I'm trying to decide whether to bring a laptop or a blackberry for an 8-mth trip to SE Asia
Hello everyone!
I'm 25 years old and am quitting my job to go traveling in SE Asia, India, and Europe. My parents are obviously very worried and want me to check in daily (if not hourly) while I'm away. I had originally thought about getting a blackberry so that I would have access to email 24/7...however now I'm wondering whether I should bring a laptop with wireless instead. I'm a crazy shutterbug and my past experience in Europe demonstrated that most internet cafe's do not have a USB port that will allow me to download and post my pictures online. I'm just not sure whether I want to lug around a laptop on my back for 8 months...
Any advice would be great!
Thanks!
Jen
Reply to this If your only need is to save photos, you might investigate a device which can download the files on the chip.
This would be the smallest solution. There should be a way to then download the device when you get to a place that will allow connection with USB.
Clark
Reply to this The Ultimate Travel Laptop?
Laptops are getting smaller and more powerful - and cheaper - I think that gradually the decision is going to swing more and more to taking a cheap ultra-portable...
Reply to this A little pricey, but the MacBook Air is ultra thin. For 8 months, that's a LOT of pictures... I'd bring a computer - you never know when it might come in handy too.
Reply to this It's totally not worth the weight and, more importantly, it's not worth the stress. Without it you may not get the opportunity to access the internet daily but i'm sure you'll be able to access it frequently enough.
Reply to this Really wouldn't bother with it to be honest - I only did Vietnam but even in the places really off the beaten track there were internet cafes and places you could download your photos.. burn them on to 2cds and send one home incase you lose the other one or break it. Then you are only carrying a stack of cds around by the end and not stressing about having your laptop robbed. Friends who've done more of SE Asia say its much the same for the cafe everywhere! Enjoy your trip
Reply to this I traveled with your typical 12" laptop and found it a nuisance in terms of weight and size. Luckily the thing got stolen allowing me to downgrade to an 8" eee pc which was heaps better but didn't have enough room to store my photos and was
too small and hard to use for extended periods of time. For my next trip I'll be taking the 10" eee pc which has 80/160GB of storage and seems to be the perfect travel companion all round, plus its extremely cheap. Like you, I need to access the net as often as I can so having a laptop is vital. Just make sure you don't rely on it as your only backup source for pics etc and take out travel insurance, it will give you peace of mind.
Reply to this I actually ended up grabbing the 8" acer aspire one laptop which is super tiny/light and has enough room on the hard drive for me to store my pictures and iTunes. I'll definitely be sure to back up all of my pictures while I'm away just in case it does get stolen...I'll also be bringing a remington lock so that I can make it a bit more secure in my room. The best part about this little notebook is that it was only $350 and it's a super sturdy ssd. The only thing that it is lacking is a cd drive...but that's not a big deal as I'm sure that there will be plenty of places that I can go in order to download my pictures onto cd's while I am over there. Now i've got 2.5 months to get used to the itty bitty keyboard!!!
Reply to this Good choice - the keyboard is the hardest thing to get used to... have you seen those roll-able silicon gel keyboards? - backups... take a PHD portable harddrive - 2.5inch - and then when you meet people with full size laptops - beg for a few DVD's to be burnt... some options for you 😊
OFT - just wait till Apple bring out one of these - the world will go crazy - as though Apple invented them. There are no topics about - "should I take my Ipod?"
Reply to this I'll go ahead and weigh in on this much debated topic.
I am carrying a Sony VAIO TZ150N. She weighs in at 2.2 pounds, have DVD burner, USB slots and SD and Sony Memory Stick ports. I also have a 300GB mini portable hard drive to save files and photos.
I am completely satisfied with the decision to bring the laptop and hard drivewith me. The minimal weight has not been a factor because it goes in my day bag while we are traveling.
I have been able to update my blog by working off-line and saving the files to a thumb drive. I have been able to save on internet time by doing my writting on the laptop and posting from a live connection.
You can google "International Free WiFi Hotspots". You can search by country for free WiFi to save on internet charges. When you find free WiFi hotspots, be sure to update the site for future travellers.
I can't reccomend brining a laptop to everyone because each of us have our own traveling style. I can tell you that my decision to bring mine works great for me. If bringing a laptop doesn't fit into your travel style, consider some of the options listed already.
Reply to this 
