best tablet or netbook for my traveling purposes

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elcastleberry
elcastleberry

Hi! I have purchased a one-way ticket to Cyprus on September 15. I will be working at an organic garden in the northern portion of Cyprus (Turkish) for a month+, then I plan to (hopefully) extend my travels to other parts of Southwestern Europe (Spain, Italy, Portugal, etc) for an indefinite amount of time (code for: until my funds dry up).

I currently have a 3-year old, 15-inch Macbook. It serves me well but I'd like something more lightweight (and a little newer/more reliable) for my travels.

I need it to serve the following purposes:
*writing and posting text/photos to my blog regularly
*skyping & emailing with friends and family at home (so it needs a built-in webcam)

I am probably going to store my photos and video on multiple memory cards, so I'm not concerned about hard drive space. The physical keyboard of a netbook really appeals to me but I am concerned because tablets seem to have a much longer battery life (it would be nice to have it for music listening for long trips, but this isn't vital) and they are smaller & more portable. Also, price is a factor and netbooks seems to be cheaper. I'd like to find something between $100 & $250. I will be shopping on Amazon, Craigslist and Overstock.com.

I've done a lot of reading up on the other forum posts about netbooks vs. tablets, that's a decision I'll have to make on my own. I also recognize a tablet with the addition of a separate keyboard is an option but it tests my budget.

So my question to you lovely, seasoned travelers is the following:
1) What brand/version of NETBOOK do you recommend for my purposes of skyping (webcam), emailing, blog posting & perhaps listening to music within my $100-250 price range?

2)What brand/version of TABLET do you recommend for my purposes of skyping (webcam), emailing, blog posting & perhaps listening to music within my $100-250 price range?

Let me know if there's anything I need to expand on. I appreciate any help!

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anonymous
anonymous

Google nexus 7 with Bluetooth keyboard. Should do in 250$, those keyboards cost only 20$.

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anonymous
anonymous

Well I have recently purchased 7inches Asus Fonepad and its working perfectly fine. In fact i preferred it over iPad mini because of display and image resolution. So you can also take a look of it and recently Google also has lauched their another nexus version, so do have a look on these tablets and fix one out. Happy Shopping!

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worldtraveldude
worldtraveldude

Make sure you get some sort of bluetooth or connected keyboard. Its impossible to do and good typing without one. I used to have a folding keyboard for my Palm Pilot and it was awesome.

I'd recommend a used iPad2 they're only $250. They just work, and they never seem to get outdated - I still use an iPad 1! The ipad 2 has a webcam. Then get a good keyboard and you'll be all set for email, blogging, and Skype. Maybe add an SD reader so you can upload photos easy too.

Get an extra battery too so your power never runs out on long flights or bus rides or whatever. And the Kindle Reader for reading books.

Enjoy!

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flowers_van
flowers_van

I'd recommend a used iPad2 they're only $250. They just work, and they never seem to get outdated! The ipad 2 has a webcam. Then get a good keyboard and you'll be all set for email, blogging, and Skype. Maybe add an SD reader so you can upload photos easy too.

Good advice, but make the mini.

In case you can't find a used one in time for your trip.
Target® offers a 5% for using their credit card and are offering discounts
as anext generation iPad mini is imminent.

http://www.target.com/p/apple-ipad-mini-16gb-wi-fi-white-md531ll-a/-/A-14213695#prodSlot=medium_1_1

Also comes in black

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lsbf
lsbf

It's no Macbook Air, but it's a lot for the money -- some places are selling Acer 11.6" Chromebook 2GB 320GB Chrome OS for $200 or less. Here's an ebay listing <http://tinyurl.com/ldy967f>

L

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lennythelion
lennythelion

I have a Samsung Galaxy Tablet 10.1that I used in some 12 countries over the last 3 months, while doing a road trip from Scotland to Turkey and back. Ticked all the boxes for me, excellent wifi and bluetooth pick up, nice picture resolution, sd card slot, a nice looking piece of kit, bigger screen than the equivalent ipad and quite a bit cheaper.

Learn to say 'Thank you' in the local language.
The natives like that.
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woldranger
woldranger

+1 for the Nexus 7. I've just bought the 2012 version here in the UK for a super low price. If you're mad about the latest specs then spend a bit more and get the 2013 version but for what you're looking for and to keep within budget I'd go for the 32gb version with an otg cable. It's easy to root (unlock the bootloader) and you can always lock the loader again if you need to take it to get repaired.

There are plenty of inexpensive apps that will let you do the majority of what you'd do on a laptop, though it's not as straightforward as using an OS you're familiar with.

I had an 8.9" Acer netbook and the N7 is almost a kilo lighter, and that's without factoring in the power brick.

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flowers_van
flowers_van

iPad mini 2 (second generation) due out in days or weeks

Not as cheap as some but you have service everywhere.

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lennythelion
lennythelion

You'll only have service on the new ipad if you pay an extra subscription for a global signal.

Learn to say 'Thank you' in the local language.
The natives like that.
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