[pct-l] laptop or tablet on trail
Devon Taig
devon.taig at gmail.com
Thu Sep 22 14:37:29 CDT 2011
I just bought a *Nook *at Barnes and Noble ($139). Now while that of course
is ostensibly an e-reader like the Kindle, you can take notes with it. I
don't know how long a note can be though. It is very light weight, big
enough (size of a paperback), and the batteries are AMAZING...Barnes and
Noble claims 1-2 MONTHS on a single charge. The keyboard is touch pad and
works just fine...if you are keeping a journal, then I bet that would work
well. I got a small foam protective case for it too and intend to take it
with me instead of a book...hadn't thought about replacing a paper tablet,
but I bet that it could.
River
On Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 1:29 PM, Sir Mix-a-lot <atetuna at gmail.com> wrote:
> I've carried a Fujitsu U820 along section A and a few other hikes. After
> finishing section A I bounced it up the trail. The Fujitsu U820 is a
> tablet
> pc with a keyboard and rotatable high resolution screen that has a battery
> life of ~10 hours and weighs ~1.5 lbs.
>
> At the time the weight and bulk weren't bad, but I found that I just didn't
> actually use it on the trail. I found typing on it while in my tent was
> uncomfortable and I was too tired to use it anyway, so I started bouncing
> it
> up the trail. Even in town I didn't like typing on the tiny keyboard
> because it took a very long time. If I were to do it over again, I would
> still bounce it up the trail, but with a full size keyboard or I'd get a
> tablet pc that has Win 7/8 with an active Wacom digitizer so I could easily
> do my journal freehand. Unfortunately small tablet pc's are rare and
> consumer tablet pc's do not have the combination of Windows and Wacom that
> makes handwriting work well. Even though I say handwriting works well, I
> still don't think it works well enough to do solo on the trail. I'd rather
> share those handwritten journals with someone at home so that they could
> correct the OCR errors and post it to my journal...that is, if I can't find
> a nice way to post my handwritten journals.
>
> On Sun, Sep 18, 2011 at 9:32 PM, David Money Harris <David_Harris at hmc.edu
> >wrote:
>
> > I appreciated all the responses to Robert's question on solar panels.
> >
> > I'm planning to do the PCT next summer and hope to do write along the
> > way seriously enough that I'd like a lightweight device with a proper
> > keyboard.
> >
> > I see in the archives that John Abela recommended a Macbook Air or iPad
> > 2, and have come to similar conclusions based on the specs. But I'm
> > wondering if anyone has practical experience carrying a device with a
> > keyboard on the trail (e.g. does it stand up to the rigors of the
> > trail? Are there realistic solar chargers? Are there nonobvious issues
> > bouncing it across the Sierra or other places where the food weight will
> > be high?)
> >
> > Happy hiking,
> >
> > David Money Harris
> >
> > On Jun 2, 2011, at 9:17 PM, John Abela<abela at johnabela.com <
> > http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l>> wrote:
> >
> > >/ Hey Ned,
> > />/
> > />/ I have no idea what you are looking for so I will just throw out
> some
> > />/ of the best options - keeping in mind the best quality available for
> > />/ the lightest weight products and the longest potential battery life.
> > />/
> > />/ For a laptop that runs Windows as the primary operating system, I
> > />/ would have to suggest the "Lenovo x220". It is a tad heavy at 3
> > />/ pounds. Lighter options are available but Lenovo's are 100% the most
> > />/ top of the line laptop that exists in regards to quality and
> > />/ life-span. Battery life of around 30 hours, unless you are doing
> > />/ really intense stuff, it will drop down to around 18-20 hours. If
> you
> > />/ can afford it, pick up the i7 with a SSD drive (the largest you can
> > />/ afford) and at least 4gigs of ram. All said it will be between 1600
> > />/ and 1900 depending on how you configure it. Not a cheap option but
> > />/ this machine will be more powerful than 90% of the computers people
> > />/ use today.
