Using a netbook in Italy?

I used to use a high-end Dell PDA for WiFi in my travels (same size as an iPhone). At first it was neat that something the size of a calculator could do so much cool stuff, but after a while the tiny screen, and virtual keyboard got really annoying. I traded up to a Dell Mini netbook and have been much happier....your eyes will thank you:)

We used an inexpensive netbook, Asus Eee PC, this past Fall in Italy. Most hotels, B&B, provide some form of internet access. All controlled with passwords for login and can range from an hour to unlimited. But the access speed varied greatly. However, beyond the hotel it was difficult to find easily accessible internet. McDonalds is often a good option but you have to purchase something but that is fairly typical with most wifi sites.

The Asus worked well for us and it $225 we didn't worry about theft, lost, or damage. I would not take an expensive laptop.

Hi Myriam, I took both iPhone and net book to ITaly in 2009. The best part about having the netbook was for managing my daily photos. Every night or two I took the photos off my camera card and loaded them onto the netbook. I was able to name them and categorize them when I still remembered what they were all about and where I took them! I also used netbook for infrequently keeping in touch with home. Loved the iPhone for audio tours, map apps, alarm clock, itinerary (Tripit) a couple of games and showing off pictures of my kids etc. Could have done without the netbook, but I loved having all my pictures dealt with by the time I got home.

Great bunch of info...thanks everyone!

Of course now Apple is releasing a tablet or netbook or something soon, so we'll wait to see what that's about before getting one.

We aren't going till Oct, but I'm an early planner!

We had both our iPhones and a netbook with us our last trip. The netbook was primarily used for saving off photos from the cameras and for doing our blog to our family at the end of each day, also handy for those longer emails. Definitely wait and see what this hullabaloo at Apple will be at the end of the month. Our phones were essential for work stuff and we bought an international package each to check for emails at odd times when we were out and about. If you take the iPhone, make sure you turn off data roaming. We've heard horror stories about huge bills when people get home, but we stayed right under our package limits and were fine and no extra billing.

I took my new HP netbook with me to Italy. It was easy to carry around. Rates vary for internet access and there are some areas in Rome that have free public access. I took a headset and used Skype for all my phone calls home. I also uploaded all my pictures onto the computer and memory stick in case one of them went missing. (Most expensive internet access was around $30 at the Venice Hilton)