Which Netbook for Touring ... ???

vja4Him · Derestricted Danger Joined: 25 Feb 2009 Karma :

Does anyone carry a netbook while riding? I will be doing some bicycle camping and touring soon, and would like to find a good, rugged, netbook to take along on my bicycle.

I'll be using the netbook mostly for journaling, uploading images to the web, e-mail, surfing. I want to be able to connect an external hard drive for backing up, and also would like to connect an external dvd/cdrw for watching dvd movies, or playing music cds. I won't be watching movies on the road!

I really don't want a regular laptop, but rather prefer a netbook, either 9 or 10 inch screen would be fine, with higher resolutioin, so I can fit more stuff on the desktop.

Battery life is important, so nothing less than 4-5 hours. 6-8 hours of battery life would be much better, especially since I may not be able to charge the battery everyday.

Weight is not really a huge factor for me. I would prefer a solid state internal hard drive, and at least one built-in card reader is a must!

Thanks.

- Riding 4 Life
https://vj4him.blogspot.com/
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Phoenix · Twisted Firestarter Joined: 01 Aug 2002 Karma :

While it may be for touring your question isn't really about touring so I think you're more likely to get the response you want in the Geek section.

R4nger · World Chat Champion Joined: 05 Jan 2005 Karma :

If you want to go Touring then surely you are going on this trip to explore places and meet people?

Why the hell are you wanting to watch DVDs at night in your tent?

It's like getting an escalator to the gym. Rolling Eyes

Clanger · Stirrer Joined: 27 May 2004 Karma :

No...when I went travelling I took a notebook and a pen or two, and kept notes the old fashioned way.
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dodger · Traffic Copper Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Karma :

Smartphone/Blackberry?
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Toukakoukan · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 16 Oct 2007 Karma :

Don't bother taking a netbook along with you, you'll be pressed for space as it is and taking such a bulky unnecessary item along with you is something you'll only regret.

Keep in mind that wherever you go you'll be able to find an internet connection somewhere
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Itchy · Super Spammer Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Karma :

Depends on what you are going to use it for , elseif a PDA might be a better choice, I'm bringing my EEEPC as i require to use it in Korea and HK and it is useful for route planning as it is compatible with my GPS software.

But any should do really just make sure it is a SSD instead of a HDD version , sure you lose ALOT of potential storage space byt SDDs have no moving parts , HDDs do and die horribly when subject to off roading.

To the others don't be so sure internet connections exist everywhere in France in 2007 I found ONE internet cafe the rest were wifi routers in a cafe bring your own.

Spain usually had one per town which was easy to locate, but this was because everybody said spain was more backward than the rest of Europe.
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Bendy · Mrs Sensible Joined: 10 Jun 2002 Karma :

I bought my Dell Mini9 with a view to using it on the move, for work stuff rather than personal use. If I'm on holiday I'd rather not be falling into the 'social networking' trap of having to tell everyone what I'm doing, I'd rather just be doing it.

Anyway, the Dell is all solid state and it can read those big SD cards via the card reader, so more space isn't really an issue. Good battery life due to no moving parts, small, light and still very usable.

tatters · Exxon Valdez Joined: 04 Jan 2004 Karma :

l,m taking my acer laptop with me touring this year, surely a HDD would,nt be that fragile.
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map · Mr Calendar Joined: 14 Jun 2004 Karma :

Can't think of a specific model but features to look for are
a) Atom processor - better battery life.
b) No hard drive - use SDHC cards for storage instead. This will also be more rugged for touring. Hard drives can be that fragile for sudden impacts.

The Linux based versions with 1Gb memory and flash storage (augmented with SD slot) can be had for just over £200 IIRC. Get an 4 or 8Gb SD card and you're away.

Also FFIW check out PortableApps (and also PortableFrreware) for apps you can keep on a USB drive (or SD card) so you don't clutter your limited storage.

HTH Thumbs Up

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Pernig · World Chat Champion Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Karma :

I would also consider jacking in the idea of taking an external HDD drive and DVD drive. Rip your DVDs and music and put them onto SDHC cards, too. They can be had for under a tenner.

Also, maybe you could find a box designed to hold the cards so you can keep them all together without losing them.
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map · Mr Calendar Joined: 14 Jun 2004 Karma :

G · The Voice of Reason Joined: 02 Feb 2002 Karma :

Seems quite reasonable that some nights you might want to sit and relax on your own - might be camped away from other people, or similar.

I'm not sure about hard disks, decent padded, presuming they have a reasonable 'park' function, I'd have thought they'd be ok, however I'd probably go for SSD just in case.
As mentioned, definitely on a bicycle (we are talking a pedal powered one, yes?) I'd be taking the minimum possible, so extra SD cars with films on. If you're taking a camera, you could delete the films as you watch them and fill them up with pictures and video. 32gb SD cards are coming down in price now - will easily hold over 40 ripped films or a massive amount of music

I've wondered in the past how good a smartphone with small roll-up keyboard would be for this sort of use. With those new 'mini-projectors', there could be some interesting possibilities in a few years.

I can't comment on specifics for touring, but do know the Samsung NC10 has generally been considered the 'best' netbook in most reviews I've read. Think it does come with a spinny-drive, but replacing it with an SSD probably isn't too hard.

DanStw0 · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Karma :

What about an Apple Iphone... I honestly couldnt live without mine....

I have a 16Gb one and its packed with music, films, you can surf the web, blog if need, has GPS function using google maps, through 3g, has wifi oh and you can use it as a phone to.

Only probably is it does not have word but I bet there will be something similar from the app store.

I have been looking for a decent mount so I can use the GPS whilst riding, but as yet have not found anything.

Pernig · World Chat Champion Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Karma :

DanStw0 · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Karma :

Cheers for the linky Pernig! looks promising

To be honest I agree at it being overly expensive... however I find it really useful.

I admit its bad that it doesnt have bluetooth with other devices except a headset, and that it does not record video and the camera is not that great in comparison with the other phones on the market.

But that said, I cant rate mine enough

dodger · Traffic Copper Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Karma :

vja4Him · Derestricted Danger Joined: 25 Feb 2009 Karma :

theopj · Scooby Slapper Joined: 23 Sep 2006 Karma :

I was planning on taking my Acer Aspire One, (one of the £150 Asda jobbies), but it has a hard drive, and the standard battery is only really good for 2 hours, but you can buy more powerful ones.

I was planning on wrapping it up in my clothes in my luggage, but might investigate putting a Solid State HD in it instead.
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map · Mr Calendar Joined: 14 Jun 2004 Karma :

theopj · Scooby Slapper Joined: 23 Sep 2006 Karma :

I think it can boot off the SD, defo can off a USB if you have a bootable one, which would be less hassle, although really I'd still need to remove the HD to prevent damage - I might have a play around with that though. It has two SD slots.

I had a quick look on ebay convertors that will plug into the IDE slot, and you plug in an SD or more commonly compact flash card into them, and it will see them as a hard drive. Quite cheap as well. The other alternative would be someone who is selling a SSD who has put a HD into a netbook.

Not really a linux fan - the machine came with it on and lasted about 20 minutes before I was reformating it with XP, although I suppose I could cope for travelling - are there any off-line linux route planning applications?
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