Tablets - Travel

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dresdon
dresdon

Hello,

I am travelling to Europe soon for several months, namely Germany, Austria, possilby Italy. I do not want to tie myself down too much, so was looking at getting a Tablet so I can book accommodation as I go and look at transport options etc. I am completely technology illiterate it all confuses me so much.

I basically want one to surf the internet - mainly for sights, transport timetables and accommodation. Also email - these will be my main uses though would be good if I could watch tv or movies on it too, but not essential. Would like something that I can comfortably view the screen, but dont want it to be huge as will likely carry it on me at all times.

I don't want to pay too much for one as I will probably never use it much when I come home as have a laptop - but I want something reliable and that isn't so cheap that it is crappy.

I am not fussed about brand names etc - just really want something that will do the job.

Can anyone make any suggestions of what ones I should be looking at - there are just so many out there. Or at the very least the things that are important to take into consideration when purchasing a tablet.

Also I am in Australia will there be any problems or issues that I should consider in relation to using it in Europe.

Thank you all so much - I am just so completely lost.

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justin23
justin23
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You probably need to think a bit more and decide on the rough screen size, generally around 7" or 10" screen sizes are available, there are some in between these, but they are the two main sizes.

Another thing you need to decide is if you just want wifi or 3/4G mobile connection. For Europe I think wifi would be perfectly fine, I've never had problems finding wifi to use devices with. Also 3/4G mobile data is expensive in general.

You also need to have a play with the tablets in store and decide which is easier for you to use, ie Apple, Android or Windows. After you decided these basic things, there probably will be less choices available.

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stufried
stufried

I like the Asus manufactured Google Nexus tablet. You can get the tablet without 3g for $200. It is 7 inch, nicely weighted, and has a nice feature set. The question is how to get data. Your first choice is to spend about $125 more for a 3g modem. The second approach is if you have a smart phone, getting a data SIM, and tether it. If you have Android, look at FoxFi.

There are a number of roaming SIMs with good rates in Europe. Look at Europasim, Roamline, Maxroam, or aBroadband. This list is not exclusive.

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anonymous
anonymous

Nexus as above is a good choice. Get the WiFi only version and use internet in places with wifi.
If you get the one with SIM card you will have to buy prepaid SIM cards and buy data plans, will cost more but you won't depend on local wifi.

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rayonline
rayonline

You just need to decide for yourself re: WiFi or sim.

For me sim just opens up one more route, i don't look for WiFi and waste my time that way, so the sim covers that but will be more costly though.

Size, brand, model you need to decide. But I've been very happy with my 4.7" LG Android phone (Optimus G). Responsive, smooth, can view desktop webpages side ways. Wouldn't want to bring anything larger until I have a partner etc.

Oz shouldn't have much issues with Eu but check the frequencies for the sim version. 900 and 2100 3G is the EU version generally speaking. 850 3G is generally the US version. in the larger cities you may find that the telco's use more than one frequency so you are ok but if you visit the outskirt you might find they only support their 900 or 850. so if you got an american 850 say and wanna use it in Oz or EU outskirt you might find it unable to do so.

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dresdon
dresdon

Thank you all for your responses it has given me a good starting point. The Nexus was on my list so will take a closer look at that one, but will be sticking with the Wifi as I believe there are lots of hotspots throughout Europe that I can tap in and need to save cash where I can.

Thank you all again :-)

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