Should You Bring A Laptop?
An increasing number of traveler’s are carrying laptops. However, Internet cafes with web access are increasingly available in some surprising places (there is Michelle sweltering in an Internet cafe in India). So, should you bring a laptop?
Why you should:
The primary reasons to bring a laptop are:
- To be able to view, edit and/or sort your photos while you’re on the road. Viewing on a large screen gives you the opportunity to see what you should re-shoot, and editing/sorting on the road enables you to avoid the huge amount of time it may otherwise take to sort through hundreds or thousands of photos when you get home. Copying your photos to a laptop also gives you a second copy, which is great if you happen to lose your camera. In my opinion, photo management is the primary reason to consider bringing a laptop.
- Write your travel journal: Certainly merit in this…though I think most travelers will be better served by using an online travel journal, and paying a few dollars a day to get web access at an Internet café.
- Use PC phone services: Carrying your own laptop enables you to use Internet phone services such as Skype. However, you can often find cheap places on the road to call home, so I don’t see this as being a good reason to carry a laptop.
- Access email and the web without having to go to an Internet café: Yes, a laptop may make this easier, but not sure it’s worth it.
- You may not be able to get Internet access: Web access and/or Internet cafes are available in some strange places...but they are most certainly not available everywhere. Check where you are going to see if Internet cafes are an option.
The reasons not to bring a laptop:
- Hassle: This is a large and often relatively heavy thing to carry around. On long trips, you may get tired of carrying it.
- Worry: A laptop is an impressive show of wealth in many third-world destinations, so it may be a target for thieves…and in any case you’ll be worrying about it getting stolen.
Bottom line: Bring a laptop if you’re really into photography
For me, the bottom line is easy. If you’re really into photography, then you should bring a laptop. Otherwise, you can usually get by just fine with a combination of online (or hand-written) journals and Internet cafés.
Sub-notebooks would be the ideal way to go
If you decide to take a laptop and are willing to spend the money to buy something new, then there are lots of choices.
I certainly haven’t tried them all, but from owning a dozen or so laptops and playing around with others at various electronics stores, it looks to me like the ideal way to go would be a sub-notebook from Fujitsu or Sony. Both make very light ultra-portables, with small (9 to 11-inch) but reasonable quality displays (particularly the Sony). Both have keyboards that are smaller than normal, but it seems to me that they would be reasonably easy to get used to. Performance is only ok, but sufficient for travel usage. Neither are cheap, with prices starting in the neighborhood of $1600 for Fujitsu, and going up from there.
If ultra-portables are too expensive for your budget, then there are plenty of cheaper alternatives around at places like Dell and Amazon
...you will just have to lug around something a little bigger and heavier. Take a look at user reviews on CNET before buying.
...And make sure you keep it backed-up!
Reality is that there's risk that your laptop could get lost or stolen while traveling, so be sure to keep it backed up! I use an online backup service from Mozy, which is free for less than 2GB and around $50 per year for unlimited storage.
Bob
Next article: Picking Your Camera(s) For Travel
