I'm planning a motorcycle ride to Alaska and up the dalton, and I want a computer mainly to e-mail and dump vidoes and photos from my cameras on the way. I'd also like to be able to back them up onto DVD.

I suppose what I'm looking for is close to 10", a couple gig of ram (sometimes build GPS maps), SD slot, and a few hunderd clams... could get destroyed on the trip... XP would be fine. Weight and thickness aren't really an issue as much as overall width.

Thinking factory referb, as opposed to used with pre-installed viruses.

Been browsing ubid.

Any suggestions?

 

I bought a Fujutsu Lifebook P series small laptop (10" screen) for my dive trips. I can hook up USB devices, it has wireless built in for internet and I can tether my droid to it with a usb cable or wirelessly and have internet anyplace I get cell phone coverage. It's got a 60 GB hard drive and although it doesn't have a cd rom drive I can hookup a standalone portable one thru a USB port if necessary. It uses a stylis to handle the touch screen, really nice... but don't loose it. It has a little slip spot in the cover edge to keep it. The battery lasts about 6 days in hybernate mode and using it on and off I can get by for 3 days or so before having to really watch out for a charge plug. LoL
Total cost off e-bay was $200. is that what you're interested in? It measures 7-1/2 x 9-1/4 x 1-1/4 thick
go look at this one!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Fujits...item563bd17c7a

 

You might also want to check out Dell auction. I got a Latitude D620 DVD/CDRW 14" screen for less than $300. It is a refurbished unit without any MS software. I'm sure HP has something similar. Keith

 

tigerdirect.com Look for a Panasonic TOUGHBOOK. 13" screen, water-proof, shock-proof, anything-proof. Get a NON touchscreen unit for about $360 and a touchscreen, converts-to-tablet one for a extra $20. Older software but upgrade the RAM to 1 gig (from the 500mb) or 1.5gig and you are good to go. I would want that for a motorcylce trip.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&searchbtn.y=0

 

Jeff,
I have an HP netbook. You can buy a separate DVD burner for it. It's not a hotrod computer, but it does what I need, which is similar to what you described. I have been using it several times a day for the last 9 months and no issues. Paid $400 for it back in July with a 6 cell battery and 32G SSD. They can be had with 160G drives, or you can install a 1TB HD.

Tony

 

Thanks for the replies. I'm really trying to avoid going external optical drive, to keep things as simple as possible while on the go.

A toughbook would be perfect, but they are on the upper end of what I want to spend, plus I'd have to bump up to 2gig plus, and upgrade to DVD burner.

I'll have to look at Dell auction. A couple of options have come up on ubid for lease return, but with a bit bigger screen than what I had in mind.

 

I forgot to add Dells outlet part of their site. Keith

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. I hadn't thought of dell auctions.

I bid on a 14" one with 2 gig ram, 64m vram, 80 gig drive, dvd burner, XP pro +. Intel dual core 2Ghz.

Won it at $371. Should work for what I need, and seems like a pretty powerful setup for the money.

 

Jeff, what you will need to add is MS word, excel and that stuff. Keith

 

Yeah, I don't know if it comes with works, or no office software at all...

All I really need it to have is a browser for web based mail, enough ram to build Garmin GPS maps, and the ability to pull movies and photos off cameras and burn to DVD.

 

Wife bought an Averatec laptop at Sam's club a while back for $600ish. DVD burrner, wirerless setup and plenty of memory. Works well.

 

Add OpenOffice for FREE
http://www.openoffice.org/

 

A Toughbook might be the way to go. Those really are tough and the roads in Alaska might not be the best out there. But they are a lot of $$$. Another idea might be to take an external 2.5" hard disk drive with you. Got a Samsung S2 portable with 640 GB a few weeks ago, small and offer a lot of storage and no need for power except through the USB-port.

I´d get a 12"-13" notebook, 10" are mostly netbooks which don´t have a DVD drive and have a slower CPU (Intel Atom).

Having said that, I´m quite happy with my MSI Wind but I don´t need a DVD drive. Just connect it to my 20" screen and enjoy the best of both worlds.

 

Roads up here aren't that bad...... On a motorcycle you can dodge the potholes pretty easy.

 

I bought a T23 IBM off Ebay, put in a wireless adapter, and 40 GB hard drive. Used it last winter in Arizona. Fit perfect in trunk. Worked well at most wireless spots. Great way to keep up with emails and downloading pictures.