I am thinking of taking a small laptop with me on my trip to Greece in October. I want it mainly for keeping in touch with my family and for downloading my pictures. The laptop I am thinking of is the ultra portable Asus eee or the Sony Viao both of which weigh about 2 lbs. Would this be a good idea or a waste of money?
Betty in Fort Worth
I would; I always take mine (a Toshiba Portege @ 2.9#). The Asus is fairly inexpensive, and if it is an old Viao, it is too. They're light weight, easy to carry, and fit in a bag too small to be a laptop, so theft is not likely. In addition to being handy for email and picture storage, you can store an enormous amount of information in them - hotel addresses, maps, train schedules, etc. On mine, I also set up an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of expenses and project how much I need to finish the trip. That's handy when you go to the ATM for the last time.
This might not apply to Greece, but I have found that, in Germany, cybercafes are becoming a rarity, whereas every little family run B&B has a Wifi connecion. It's handy, at 11:00 at night, when the cybercafes, if there are any, are closed and you can't sleep due to jet lag, to process your pictures and review you train schedules for the next day.
If you think your going to use it enough to justify the hassle, then bring it along. I was on a train in Italy last month and the passenger across from me had one of those Sony Viaos, and I couldn't believe how small it was! I'm tempted to buy one for myself :) If you use it smartly, you could actually free up some space in your luggage. For example you could use ebooks instead of paperback, and scan relevant pages from guidebook and store them on the hard drive. You can also store movies on your hard drive for your flight over. Skype is also a good tool, with it you can make free computer to computer calls, or computer to landline/mobile calls at dirt cheap rates. I've found that most Starbucks and McDonalds offer 30 minutes for free WiFi, and reasonable rates after that.
x2 with Lee. I've brought my trusty 12" Powerbook on all my long trips. I'm a gadget gal. I too have spreadsheets on expenses, lodging, travel timetables. Every night before going to bed, I make a journal entry of my day's adventures.
On one of my trips, a nice tourist couple treated me to dinner because I helped them out on their picture problem. They were in the middle of their vacation and have filled up both memory cards. I offered to put all their pics on dvd, freeing up space on the cards. They were really happy that "I saved their day."
If you're thinking of getting the ASUS EEE, wait a few weeks. A new version with a 9 inch screen and Windows XP installed is scheduled to be released. It will weigh the same and be approximaely the same size as the current EEE. It will also have MS Works and Wifi included.
Whilst I don't bother with a laptop when travelling, I download my photos onto the ipod for storage, along with talking books, podcasts and music loaded before I depart. 22 hours of battery, small and light. There are plenty of internet cafes around.
We took our laptop in Sept. My husband composed what he wanted to write to family and friends BEFORE going to a cybercafe. They let you use their wire and you own computer (we were in Italy). He copied and pasted what he wrote into the the email he sent. I added some pictures for him that I put in the body of the email instead of as an attachment. He also checked his emails and and our local newspaper online. The place we stayed at in Venice had a Wifi connection we could use for free.
I don't take one only because I don't like the extra weight. If I had one of the ultralight models, I might consider it but I wouldn't buy one just to travel. I think Rick's advice is good on what to pack. Don't ask, "Will I use it?" Ask, "Will I use it enough to justify lugging it around?"
Can't say about other countries, but I noticed in my last trip, in October, that Internet cafes are becoming rare, probably because so many Germans are getting there own connections and hotels provide Wifi for their guests.
In 13 nights, I had Wifi at 5 places (6 nts). In 4 places it was free. It was nice to sit in my room late at night and use the Internet for email. One place also had a "public" computer with Internet connection.
On the other hand, five towns had "Cybercafes" (two were actually bars with 1 or 2 computer in a back room). But I never used one because I had free Wifi in my room. In another town, I waited in vain for 3 hours for the one computer to become free.
I find a computer to be useful for so many things I can't imagine being without one, and yes, I bought a small, used one just for travel. Some people bring along a notebook (real notebook, not a small computer) full of schedules and other info. They probably take as much space and weigh nearly as much as my 2.9# Toshiba.
I say to bring one along. I have a Samsung Q1 Ultra with Windows XP that I brought to Italy last Christmas. I get free wireless at many major hotels through my job, so we had free internet for about 8 days out of our 10 day trip. You may want to do some hunting ahead of time to see if there is wireless around your area, and if you can get it for free from your internet provider. Not only did I back up our pictures on the computer, we also used Skype to call home quite often during the trip. You also get the fun of being able to go through and edit and clean up your pictures on the flight home. The Sony Viao's are quite expensive. The Asus Eee and the Samsung Q1 Ultra with Windows XP are probably cheaper. There are also several other brands out there as well. Have fun on your trip!
