That's what people have been telling me, and I will check it up. I guess that I have been to lazy about it :0. I'm more of a Linux guy, and actually this iPad is my first Apple product, and I am surprisingly very happy with it, even though I am not ready to convert ..... Yet

I've got myself a Panasonic Toughbook. Pretty rugged, reasonably waterproof and able to cope with knocks and vibration. On the downside a bit heavy

I bought one of the original Eee 701s for about £120 when they were going out of production, and dragged it all over the UK and Europe for a few years. SSD, card slot, virtually indestructable, cheap enough it wouldn't matter if you did. Perfect travel machine...


...until you get a video camera. While it will deal with backing up files and reviewing stills, it won't even play 720p video, let alone do anything resembling editing - didn't want to do anything fancy, just cut a couple of minutes out of longer videos to post snippets online while on the road. Proper editing can be done at home.

So then I bought a 10" Archos tablet - again for about £120 in a sale. As long as you keep the screen protected with a case, the same applies as for the Eee - cheap, solid state, proper full-size USB host port to take a card reader. Plus it can deal with video (although I've still not found a decent Android video editor).

Took that to the US with me last year, and it worked pretty well. Given I tended to write a lot more than I did stuff with video, I did miss having a real keyboard. I'm currently trying to turn my notes from the trip into a proper writeup - I'm pretty sure there would be less work to do now if I'd had the Eee with me to type on as I went along.

At home I'll always use my 15" laptop for anything other than idle web browsing, again because of the keyboard. But I would be a bit edgy carrying my (relatively cheap) £500 laptop on a bike trip. If I took leave of my senses enough to pay whatever a Macbook Air costs, I'd be too scared to take it out of the house

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You just need this Apple connection kit. The connector on the left is the USB connector that will allow the SLR (or other cameras) to be connected. LINK

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2014 overland adventure to Russia and Central Asia in Land Rover Defender www.bermudarover.com

I started out taking a netbook. Move to a macbook air. Last trip I took an iPad and iUSBport with an external drive so I could transfer video to the hard drive.

I was amazed the iPad did everything I needed, the only thing that defeated it was the spreadsheet used by my accountant for my business accounts.

Macbook air is great but I ruined a Nikon camera on gravel roads so decided the ipad might be a bit more forgiving on rough roads.

Lilian

Lillian,
You're one of the few who have mentioned using an iPad on the road.
I'm thinking about one too. I'm not a computer guy ... at all ... and that's why I like Apple products.

I thought the iPad did not have a USB port? So are you saying you use an external HD for storage that somehow adapts to the iPad?
How does it plug into the iPad?

Thanks for any insight.

I don't do spread sheets and would never need "Word" or any other Microsoft product.

I'd only be sending email, web browsing, storing photos and music and doing the occasional video.(not editing) For that usage, would the iPad be OK?

I like the idea of storing video on an external device since it requires a lot of
MB.

Cheers!

I would also suggests an iPad for Navigation, writing a diary, sorting pictures from your camera, Apps like:

Currency converter, Dictionary, Audio Books, vpn, skype, MP3s and Movies & Games (if you want).

Streaming audio with Bluethooth...

The Ipad has no USB Connection. It has an Connection-Kit for SD Cards, where you can load pictures from your camera: Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit - Apple Store (Schweiz) There are good apps to work on your pictures too.

The screen is big enough to decide what pictures you can delete. With Photoshop Express and Apps like Retouch you can do much - without much effort.

But thats a one-way communication. To load the pictures or other Data from the iPad, you have to use Wifi/Internet - or an Computer - to bring the Data away from the ipad (or jailbreaking the device).

For Navigation it is great:

4x4tripping: Offroad Navigation mit MotionX HD (iPad)




Road Navigation



4x4tripping: Strassen-Navigation mit dem Tablet / Smartphone


For shure not the cheapest device. But it is leightweight, small, powerful - like no other device. The iPad Air is very lightweight, run a long time without external power and small.

And you can go smaller with the iPad mini. You can upgrade them with small bluethooth keyboards - and use them like a notebook.



There are cases around, for protect them if necessary.

Therefore you cant upgrade them, you should buy them with enough memory.

For shure are there ways to use external storage:
On the road with a camera, an iPad, and a Hyperdrive | Macworld

4 Best iPad Air and iPad Mini External Hard Drive Storage Options

Not easy for windows or android based devices, to to compete against it. These iPads are well made and can withstand vibrations.

If one of these Bluetooth Walkie-Talkie Apps could be handy for bikers - i dont have tested them...

Surfy

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Trans-Africa over the west coast

If you take photos with a DSLR and/or shoot video you need a latptop. Some for of ultrabook since Netbooks just don't cut it these days. The 11" Macbook Air is a great little device, if expensive. Windows works with it via bootcamp, though I have Windows 8 on an external drive that will boot on anything. Garmin has native software for OSX and of course there is Lightroom and Photoshop.

The new 12" Macbook has a great screen but it's super expensive and no faster than the old 2011 MBA.

Probably the ultimate device at the moment is Microsoft Surface Pro. Light and powerful, but again very expensive.

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