Cycling UK Forum

Did a quick search in this forum for advice on a netbook for touring.
Last entry was in March and referred to a Nexus 7.
With Xmas and my birthday coming up, any thoughts folks on something small I can tuck into my pannier but use to enter a blog, Skype, and maybe watch a movie?
Thanks
Matt

Netbooks seem to be unfashionable just now. An Android tablet, Bluetooth keyboard and good case will probably be a better deal at the moment.

Oh and Microsoft Skype stinks. Why do you want NSA and GCHQ snooping? Go for one of the many webrtc services.

mjr wrote:Netbooks seem to be unfashionable just now. An Android tablet, Bluetooth keyboard and good case will probably be a better deal at the moment.

Oh and Microsoft Skype stinks. Why do you want NSA and GCHQ snooping? Go for one of the many webrtc services.

Thanks. I had been thinking of a tablet rather than a netbook. But wanted to open up all,possibilities and opinions.
Skype? Tell,more, please.

Typing this on a Nexus 7. It's a very nice tablet which runs Android. Downloads programmes from BBC iPlayer before you leave home to watch where you have no WiFi. If you have WiFi then watch Netflixs or other services. I haven't used it touring on a bike but I really like it. Much cheaper than an iPad mini with more memory.

Skype was part of the PRISM scandal whistleblown by Edward Snowdon. There's a campaign called PRISM Break to promote alternative tools, including not registering android devices with Google. Search on something like http://ddg.gg or http://ixquick.com for the full info but it's a bit off topic here.

I used to take a net book with me on tour but it was just to big with all the leads and chargers so I finally took the plunge and splashed out on an IPad mini.

It fits perfectly into my Ortlieb bar bag and I have just spent a very happy 8 weeks touring in the US using free wifi wherever it was available.

I also experimented with a netbook on tour and found it too big and heavy. Have now gone to the opposite extreme with a Nexus 4 smartphone, thinking it would be as good as a Nexus 7, but smaller (and working as a phone as well, of course). It is, kind of, but is very picky about which bluetooth peripherals it will work with. It also does not support USB OTG or have a card slot, so it's hard to get data out of it and onto an SD card, for instance to use in a GPS. If I'd done my research properly I would probably have gone for a Galaxy.

sjs wrote:I also experimented with a netbook on tour and found it too big and heavy. Have now gone to the opposite extreme with a Nexus 4 smartphone, thinking it would be as good as a Nexus 7, but smaller (and working as a phone as well, of course). It is, kind of, but is very picky about which bluetooth peripherals it will work with. It also does not support USB OTG or have a card slot, so it's hard to get data out of it and onto an SD card, for instance to use in a GPS. If I'd done my research properly I would probably have gone for a Galaxy.

What model Galaxy? And a 5 inch screen for typing up a blog, OK?
Nexus has the 7 inch screen. But as you say, no SD card slot.

Anything with a 7 inch screen and a card slot?

A Fonepad?

matt2matt2002 wrote:What model Galaxy? And a 5 inch screen for typing up a blog, OK?
Nexus has the 7 inch screen. But as you say, no SD card slot.

Anything with a 7 inch screen and a card slot?

I was still thinking smartphones, so an S4, probably, which I think has a card slot. But for significant amounts of typing a tablet would be better. The Nexus 7 doesn't have a card slot but it does support USB, so you could attach a USB card reader.

sjs wrote:

matt2matt2002 wrote:What model Galaxy? And a 5 inch screen for typing up a blog, OK?
Nexus has the 7 inch screen. But as you say, no SD card slot.

Anything with a 7 inch screen and a card slot?

I was still thinking smartphones, so an S4, probably, which I think has a card slot. But for significant amounts of typing a tablet would be better. The Nexus 7 doesn't have a card slot but it does support USB, so you could attach a USB card reader.

Thanks.I will follow that up.

I have a Nexus 7 tablet & just for the hell of it I connected a small folding keyboard via bluetooth and a mouse via the usb connection (the USB uses a service called OTG - you can connect caard readers and memory sticks in this way to).

bikes4two wrote:I have a Nexus 7 tablet & just for the hell of it I connected a small folding keyboard via bluetooth and a mouse via the usb connection (the USB uses a service called OTG - you can connect caard readers and memory sticks in this way to).

That's what I thought I'd be able to do with the Nexus 4 phone, but you can't; it doesn't support USB OTG, except via a lot of hacking.

andrew_s wrote:A Fonepad?

+1 for the Fonepad, I'm using one to type this. It also means you don't need to carry a separate phone (but does look a bit "Dom Jolly" as a phone held to your ear! ) as it does all the phone side of things too.

Rick.

If cost is no objection then take a look at the Sony Xperia Z Ultra.