.1 inch 1366x768 netbook with a dedicated onboard video chipset. It cost about 350 quid and edits full res pics in photoshop, does HD video editing (slowly - but it does it) and has a bigger full size keyboard (the 10 inch netbooks had a squeezed slightly smaller keyboard)

Netbooks arent really made any more but you might be able to find some old stock or find one on eBay. I can do 10 times as much on my more powerful 12 inch netbook than I could on my 10 inch netbook.

Asus eee 1215 is what I am taking on the road with me. Check it out mate.
Last edited by colebatch; 9 Dec 2013 at 04:28.
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Old 8 Dec 2013
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Originally Posted by colebatch View Post
Ted, if it helps, here's what I recommend.

I had a couple of 10 inch netbooks before and they suffered from smaller screen resolution and no onboard video card (made it very hard playing movies or editing pictures)

I switched a couple of yrs ago to a 12.1 inch 1280x768 netbook with a dedicated onboard video chipset. It cost about 350 quid and edits full res pics in photoshop, does HD video editing (slowly - but it does it) and has a bigger full size keyboard (the 10 inch netbooks had a squeezed slightly smaller keyboard)

Netbooks arent really made any more but you might be able to find some old stock or find one on eBay. I can do 10 times as much on my more powerful 12 inch netbook than I could on my 10 inch netbook.

Asus eee 1215 is what I am taking on the road with me. Check it out mate.
Checking it now..... Netbooks are a dying breed. Shame really.

Acer are still making them though....

Acer Travelmate 11.6. About £420 with high spec and still on Windows 7 (I HATE WIN8)
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Last edited by *Touring Ted*; 9 Dec 2013 at 09:05.
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Old 11 Dec 2013
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ASUS Transformer
Hey Ted,

Doing a quick browse it seems nobody mentioned the Transformer. Have a look at the new 10,5" (or so) ASUS Transformer, laptop and tablet in one with Quad Core and Windows Pro so you can install programs like Mapsource! Price on the mainland Euro 350,- It is that I have a ASUS Eee netbook which works fine for me but if I were looking for one, this would be it! (HD) Video editing may be a challenge but you did not mention that as requirement. The Transformer is considerably slimmer and lighter than my Eee netbook and I think Windows 8 is very nice

Cheers,
Noel
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  #6  
Old 11 Dec 2013
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Playbook
Blackberry Playbook and Z10 both in Otter case. Price is right for Playbook, no moving parts and mine has 80,000k through deserts and mountains rattling around in my topcase. Poynt, GasBuddy, map apps plus browser and e-mail is all I need. I'm travelling, I don't need the bells and whistles or problems of a laptop which I have experienced in the past. Travelling terrain and vibrations can be deadly for disk drives and keyboards. This works for me and my needs, others may require more sophistication.
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Old 12 Dec 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by noel di pietro View Post
Hey Ted,

Doing a quick browse it seems nobody mentioned the Transformer. Have a look at the new 10,5" (or so) ASUS Transformer, laptop and tablet in one with Quad Core and Windows Pro so you can install programs like Mapsource! Price on the mainland Euro 350,- It is that I have a ASUS Eee netbook which works fine for me but if I were looking for one, this would be it! (HD) Video editing may be a challenge but you did not mention that as requirement. The Transformer is considerably slimmer and lighter than my Eee netbook and I think Windows 8 is very nice

Cheers,
Noel
That's what I like about the Windows tabs as well. Light and compatible standard hard and software like Garmin software.
The eee that I had crapped out all the time. Hard drive fragmentation, according to our it, is often to blame for reducing performance. But sold state memory will prevent that.
I tend to leave the editing of pics and video for when I'm done and back working.
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Old 12 Dec 2013
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I'd been struggling with the same question as Ted for awhile before starting my current trip. The last one I did was with a $150 ten inch netbook and for me that was fine. I'd have taken it again on this trip but some b**** stole it a couple of months back.

The new solution is 7 inch tablet and so far I'm pleased with it. The pro is the very light weight and the ease with which I can carry it in the back pocket of my bike jacket waterproofed in a zip lock bag. No more worrying about is my laptop secure, or the pain of having to get it out of my luggage. Also battery life is much longer and recharging much easier. The con is that it is harder to type from. Originally that was a killer for me, but then I discovered Google's swipe keyboard (free app) which makes a significant difference for me and make composing posts like this with the onscreen keyboard an acceptably quick if not a painless activity.

Every thing is a compromise but for me, who has much lower IT needs than Walter, at the moment this solution seems an acceptable one.
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  #9  
Old 13 Dec 2013
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Originally Posted by tmotten View Post
I tend to leave the editing of pics and video for when I'm done and back working.
Me too, keeps you in the travelling state of mind for another couple of months as well!

PS; My Eee hasn't crapped out on me yet, just recently found out that the Super Hybrid Engine can be manually adjusted between 5% till 30% overclocking speed. Mine was set at 5% and I now set it at 30% (in the Bios) and its a lot better now, not so shocky anymore, reduces battery life though.
Cheers,
Noel
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