Whether you're a blogger, a reporter, a photographer, or just a casual traveler who wants to stay in touch, odds are you've considered bringing along a laptop on your next trip. But who wants to lug around an expensive 5-6+ pounds on your back? Not me. We're always looking at the latest and greatest netbooks, hoping to find the perfect cheap, small, lightweight PC for our voyages. So if you're in the market for a small computer for your travels, check out our list of six great netbooks for travelers.
(Updated 9/2009) Since our original post in March 2009, there have been some great advances in netbook technology: upgraded speed, increased battery life, and even always-connected devices. Check them out!
Nokia Booklet 3G
The Facts:10" screen, 120GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, 802.11n wireless, bluetooth, built-in media card reader, 3G/HSPA with hot swappable simcard, GPS, 2.75 pounds, 12 hour battery life
Nokia is the latest company to make an entry into the netbook market, and they've aimed squarely at the mobile traveler with their Booklet 3G. With an amazing 12-hour (advertised) battery life, flexible mobile internet options, and improved media handling capability, this little netbook should set the technical standard for others to follow. For me, what stands out to me the most (besides the crazy battery life) is that you can put in your own SIM card. While it won't allow you to make voice calls, you can seemingly get net access wherever you can buy a new SIM card, without having to worry about roaming or Wifi availability. The major downside is the price, well above netbook standards, at $820 US or 525 Euros. (The price may come down, if you get it through your mobile carrier, but those details remain to be seen.)
ASUS EeePC 1000HE
The Facts: 10" screen, 160GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, 802.11n wireless, built-in media card reader, ~3 pounds, 9.5 hour battery life
The newest incarnation of the venerable EeePC keeps a small footprint, but sports a bigger keyboard(relative to it's competitors), bluetooth, speedy 802.11n wifi, and a hefty 160GB hard drive. But what will help us travelers out the most is that it boasts 9+ hours of battery life. This little gem means that you might actually have a computer that will let you watch a full flight's worth of movies/tv, or work through a full day's worth of travel blogging, twittering, and photo editing without having to plug in. We chose to buy this one for our travels and recently gave a detailed review of it here. ($389 at Amazon
Dell Mini 10
The Facts: 10.1" screen, 120GB+ hard drive, 1GB RAM, 802.11g wireless, built-in media card reader, tv tuner, 3g/hspa cellular net access (optional), 2.25 pounds, 4 to 8 hour battery life
The Dell Mini 10 is a solid little machine to carry around on your travels. It's got all the standard features as many other netbooks, and even comes with a tv tuner, cellular net access (via Verizon wireless, AT&T, or Sprint), and comes in 12 different colors. You can also configure it with a GPS, so that you can find your way around. One of my main complaints about netbooks has been their inability to do video well, and Dell has made some progress in that regard by offering an HD (1366x768) display, in addition to using Intel's improved 500-series graphic chipset in their top-of-the-line model. It should help video playback, but I'm still doubtful that you'll be able to do much editing. Bottom line? You can stay connected, store a trip's worth of memories, and look good doing it. $350-750 at Dell.
Acer Aspire One
The Facts: 10" screen, 160GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, 802.11g wireless, built-in media card reader, 3 pounds, 6.5 hour battery life
The Acer Aspire One is another good option for anyone looking for a long-lasting netbook. While it doesn't last quite as long as the EeePC 1000HE, it comes in a few more color choices (white, red, black, & blue) so you can enjoy your long lasting computer in style. ( $320 at Amazon
MSI Wind
The Facts: 10" screen, 160GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, 802.11n wireless, build-in media card reader, 2.6 pounds, 6 hour battery life
The MSI Wind is the whole reason we'd even considered getting a netbook in the first place. After seeing Pam of Nerd's Eye View carrying hers around SXSW, we saw all you could do with a tiny notebook. The Wind is another good, long-lasting netbook, suitable for a long day of travel. ( $349 at Amazon
Lenovo Ideapad S10
The Facts: 10" screen, 160GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, 802.11g wireless, build-in media card reader, 2.6 pounds, 3 hour battery life
If you're looking for a sturdy netbook, the S10 may be a match for you. I've tried it out in the store, and I'm not a huge fan of the small trackpad, but otherwise that's my only complaint. It's the only netbook I've seen with an expresscard expansion slot, so if you've got a need for expansion, this is the netbook for you. ( $319 at Amazon
Samsung NC-10
The Facts: 10" screen, 160GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, 802.11g wireless, bluetooth, 2.8 pounds, 6+ hours battery life
Last, but certainly not least, the Samsung NC10 offers a stylish, light, and impressive netbook for the traveler. You can get it in blue, white, black, and even pink. So if colors and styling are important to you, then this should be the first computer to look at. ( $379 at Amazon
But what if you want a netbook, but don't want to use Windows or Linux? If you're willing to experiment a little, you can turn your netbook into a Hackintosh and enjoy the mac experience on a small, light computer. For an easy-to-understand compatibility chart, head over to Boing Boing. (Be warned, the process can be difficult and can void your warranty, so if anyone asks, we didn't make you do it ;) )
Great article. So that was the machine behind the genius of nerdseyeview at SxSW. Definitely going to have to check out these netbooks.
