Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

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DaveOZ
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby DaveOZ » Fri Dec 14, 2012 2:08 pm

il padrone wrote:Just ordered a handy keyboard/cover for the Ipad from Kogan. It should solve most of my problems with the on-screen keyboard.
So now it's heavier and bulkier and less useful than a MacBook Air11. :P

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il padrone
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby il padrone » Fri Dec 14, 2012 6:31 pm

DaveOZ wrote:So now it's heavier and bulkier and less useful than a MacBook Air11. :P
"starting at $1099"

The Ipad is something I already have, provided by my employer :idea:
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bagelonabike
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby bagelonabike » Tue Jan 08, 2013 1:23 pm

I preferred a netbook over a tablet personally. On my last tour I used a Samsung NC10 -

http://www.cnet.com.au/samsung-nc10-339298720.htm

It was outstanding and goes with me on all trips touring or not. I like the fact its basically a miniature laptop so is compatible with your other gadgets, for example if has a card ready for your camera built in. You can also charge all your devices of it using USB (has 3 ports) and so only need the 1 power cable for the laptop itself on your trip, saving weight.

Battery life is about 4- 5 hours of fairly heavy use

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clackers
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby clackers » Tue Jan 08, 2013 7:37 pm

bagelonabike wrote:I preferred a netbook over a tablet personally. On my last tour I used a Samsung NC10 -
I've toured with an Acer Aspire One in the past, for many of the same reasons (and being able to directly transfer photos and videos from cameras at the end of a day)

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il padrone
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby il padrone » Tue Jan 08, 2013 11:49 pm

clackers wrote: being able to directly transfer photos and videos from cameras at the end of a day)
Can be done with an Apple Ipad... with the simple addition of the Apple USB and SD card reader that is a straightforward plug-in.

Image

There are others that do it as a 2-in-1 or more unit.
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exadios
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby exadios » Thu Jan 10, 2013 1:41 pm

What do people on tour use their notebooks / laptops for?

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il padrone
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby il padrone » Thu Jan 10, 2013 2:32 pm

Tour blog, email contact home, saving and blogging photos, general internet usage. Much could be done with a smart-phone (not saving my digital camera photos though) however I get really sick of the tiny keyboard.
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby wombatK » Thu Jan 10, 2013 6:46 pm

il padrone wrote:Much could be done with a smart-phone (not saving my digital camera photos though)
Put an Eye-Fi SD-Card in your camera and you can save your digital camera photos to the smart-phone and optionally upload to the cloud.
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bumblebea
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby bumblebea » Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:02 am

oh my god i was going to use pen and paper and check my emails in the library.

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clackers
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby clackers » Mon Mar 04, 2013 2:14 pm

bumblebea wrote:oh my god i was going to use pen and paper and check my emails in the library.
Luddite! :smile:

My old Aspire One netbook has had the screen drawn up around it and the vet with his rifle sent in to finish it off.

It's replacement is an Acer Iconia W510 tablet with Win8.

Definitely one for panniers though.

For most rides my next phone is probably going to be a Samsung Galaxy Note 2, which almost has a tablet size screen!

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rifraf
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby rifraf » Mon Mar 04, 2013 2:44 pm

bumblebea wrote:oh my god i was going to use pen and paper and check my emails in the library.
Hi bumblebea
Hey not without some merit as this was the option available to me on my Mudgee to Perth trip last year. Problems showed themselves when librarians warned against leaving my bike outside some libraries due to the large amount of thefts. Its certainly far from a perfect solution however. Libraries arnt always open when you need them and are often under resourced in smaller towns when it comes to the amount of available computers compared to the amount of potential users. After my experience of my last tour where I was repeatedly frustrated with regards to net access, I'll be looking to invest in a alternative for my next extended trip. I was surprised to find some libraries (especially WA) charge for interenet access whilst others dont. Its also surprising how quickly your allotted time runs out when you try to catch up with http://www.bicycles.net.au" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. :lol: :lol: :wink:
Saying that Australian libraries are a great resource that we can all be proud of.
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bumblebea
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby bumblebea » Tue Mar 05, 2013 8:25 am

hi rifraf and clackers,

yes I truly am a luddite but you raise some good points about ease of internet access in libraries and other logistical issues... I may have to drag myself kicking and screaming into the 21st century. For which this thread is most useful!

