I am another who carries "toss-able" photocopies of information, and those, along with my ipod (for photo storage, audiobooks and music) don't come close to 2kg.

Even if I could eliminate 2kg of other junk to "swap" for the laptop, it wouldn't be worth it, as a laptop isn't practical to carry around during the day while visiting sites. And it can't be broken up into lighter parts. I like to have relavant information on me during the day - and currenly only carry a few sheets of paper - pretty light weight.

And you don't want to pull out a laptop whenever you need to look something up. I can just picture walking from the train station to my hotel, laptop in hand!

So size really is the issue. A laptop is overkill for my style of travel. I don't need to "compute" on the road, just access info and store photos. An ipod with a bigger screen and the ability to store maps etc, would be ideal.

If something like this already exists please tell me about it!

I don't carry a laptop around - I only use it when I'm sitting in a hotel or car (or watching my own movies in a plane).

When on foot, I carry a Pocket PC (sort of an iPOD with brains) that has all my navigation, sightseeing, dining, and shopping data in it. It's also my free international phone and a GPS mapping unit.

Google <b>iPAQ</b> to learn about them.

I'm taking my laptop to Rome later this month but we're only staying in two apartments and doing minimal travel.

We've been told that the apartment in Rome has wi-fi access, but this time I want the computer more for looking at my pictures at the end of each day. That and I can just see us sitting on our balcony overlooking Sorrento and sipping a limoncello while listening to a little light jazz or Vivaldi. Just kind of completes the picture :)

I would certainly travel with the computer more, but the weight factor is the biggest deterrent for me. Having wi-fi access is probably the biggest plus for me.

So you carry an ipaq AND a laptop?

Thanks for the ipaq link. It looks really interesting, and would do a lot of the things I want, BUT has no hard drive, so it can't do the photo storage that my ipod does now. I have a digital SLR, so need lots of storage space. (And I'm not willing to buy THAT many memory chips!) And for me, it wouldn't be worth getting an ipaq to replace only my photocopies, it would have to be able to replace the ipod too.

As soon as one of these comes out with a HD, or an ipod comes out with some of the functionality that the ipaq has, then I'll be ready to go fully digital!

The CF slot in my iPAQ supports an 8gb hard drive: http://www.cesell.com/images/thumbnails/t_68674.jpg

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Steve Jobs to turn the iPOD into a computer. He'd have to compete, and that's contrary to his strategic instinct. Like the Mac, iPOD will always aim for a niche that no one else wants.

8gig isn't too bad . . . that is a lot of photos - but what does that cost? There is no doubt that technology is getting close to meeting my check list of wants. In a couple of years, I am quite sure I will be a digital traveller.

But, what do you mean by the ipod being a market that no one wants? I thought everyone wanted in on that?? I keep hearing rumors about microsoft coming out with an &quot;ipod killer&quot; - I think they want in on a share of the action!

Hi Robespierre:
My wife &amp; I are going to Italy this winter -- and we are planning on bringing our ipaq 4155's with us for itenerary, Italian phrasebook, etc.
Questions:
Will we need to join a service to access wifi in Europe?

The 6-hour layover (ouch!) at JFK coming home from Milan this past spring was enough to make me start looking at notebooks again. But weight and battery life are always issues &amp; I'm still not sure the screen would be any better for DVD watching than the whopping 4x6 screen in the Alitalia headrests! ;-)

For interim data storage we took a foto-chute 20Gb mini-hard drive. I liked the one-button synch'n'download camera approach, but... no view screen for photo sharing and I was afraid I'd leave the dang thing plugged into an internet cafe PC! For reference, we tag-teamed the foto-chute with our Canon Elph cameras (4 &amp; 5 megapixels models) and after 3 1/2 weeks, still only took 8 Gig's of pix. Seemed light to me!

ski - I don't know if you can easily find open WiFi networks in Italy or not. They're fairly ubiquitous throughout the UK and France.

SkiItaly, we were in Rome, Florence, Venice, and Santa Margherita Ligure (Italy) this past May. We had an iBook, and needed internet access in each of those cities. There are internet stations, cafes, and pubs in those cities. which are rather expensive per hour for hard-wire usage, and take strict precautions to register your passport. I don't remember exactly what we paid to purchase an hour of time. It wasn't exorbitant, but it adds up if you need access daily.

Some hotels we found have WiFi in their lobbies, like the Hotel Columbina in Venice, which charged us a less expensive rate to use their lobby wireless accessibility for 1.5 hours. Maybe your hotels will have WiFi or hardwire connectivity?

Thanks Robespierre &amp; MaureenB.

One other question -- the ipaq has GPS capabilities when used with a receiver &amp; mapping software. I've looked at the GPS threads -- and have been debating purchasing mapping software for Italy -- thoughts?

Right now, along with two desktops (different O/S's), we have two laptops and an iPaq. So far, we've only taken computing equipment along when we'll be based in one spot and not always then. A recent weekend trip to Puebla, MX our guide consisted of 6 photocopied sheets from books, in my backpocket. Kind of freeing, but that's not to say that another trip couldn't benefit from gadgetry.