> > />/
> > />/ For a laptop that runs OSX (Mac) I would have to suggest the Macbook
> > />/ Air. The little 11 inch one is 2.3 pounds and has a 8-10 hours of
> > />/ battery life (5 if using it for intense stuff like video editing)
> and
> > />/ the larger 13 inch is about double the battery life. It is suspected
> > />/ that a new model is coming out very soon, but here is what I would
> buy
> > />/ if I was getting one today. I would personally get the 11 inch
> > />/ version, with 4 gigs of ram, and the 128 gig ssd drive. Going to
> loose
> > />/ some battery life but the size factor of this thing is almost
> backpack
> > />/ worthy for business owners.http://www.apple.com/macbookair/
> > />/
> > />/ If you are looking for a phone that is ultra small, ultra light,
> there
> > />/ is a brand new phone called the "modu" that is not yet here in the
> USA
> > />/ but can be bought online and shipped over to the USA. It is exactly
> 40
> > />/ grams (1.41 ounces) which has allowed it to be named the worlds
> > />/ lightest touch phone.http://youtu.be/2XEQ1ExuM4Q for a video of it
> > />/
> > />/ If you are looking for a phone that is a smidgen bit larger and can
> > />/ surf the internet, I think the next smallest option would be the new
> > />/ "Veer" from HP (palm). It hits the scales at 103 grams (3.63 ounces)
> > />/ It is (sadly) only available on AT&T. I am not going to sit here and
> > />/ play the "iphone verse android verses palm" game... I do not own the
> > />/ veer, rather I am giving you the best options out there for what you
> > />/ have asked for, and I think this is probably the smallest real phone
> > />/ in regards to features verse weight. --
> > />/ http://www.hpwebos.com/us/products/phones/veer/
> > />/
> > />/ Honestly, the only other option I would even remotely consider would
> > />/ be the iPad 2 with 3G. It hits the scales at 1.35 pounds (613 g) has
> a
> > />/ better battery life than anything listed above and is probably less
> > />/ likely to break than anything listed above. I never toss my lenovo
> > />/ laptops (say onto my bed or a couch) and I would never ever thinking
> > />/ of tossing an Apple Air, but I have pretty much thrown my iPad all
> > />/ over the place. Onto my bed, couch, desk, into my truck, it can take
> > />/ some serious abuse, has the best battery life option.
> > />/
> > />/ If you went with the iPad 3G model you can pick either AT&T or
> Verizon
> > />/ for your internet connection. If you went with the Lenovo x220 you
> > />/ could also get a built in 3G antenna and purchase a data plan with
> > />/ Verizon (best option out there, but the most expensive). If you went
> > />/ with the Macbook Air you would have to pick up a third party product
> > />/ such as the Verizon MyFi device. The little Veer phone would
> probably
> > />/ come with a data plan. And the modu I have no idea, but you could
> > />/ probably go with a Verizon plan at well (it would not work with AT&T
> > />/ as the devices requires a CDMA service, of which AT&T is not, but
> > />/ pretty much everybody else in the USA/World is)
> > />/
> > />/ Anyway Ned, those are (what I consider) to be the best options out
> > />/ there. I suspect you will have a whole lot of folks jumping in here
> > />/ and standing up for the Android, I am not one of them, but hear them
> > />/ out as well. I have nothing against any of the Android devices, I
> just
> > />/ do not feel they are the best of the best for ultra light weight and
> > />/ exceptional battery life, such as the products I have listed above
> > />/ (though somebody out there might have something out there running
> > />/ Android that is the same size-factor as the Veer, I just don't know
> of
> > />/ one.)
> > />/
> > />/ Hope that gets you started.
> > />/
> > />/ John B. Abela
> > />/
> > />/
> > />/ On Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 8:11 PM,<ned at mountaineducation.org <
> > http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l>> wrote:
> > />>/ As Mountain Education becomes busier this year, we are finding that
> > we need to stay in touch with the email world from the trail (sad to say,
> at
> > least until we have a staff to help out!).
> > />>/
> > />>/ We, as you know, use a satellite phone to stay in touch that way,
> but
> > what kind of laptop or other device do we need to use to accomplish
> this??
> > />>/
> > />>/ We are not technologically current on what's available...
> > />>/
> > />>/
> > />>/ "Just remember, Be Careful out there!"
> > />>/
> > />>/ Ned Tibbits, Director
> > />>/ Mountain Education
> > />>/ 1106A Ski Run Blvd
> > />>/ South Lake Tahoe, Ca. 96150
> > />>/ P: 888-996-8333
> > />>/ F: 530-541-1456
> > />>/ C: 530-721-1551
> > />>/ http://www.mountaineducation.org
> > />>/ ______________________________________________/
> >
> >
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