A Traveler’s Introduction to Ultra-Portable Laptops
July 23rd, 2008 Equipment, FeatureTags: gadget, packing
Creative Commons picture by Môsieur J..
A computer can make traveling a little easier. Not only does it let you easily keep in touch with friends and family back home, but it also allow you to quickly make reservations and do research. It would be a perfect travel accessory if only laptops weren’t normally so expensive and annoying to lug around. Luckily the present vogue thing for computer manufacturers is to build tiny, cheap, and highly portable laptops. Here is a quick run down of what you need to know to score yourself a good one.
These new wee hunks of computing plastic tend to share an emphasis on internet use and a small form factor (generally about 2lbs and roughly the size of a hardback book). They pretty much all have wifi cards. Depending on the model you can also get one with a webcam and microphone built in so that you can easily video chat (or even record videos) from the road.
As you might expect, not all ittsy bittsy laptops are created equal. Here are things you will want to look at before purchasing:
Price
I don’t want to spend a lot of money on these things. I figure others are like me. Netbook prices range from $200-$600.
Keyboard ease of use
Having a “condensed” keyboard is pretty common with these ultra-portable laptops. If you plan on using the keyboard at some point, make sure it isn’t so small that it hurts your hands.
Is it portable enough?
We are going for portable right? Make sure it can easily fit in your bag. “Netbooks” or “ultra-portable laptops” are certainly not all the same size.
Does it seem durable?
It sucks to have a cracked screen.
Battery Life
It can be nice to have a computer that thinks it’s a camel.
What software does it support?
I like Ubuntu myself. However, it doesn’t run perfectly on all hardware. Make sure you get a computer that can run the software you want.
Boot speed
A lot of the uses for such a computer are little. How do I get to that restaurant? I wonder if my mom has emailed me? The sort of thing you just want to quickly check and then close the computer. It can save you a lot of time to have a computer that boots in 15 seconds.
Creative Commons picture by Dan4th.
When you are searching the web for these computers, it is also valuable to know that there isn’t really a standard name for them. Sometimes these new portable laptops are called “netbooks,” “ultra-portable PCs,” or sometimes “weee bitty hunks of plastic.”
This post is part of an 2 part series on ultra-portable laptops:
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