Been thinking a lot about your fondness for the pocket PCs. I haven't warmed up to ours yet (bought it for my wife). I think it's the tiny keys/stylus interaction that I haven't adapted to yet. I'm comfortable in front of an iSeries terminal, various flavors of Unix on whatever, even the old VAX and Warp stuff... but then, I still remember poo-pooing Windows when it first came out when I realized it was still going to use a dos kernel to start. &quot;Hah! People who need pictures to run a computer... bah humbug&quot;. hehe. I got over that. But so far, what's left of my mind says that if I have to poke a computer with a stick, it must be because it's dead. I'm likely to get over this too (although I'm not so sure my gnarled hands will).

So, in the interests of bettering our travel computing experience, if you had any favorite mapping and other travel related software you consistently enjoy using? Of course, I may still have to ask my better half drive the stylus.

I will take my Averatec laptop for all the info I saved in it. I hope I can use the WiFi that the Paris apartment we are renting has.
One added incentive is that we can listen to all kinds of streaming commercial free music.

Hi Robes,

You have convinced me to leave the trees at home for our 2008 trip to France (that and a near hernia from all those books). Your constant posts have made me re-evaluate the way I travel in the future.

Here are my wants and wishes. Any help is appreciated. I have been a MAC guy, so go gentle on me.

First, I am an avid planner and create my own &quot;guidebooks&quot; for our trips in word documents (by the way, I do this on my MAC if that makes a difference on what to buy and what is compatable). I also include photos of places we are going to travel.

What I am looking for is a laptop or even something smaller where I can put those documents and pictures to bring with me (sans heavy travel books), along with a good GPS system for navigating Dordogne, Languedoc, Provence, French Alps, Loire and Normandy (yes, it is going to be a long trip).

I would also like to input notes as I go instead of writing them out as I have done for years. My camera stores a ton of photos, but I suppose downloading to this laptop/hand held device would be a good thing, too.

Because I am no longer a young man (in years only dammit), I would like both a screen and keyboard that I can actually see and relatively easy buttons to access the different functions. Some of these devices have buttons so close to one another that hitting the wrong one seems an inevitability.

Hopefully this explains what I need, but if I have left anything out (I do not profess to be an expert in computers, only in what I need fror them to do), please ask.

Since I already have an IPOD (yeah, I'm one of those guys, but I did get it free), a music function on the device above is not necessary. I already have way too many songs.

Thanks.

Convert Tom
((H))

It looks as though the Chiclet&reg; keyboard and 3&quot; display found on palmtops isn't going to cut it for you, so a notebook seems to be indicated.

The very smallest ones - called &quot;subnotebooks&quot; - are very pricey, but if you would like something that will slip into a coat pocket, this is the deal. I'd stay away from Sony, because they have a considerable history of quality control issues.

The next-larger size is still small enough to tuck into a daybag, and doesn't cost any limbs. You can get a Compaq Presario at BestBuy for $499 - I don't know what the deal is on shipping.

There is rumor of Apple coming out with a new subnotebook within the next 6mos - a year. It very well may be available for a 2008 trip, and would give you the best compatibility with your Mac stoftware etc.

My Sony subcompact has been a dream to use, except for the THREE MONTH period when it wasn't working and no one at Fry's or Sony would believe me, or actually work on the stupid thing once they had it in their possession. I will absolutely buy a similar device in the future, from a different company.

The mini keyboard takes a little getting used to, but until the Sony started responding to the pressure of my %$^&amp;*( BREATHING to start clicking at random, it was tolerable. Nothing like being in the middle of a Fodor's post and having your computer suddenly jump backwards four screens, down two pages, and start typing in a password box somewhere instead. If I could figure out how to completely disable the built-in touchpad entirely I would. Plug in a wireless optical mouse and you can use it on your pants leg in a pinch.

But the thing is the size of a thick magazine, and fits in my briefcase just fine without even a protective sleeve, let alone a giant &quot;PLEASE ROB ME&quot; black nylon case.

Hard-core keyboard jockeys like me just need to make sure it has a Windows &quot;flag&quot; key. Without flag-e (Windows Explorer), flag-f (Find), and flag-r (Run) I wouldn't know what to do. My other pet peeve is directional keys (arrows, home, end, page up/down) that require using a Fn key. Barf. But for small size you have to make some sacrifices. As with cameras, if it's too bulky to carry around, it's not helping you.

The single biggest reason I wouldn't carry my computer on vacation is the temptation to read email. I get hundreds of emails a day and not reading them is one of the reasons I GO on vacations in the first place.

I knew this would be confusing to me. Thanks for your answers, although they just give more questions.

Robes: Which Compaq Presario (2000 or 6100)? It looks like they weigh only about six pounds...that's good.

Saltymuffin - I think I'll stay away from Apple on this one.

fnarf - I think the subcompacts or subnotebooks might be too small for me.

All - On the GPS front. I've seen Garmin, tomtom and others noted on posts. Do you load that in your car CD player or in the laptop/notebook you take along?

Sorry to be so clueless, but I blame Robespierre. Before he converted me to his way of thinking, I was happy with an IPOD and my Personal Guidebook that ended up weighing more than my clothes.

Change is good. Unfortunately, change for me is a little confusing. Thanks.

((H))

Selecting a Compaq is subject to the same rules as anything you buy: get the minimum capability you need at the lowest cost.

The standalone GPS units mentioned here either go in your pocket or on your dashboard. The one I use is a separate module that costs less than $100 and plugs into your laptop or palmtop computer. Check eBay for <b>streets trips gps</b> and you'll see dozens of offerings. For European maps, search for <b>autoroute</b>.

Merci!

((H))