Hi Austin,
Thanks for this great article! I saw lots of these at SXSWi but I didn't think they would be so affordable or fully functional.
Would it be feasible to run Photoshop on such a machine? Most of what I do is now online but I need need need Photoshop at all times in case of a creative emergency ;)
Best,
Michelle
PS: Was great to meet you both in AUS! I got your email at work but today was first day back and I am fairly buried. Will respond soon.
You know, I've wondered the same thing about any of these netbooks and photoshop. In comments on the net, I've seen some people who have had good experiences with using photoshop and have been pretty happy with it. If you do go that route, I'd upgrade the memory and get yourself an external DVD drive (they don't have a built-in drive with which to install the software.)
Anybody out there have direct experience with any of these netbooks and Photoshop?
I haven't gone international with it yet but I've been quite happy with my 13" aluminum MacBook. Battery life isn't too bad if you dim the screen and turn off things when you don't need them (wifi, bluetooth, etc). 4 pounds (which was lighter than my 12" iBook) is all it weighs. It does however have a bit of a price tag on it. I can carry it around in my backpack for hours and never really notice the weight.
I thought you were considering the MacBook Air...is it the cost that is prohibitive? What would keep you from looking at that again?
Carrying around Kelly's 13" macbook around (with my DSLR and water bottle) for a few days in Austin was enough to convince me that we needed something smaller and lighter to use when we travel. We'd looked at the macbook air because it was thin and lighter, but it still has the wide footprint, which makes it harder to carry around in a small bag. With a netbook, we can theoretically toss it in Kelly's purse if we have to.
We actually picked up the ASUS at the top, with it's low cost and exceptional battery life I figured it would be a good experiment at the very least. I hope it works out well for us on the road, although using windows (if I leave that on there) might be difficult for us. I'm also interested to see how easy it will be to work on that small of a screen to edit/post photos, write blog posts, etc.
I was just thinking of getting the ASUS EEEPc, perfect for digital nomads. Woah thanks for the great list man, I'm just gonna look through the specs of the six Netbooks...
I was thinking of the size footprint...it would definitely fit in a smaller bag. Still like the Mac though ;)
Austin,
Please keep your readers posted on your success with the ASUS. I'm looking to buy a new machine in June with the exact same purpose: traveling, writing, and editing photographs. Like Khalil, I'm leaning toward a Mac, but think of the plane tickets I could score with the price difference!
Great seeing you tonight,Austin, and glad to know which one you decided on.
Off to look at them myself now. . ..
What about the weight of the power supply? The weight of the netbook on it's own is meaningless for travel if the power supply weights just as much - and I've heard that for some netbooks they do.
I've been in Beirut since April and I've still loved having my MacBook here. There are some occasions when I would like to have something a tad smaller (going to farmer's market...hmmm, computer or food?) but generally my aluminum MacBook hasn't been too difficult to carry and I've started some conversations with people in cafés due to it being an Apple product. I tend to be one of those people that are distracted by internet and being online all the time, so I often will take my computer and leave campus so I can get notes, newsletters, or projects completed. Having a fully powered and functional computer (graphics, dtp, Bento, etc) offsets some of the inconvenience of the extra couple of pounds the 13" case adds (the 13" aluminum machine weighs in at around 4-4.5 lbs, about twice the mass of the netbooks). It gives me an incentive to return to the market the next weekend ;)
The Nokia Booklet looks interesting though, perhaps I'll be able to see one while in Lebanon, we seem to be the Nokia capital of the world.
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