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Laptop or netbook for travel

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Dec 2012
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    220

    Laptop or netbook for travel

    I'll be on the road for 3-4 months later this year and I don't want to take my my shiny 5 month old Lenovo with me.

    I'm looking for something cheap that I would be ok with in case it broke or got stolen while on my travels. I will be using it mostly to check emails and manage flight and hotel bookings. My preference is for a laptop over a tab because they are somewhat cheaper, have usb and card readers, I like the feel of a proper keyboard and I need something with hdd with 250-500gb for storing images I take along the way.

    I was looking at used netbooks online, at around 700-1000hkd (4-5year old) there are some availabe with 11-13'' screens 2gb ram 1.6 or 1.8ghz processors. I'm not an expert but those sound like pretty decent spes to me, especially for the price. I don't know if they are equivalent to desktop specs but our backup desktop at home has the same numbers and I'm fine with it for emails, browsing, watching movies and light photoshop elements work.
    The netbooks I've seen usually come with 160gb or 320gb drives but I plan on getting a 500gb so I won't need to carry around an extra external drive which would only add to all the things I need to keep track of.

    It's just a preliminary search I've done over the last two days but this sort of thing seems to make sense to me. I can replace the 160gb or 250gb hdd that comes with one of these and get a 500gb I don't know if anyone can recommend other options for something locally available preferably around 2k or less.


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    11,884

    When you look at spec, it's important to look at the model of CPU as well as just the "GHz" number attached to it.

    A 4-5 year old netbook is, imo, likely to be an utter piece of crap and woefully underpowered. Especially if you try to run Windows on it.

    If you want a small beater computer, consider instead a 4-5 year old laptop instead that doesn't have a crippled CPU. A Thinkpad X series could be had for maybe 1000-1500. Throw a bit more secondhand memory into it (get it done at the store) and get it to 4GB if you want to run Windows. Or throw a Linux version onto it and you'll be fine with 2GB. Check that the RAM isn't soldered in in case you do an upgrade.

    You'd also want to check that a hard drive swap would be simple- the thing has to take 2.5" SATA drives and not some other weird obscure form factor. A drive upgrade should either be to straight SSD, or if you want to spend less, then get an SSHD which still boots up much faster than a traditional hard drive.

    When you're travelling, don't rely on the hard drive to store your photos locally- upload them to cloud based storage so if you lose the machine, you still have your photos.


  3. #3

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    Aug 2006
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    I take my Lenovo X60 ThinkPad travelling all the time. It's a little old, but has been upgraded to Windows 7 (memory was increased) and performs quite well. The best thing is its ruggedness - it just keeps working even after getting knocked around a bit - so if you can get a second hand one at a good price, I'd highly recommend it.


  4. #4

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    Aug 2006
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    Update to my previous post:

    If you get an old laptop/netbook, the battery will probably be toast. You can buy generic replacements in some of the computer stores, or I can recommend a place that will replace the old cells in the existing battery (personally I think this is the better choice).

    A 4-5 year old Thinkpad is probably overkill. You could get away with something older. Though personally I think the X60 recommended above is pushing it... it's right there on the edge of usability so you could spend a bit more and get something that'd be usable longer.

    I replaced a brand new Lenovo Yoga with a 5 year old Thinkpad. IMO the Lenovo was a pile of shite (sorry, I realise you bought one!), both from a usability perspective and from a build perspective (I took it apart and found that Lenovo had used double sided tape during assembly). I know that both machines were made by the same company, but they are or at least were built to very different standards.

    Last edited by jgl; 03-01-2016 at 12:12 AM.

  5. #5

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    Personally, for traveling I would want to take as little as possible. What you want can already be done on a smartphone. As for storing your photos/videos, you can now get external hard disks that have wifi (so if your camera has wifi can transfer the photos) and/or SD cards slots to transfer.

    As jgl mentioned above, getting an older laptop will mean its bulky and a new battery cost which you'll need to factor in.


  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    Name:  IMG_20160103_084036.jpg
Views: 61
Size:  1.60 MB

    Includes use this android tablet.

