Laptop

I bought a netbook specifically for travel. I got tired of lugging a "big" laptop. I love it. I download my photos every day, so I don't need a lot of camera memory. Many budget accommodations offer free wifi, so I have internet access for email and for help during my trip - walking directions, weather forecasts, news (having 27 cable channels doesn't help when they are all in Italian or Hungarian or whatever). I also use it to keep a travel diary and a back-up of all my travel research. But before the netbook, I did lug my laptop and I never regretted it.

richard, The answer will probably depend on what you plan to use the Laptop for, and whether you want to haul it around Europe? Based on previous posts here, it's probably safe to say that the majority of travellers seem to prefer either a Netbook or an iPad. Those carrying a full-sized Laptop seem to be in the minority. I took a Netbook along on my trip last year, and it will be with me on every trip from now on. I also have a MacBook Pro but there's absolutely NO WAY I want to travel with it! It's too large, too heavy and too expensive, so loss, damage or theft would be a major financial issue for me. The Netbook doesn't have the "horsepower" for processor-intensive tasks, but it's great for E-mail, Blogging and similar tasks, and an ideal size and weight for travel. Happy travels!

When I made my first trip to Germany this century (Aug 2000) I had a new digital camera and a 16 GB memory card cost $100. I quickly figured out I couldn't afford the number of cards it would take for the pictures I wanted to take, so I brushed of my laptop and took it along. At 7½# it quickly become a pain, but I discovered so many other uses for it, that when I came home I looked for a lighter option. I've gone through a number of 2# systems - a NEC Mobilepro Handheld, a Toshiba Portege sub-laptop, and now my Acer Aspire Netbook - but I continue to find uses for a full function PC,

I have never taken a laptop to Europe before, but I could see where the might be very useful. I bought an ASUS netbook for this trip, and have been using it at home to get used to the small keyboard. It looked like a winner until my Wife bought a new iPad2. Wow, that is really a neat machine, and weighs much less than mine. Costs much more than mine, too, but it sure is neat! She is seldom without it; mostly to make me jealous, I'm sure.

Am I ever glad that I am retired and do not HAVE TO carry a beeper, cell phone, laptop, or anything other than my point-and-shoot camera. I am sure that there are lots of folks who could not get along with any or all of them, but, for me, it is truly liberating.

I travel with the macbook air 13". is small. is light weight. has a high resolution screen so no left and right scrolling. is insured so if something happens to it i get my money back with 0 deductible.
it has a sd card slot to xfer my photos each night to free up space to take more pictures on my micro 4/3 camera. I highly recommended.

I used to rely on internet cafes, but they're getting a bit scarce, at least in western Europe. I now take a netbook (ASUS 1008HA for the last trip), and while I wish it were lighter, I'm still glad to have it. I have a blog, and don't want to type on glass, so the iPad didn't make my short list.

@ James, "Spain's unemployment rate just hit 21%. Keep your head on a swivel." I didn't realize it was that high. Thanks for the great advice! Fortunately, Italy is still at about 8%, so hopefully it will be a bit "safer" to travel there. Cheers!

I love my Dell Mini. It's incredibly light, compact, and the battery life is unbelievable. After 10 overseas trips, I cannot imagine traveling without it. My netbook frees up a lot space in my bag. I use it to store travel documents, pages from guidebooks, ebooks, and maps. I can also use it as a nightlight, white noise machine, stereo system, mini-cinema (in hi-def and widescreen), alarm clock, and make cheap calls back home via Skype. ...and it's smaller than a Bible, and yes I can store a Bible in my netbook as well. My drive also has every episode of The Office, Battlestar Glactica, NPR's This American Life, and contains my entire music library. It worked great on my 15+ hour non-stop flights from Newark to Beijing and Hong Kong. It's the ultimate multi-media device, like a hi-tech Swiss army knife!

Hi Richard:
My wife and I just returned from a two week vacation. One week in London and another in Lisbon., My computer was stolen from my bag on the way to London either by someone from TSA or British Airways luggage handlers. Bringing along your laptop in your carry on is recommended. I reported it to BA (a real hassle) and to TSA (more user friendly) however it was never found. Now on to other things. If you will be in a hotel with WIFI your computer will be a great help. I stayed in a great hotel in Lisbon, the Dom Pedro. However even their free computers in the lobby area had been tampered with by some flakes and had lots of problems. WIFI is not free at the Lisbon airport, nor generally. Lisbon residents complain about the cost. There are Starbucks in Lisbon, but typically they are not where you want to them to be and you don't want to carry around your computer. As you know there is a difference between WIFI and Broadband. So if the place you are staying has WIFI you are probably good to go. You may also find a hot spot (free) at one of the larger malls like Amoreries or Vasco De Gama. If where you are staying only has broadband, you will need a connecting cable or some kind of portable router. If you have a specific question let me know. Have a great trip. We had beautiful sunny weather for 6 of the seven days we were there. Loved Lisbon and walked our feet off. Lots of hills in the city and environs.

Thanks to you all for your excellent replies. This will be my 39th trip to Europe and if there is ONE thing I have learned and I have stated this a gazillion times it is that you can read all the travel books you like, watch all the travel shows available, etc. but there is NO subsitute for the opinion of someone whose opinion you truly respect. And that respect is for you, my fellow European travelers. Thanks again. Richard

I too bought a netbook for travel; have found that internet cafes are harder to find and I relax in the evening by putting my feet up and checking in. I have a lovely 10 or 11 inch ASUS which has good memory as well as a good keyboard. @Joel, I'd like to know more details about the theft. Was your computer in your carryon or was it checked? Do you think a fellow traveler might have taken it from the security checkpoint? I ask because last weekend I flew to Ft Lauderdale and I wound up with 5 bins(jacket-shoes/purse-computer-carryontote- carryon suitcase) - ugh- trying to watch all those was tough.

On a recent trip to London I decided to substitute the iPad2 for my laptop. Never missed the laptop. And thanks to the Kindle App I was able to leave my e-reader at home, too. Not that it was the perfect device for any of these functions, it was just "good enough" at all of them (book reader, web browser, email, etc.), at least good enough for me. I highly recommend the Apple MB974ZM/A World Travel Adapter Kit for the iPad.