PC/laptop etc whilst on tour

[jay clock]

Planning for the day when I can zoom off for a longer tour, I have been looking at tech kit to stay online etc. I have an Acer pc, but these netbooks are 1kg as a minimum.

I have now bought two items which do a good all round job for basic access, Skype etc

1 An Archos 70 Android tablet (poor man's Ipad). Paid £116 all in brand new but from a private seller on Ebay. New about £150 from a real online shop. 8GB memory upgradeable by an extra 32GB with a micro SD card (on order for about £20). Total weight is 316g+charger of 138g =454g

2 Amazing bluetooth keyboard for about £15 from Ebay. I could have got cheaper, smaller and lighter but really prefer to type my CGOAB journal with a proper keyboard of more or less full size. It is this one http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170767633241 but it seems to be a generic enough item. Weighs 305g

A major benefit is that firing up etc is almost instant, so emails can be checked fast, and battery life is 6-8hrs, and longer if not used for video etc.

 

[lpretro1]

Isn't the joy of going on a cycle tour to get get away from all the technical gadgets for a few days? A phone for eemrgencies yes but anything else...

 

[Aushiker]

Sounds like a good set-up. I went with a Asus eePC R051PX Netbook. I do think I should have investigated your approach more closely as it sounds like it might ideal.

Andrew

 

[jay clock]

Isn't the joy of going on a cycle tour to get get away from all the technical gadgets for a few days? A phone for eemrgencies yes but anything else...

If you like being alone and with no contact with your family. I have three daughters who I talk to/email/facebook daily and cannot see what is attractive about losing touch with them for a few days when I can continue to do it cheaply and easily. Also if/when I get laid off is when I will be off cycling, so no email = no jobhunting and no Skype interviews.

 

[jay clock]

and I should add that as stated above (not clearly) I love to write a current journal on Crazy Guy on a Bike.

 

[ColinJ]

Isn't the joy of going on a cycle tour to get get away from all the technical gadgets for a few days? A phone for eemrgencies yes but anything else...

I tend more towards this point of view ...

If you like being alone and with no contact with your family. I have three daughters who I talk to/email/facebook daily and cannot see what is attractive about losing touch with them for a few days when I can continue to do it cheaply and easily.

... but I can also see this one!

 

[lpretro1]

Yeah can see that - but just a phone surely...each to their own of course - guess I am from a different era when communication didn't have to be daily or more frequent. There seem to be quite few hotels/B&Bs/hostel now where you can access internet often for free if you want a quick chat and not have to carry stuff - hope you have a good dry bag for it too!

 

[TheDoctor]

I could have sworn you had an Asus Eee netbook

 

[rollinstok]

I dont think its really worth bothering going off touring if you still cant escape lifes pressures and obligations.

 

[psmiffy]

I carried a little netbook on my last tour - useful for backing up my photographs - doing a little bit of what if route planing - downloading the gpx tracks - keeping up with the news/cricket etc - occasional emails etc - a bit of CGOB -occasional web searches for camping et.al - keeping in touch with other touring cyclists I had met.

I dont see the computor in any way as being detrimental or add to the pressures and obligations of my ordinary daily life - The computor is just a tool - something I use to do tasks on a day to day basis - similaly on tour it was just a tool and one that I found to be very useful. Perhaps its a matter of attitude - Im not sure that I go on tour to escape from life - to me its a mixture of adventure, exploration and self indulgence.

Of course if you do feel hounded by these devices then the best policy is probably to leave them at home - they will be there when you get back.

 

[jay clock]

a) I did have an Asus EEE. Still do plus a couple of others which I must get round to selling.
b) "just a phone" is fine if you are in the UK. But I rarely if ever do touring in the UK. So that means 40-50p per min when in Europe either with a UK or foreign SIM
c) hostels/B&Bs with communal PCs may exist, but since I am aiming to camp, and often camp wild, these are not of much use.

Basically I will always be going with a web device (or at least smartphone.) So it is a question of which is the lightest, with low power usage.

One other gadget I have is a Veho Pebble battery device. Excellent

 

[ColinJ]

How about something like this Blackberry smartphone with a built-in keyboard and Wifi, weighing only 122 grams including the battery?

 

[jjb]

I used a kindle (the keyboard one) - the purchase price included free 3g internet access in France (and elsewhere). Good enough for checking email and reading the news but not really for blogging unless you're super focused.

Last time I checked, the euro 3g allowances for t-mobile were much more generous than with other networks. Almost worth grabbing a sim card just for that, perhaps.

 

[Alun]

Tracksterman keeps upto date with a blackberry clone and a kindle, and spends a lot of time in the wilds. http://tracksterman.tumblr.com/post/3248649928/rio

 

[Bodhbh]

There seem to be quite few hotels/B&Bs/hostel now where you can access internet often for free if you want a quick chat and not have to carry stuff

There is that but, my last couple of tours the hostels did not always have a communal PC but always had Wi-Fi. With everyone having a fancy mobile nowadays lot of people just need that.

Anyway, apart from that they can be quite a queue sometimes. Some of them are riddled with viruses, keyloggers, and the like. I had to change my passwords on everything 3-4years back cos of keylogging on a hostel computer.