    Storage expandable to 128gb via sd card

    A Sony ps 3 keyboard with nub control, and mouse like buttons for selecting, bthus, you will get a cursor on the android tablet

    It was so cheap in UK, as I had a UK address, probably send to hk, other cheap no brand keyboard was crap, this is different, quality, made a android tablet feels like a pseudo laptop

    Also compatible with android phones, pc via Bluetooth dongle, even limited functions on ios (no cursor or selectable buttons. But keyboard was fine) all for) 7.49 quid
    AZERTY Official Sony Wireless Slim Bluetooth Keyboard for PS2/3/4 & MAC/PC TV`s | eBay

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Posts
    220

    Thanks for all the input guys.

    I'll look into the x60's and similar models when I have time later in the week. Bulk or size is not a major issue for this trip, once I'm situated I will be using it from my hotels, no need to use it while on the bus, plane or train as I have my smartphone for any light messaging or correspondence use.
    I also won't be going anywhere where there isn't an internet cafe within walking distance, so it's really more of a backup for me to browse and use private files and accounts so I don't need to be frequently logging in and out from some third party computer. Also I'll be taking plenty of my own music and movies from home as i don't really know how long this trip will last.

    @jgl, thanks for reminding me of the HDD types, I remember having trouble finding a 2.5'' hdd for an older dell laptop a few years ago, IDE and the other type and having to find adapters and all that was a nightmare. As for the battery, 2-3hours is what I understand is normal for these, maybe shorter for an older unit but I'll be using it mostly plugged in. It's easy enough to find third party batteries but I'll remember to check if the model i'll be buying will have them readily available, since some batteries for certain models are quite hard to find.

    Btw, my new Lenovo is an actual laptop, 15'' so it's too big to take on the trip. I hate all that overpriced Yoga, 3 piece fold out, flip up crap too.

    @Imp - I considered that type setup earlier but there's too many peices to keep track of, not enough memory and no usb connection which I need for my numerous usb sticks transferring files.

    Last edited by -1983-; 03-01-2016 at 11:12 AM.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    May 2009
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    6,180

    Why you want so much memory? Pictures and videos I would upload from time to time to my Dropbox, ( or Google drive, one note, nas) . it's safer too. For the USB issue I would get a travel router with USB, which is useful anyway as some hotels have no WiFi but have LAN.

    imparanoic likes this.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    11,711
    Quote Originally Posted by -1983-:
    Thanks for all the input guys.

    I'll look into the x60's and similar models when I have time later in the week. Bulk or size is not a major issue for this trip, once I'm situated I will be using it from my hotels, no need to use it while on the bus, plane or train as I have my smartphone for any light messaging or correspondence use.
    I also won't be going anywhere where there isn't an internet cafe within walking distance, so it's really more of a backup for me to browse and use private files and accounts so I don't need to be frequently logging in and out from some third party computer. Also I'll be taking plenty of my own music and movies from home as i don't really know how long this trip will last.

    @jgl, thanks for reminding me of the HDD types, I remember having trouble finding a 2.5'' hdd for an older dell laptop a few years ago, IDE and the other type and having to find adapters and all that was a nightmare. As for the battery, 2-3hours is what I understand is normal for these, maybe shorter for an older unit but I'll be using it mostly plugged in. It's easy enough to find third party batteries but I'll remember to check if the model i'll be buying will have them readily available, since some batteries for certain models are quite hard to find.

    Btw, my new Lenovo is an actual laptop, 15'' so it's too big to take on the trip. I hate all that overpriced Yoga, 3 piece fold out, flip up crap too.

    @Imp - I considered that type setup earlier but there's too many peices to keep track of, not enough memory and no usb connection which I need for my numerous usb sticks transferring files.
    Higher end android tablet has usb on the go, use any usb flash drive with adapter

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    11,884

    If you went with a 10 year old X series, I would be surprised if you managed to get 20 minutes of usable battery life from an original battery.

    If you do want to get a battery fixed, I'd recommend going to a place in SSP to have the cells within the existing battery replaced. I'd be much more confident of the quality of the cells than from a third party battery maker.

    Worth doing with a laptop that you might intend to keep. If it's a one-off beater machine at an X60 level that will always be plugged in, don't bother.

    Last edited by jgl; 03-01-2016 at 03:06 PM.
    imparanoic likes this.