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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby elStado » Wed Mar 06, 2013 1:17 pm

I just used my Android powered smartphone. 4.3" screen, wifi, GPS/maps, bunch of useful apps, 32GB of media storage.. it was perfect while on the road especially as I had it hooked up to my B&M eWerk power supply and my B&M universal cockpit mount review/article on my site here. I could have it charging and and playing music while I was riding during the day, and then be able to update my trip journal on Evernote or hook up to free Wifi somewhere in the evening after dinner. This was in Germany and France though, so getting free WiFi was easy and plentiful.
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polishbiker
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby polishbiker » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:20 pm

il padrone - i have the mapswithme free version and it seems i cannot plan any routes with it, like place my entire trip from A to B on it.

is it possible with the full version?

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il padrone
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby il padrone » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:41 pm

To tell the truth I have not been too bothered with trying to do this. I have the Garmin anyway and will use that for routes. Even with that I mainly use it for navigation and position-finding. I mostly plan routes on paper maps as I prefer to get the bigger view of the whole area that a paper map gives.

Mapswithme is really of value to me for other reasons - for the detail it gives, often including bike paths, campsites and other tourist and retail facilities. I'll have to look at route display on the Garmin (will copy planned routes from bikemap) but I don't think Mapswithme supports routes.

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rifraf
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby rifraf » Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:10 pm

I'm seeing a hell of a lot of choices here but no real consensus of whats best (probably because of different perceived needs). I'm way behind in tech knowledge now although years ago used to build a few computers.

My now ancient laptop is too heavy to seriously consider touring with IMHO. (Compaq V2418au = 2.4kg).

Net access is such a help and great research tool whilst on tour and lets you cycle when in the mood to just go, rather than having to endlessly research before you leave.

Are any of the android smart phones ie. Samsung Galaxy S3 or Note 2 compatible with a keyboard?
I find touchscreens frustrating.

I'd like something to check my emails and read/update forums whilst touring. Being able to get photos from my cameras or their memory sticks would be a prerequisite too.

I'd be inclined to steer away from Apple as WinXP is fairly well ingrained in my thick noggin and I avoid learning curves where I can. :D

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RonK
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby RonK » Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:43 pm

rifraf wrote:I'd be inclined to steer away from Apple as WinXP is fairly well ingrained in my thick noggin and I avoid learning curves where I can. :D
There is no learning curve with Apple, and the Windows forgetting curve is short and sweet.

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wurtulla wabbit
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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby wurtulla wabbit » Tue Mar 26, 2013 10:28 pm

Use iPad for everything recreational, only use laptop or pc for invoicing and printing
Sometimes not even that.
They're almost obsolete.

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Re: Tablet or a small laptop - touring.

Postby iacl » Tue Mar 26, 2013 10:45 pm

I have a Samsung galaxy note, it is big enough for notes, email, blogging and basic web use, and you can use a bluetooth keyboard etc. But for me it's only really a fill in devise between stops.

At the end of the day, I'm much more comfortable with my iPad for writing, reading the odd uni assignment etc. I considered getting a macbook air, but even at home, the laptop tends to get ignored in favour of the iPad. I think the newer mini will even fit neatly in my bar bag, more food for thought.

I use both iOS and android as above, both work as well as the other, I used to love my Dell mini9 (Windows) till some _____ stole it. So go with what your comfortable with, it's probably more important a factor than what the rest of us are using.

Just checked ipad mini (h 20cm x w 13.5cm x d .7cm) ortlieb ultimate6m (21 x 23 x 14), perfect.

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