I recently took an airline trip, and wanted to go as light as reasonable. I did not have a return date, and took my laptop to make arrangements and other things. Although my laptop is a 14 inch ASUS by the time one gets the charger and cables it ends up heavier than I want to carry on in addition to the normal carry-bag. I am wondering if something like a tablet or Chromebook would provide the ability to do a little surfing and if necessary to make reservations, etc? I have a Kindle Fire, and it might be sufficient. Would something with a 10 inch screen like one of the Apples or Samsung tablet do the job in your judgment? Any recommendations? Thanks, Jerry
Hey Jerry, I have a kindle fire (1st generation) and a Chromebook Pixel 2 (LS). Both devices are excellent for surfing the internet, checking your e-mail, and signing into reservation applications and websites. For personal and productivity needs, you have access in most environments to web apps such as Google Docs, Slides, etc. or to Microsoft Online. I believe either device could satisfy your needs, but you don't need to go for a high end model chrome-book or tablet. Some things to consider: 2GB RAM or more - heavy tab users should look at a 4GB chromebook - enabling horizontal tabs in FireFox if on tablet, phablet, or smartphone 16GB SSD or more - cloud storage through one drive, google drive, etc. is nice if you have internet - more internal memory is necessary for storing apps, books, movies, etc. - if carrying a external drive (memory card, thumbstick, drive) is too much, then invest in more internal space or cloud Physical Keyboard, Portable Keyboard, or Digital Keyboard: - Portable Keyboards can be small, light weight but are an extra carry-on and require syncing and separate charging - Digital keyboards can be awkward and slow to type on for novice users, could substitute with google voice to compose - Physical keyboard built into chrome is good and responsible, but the keyboard is proprietary so you may have trouble speed typing until you adjust. I find my right hand lands on the wrong keys a lot. Tip: FireFox users on a tablet, phablet, or smartphone should use verticle tabs or tree style tabs to manage heavy tab usage
Hi Techwiz, I appreciate the reply, and you provided some good info for me. I am not sure what tab user means. My Kindle Fire is 7 inch and has 16 gigs of memory. The only complaint I had is the small screen, but that is part of the trade off. Thanks for the help. I don't even have a smart phone. Jerry
Tab users are people like my father that open 10-20 browser tabs in a single session. It's the equivalent of hording for computers outside of people that clutter their desktop with files and shortcuts and those that install a lot of software, addon-ons and extensions. This can be problematic is a cheap chromebook or tablet because of the lack of RAM to process all of those tabs and internal storage for all of the applications, movies, etc. that you might wish to bring with you. I know how you feel about the small display, but the perks of the silk browser at least on my device is the accelerated browsing feature. Amazon leverages their servers to ensure a good connection and to help with traffic. I find that in-flight WiFi drops for other users, while my kindle blazes through high latency problems. But that is probably the only thing I absolute love about the tablet. It's so old now and the internal storage 8 gigs is too small for the applications which are inflating in size. I hope you find what you are looking for and if you have any other questions, please check back here.
I'm using ASUS UX305 for my daily travel use for home and work. Super light weight (2.64lb) and slim (0.5in thick). Screen 13.3" FHD. Cost wise i think for a basic model is USD 599-799. (8GB,Core M, 256GB). Note sure if this fits into your requirements... Cheers!
I have an Acer Iconia W4. It's an 8 inch windows tablet. Battery life is good (up to 8 hours) and the charger is small (same as phone charger). The version I bought has a 64 GB drive, and 3G, plus I bought a 64 GB mini SD card to use as a second drive, plus it was fairly cheap. It's fine for watching movies on the airplane, although mainly I used it to give presentations and do Microsoft Office stuff. The 8 inch screen is really small and the touch keyboard is difficult to use for normal Windows stuff, but I can connect it to an external monitor, keyboard and mouse if I really want to work with it, although normally I do all the work on my large (17 inch) laptop, and just use the tablet for travel and presentations. Anyway, I think these types of Windows tablets are worth considering for you, although maybe one with 10" screen and more ports would be better. Mine only has an audio port, one mini-USB port and one micro-HDMI port, so I have to carry adapters and a USB hub - I'd prefer more and full sized ports to be honest even if that added a little bit to the weight and size.
http://www.amazon.com/Android-1280x...49166363&sr=8-8&keywords=amazon store tablets I know nothing about these things. The 10inch screen looks good as does the price. Any thoughts or knowledge on this one? Thanks, Jerry
Ha... I can't recommend my Dell Precision Mobile Workstation for this task. To the office and back, sure. Or out back to do some work on nice days, or take it to the lake. But I actually did take the thing on a trip to Japan with me and I think my right bicep came back to the states a bit bigger. Just the friggin AC adapter on this sucker is probably heavier than many tablets. Plus I have a cooling pad I fit in the carrying case with it all too. I think a 14"'er could do the trick. They make some of them razor thin these days with the advent of mSATA and such. I personally can't stand having a tiny screen, and like a full size keyboard, though not necessarily a number pad too. It bugs me having to use a toothpick to hit the right keys without fudging up.
Thanks, Staples had a sale with iPad 9.7 inch for $299.00. Somehow they also gave me a $30 coupon so I bought the iPad. Even though I need it like a dog needs fleas, I decided to spend the birthday, Fathers day, etc money I have accumulated and bought it. I will never carry my laptop again. Jerry
