Comments on: Finding a Laptop You Can Use in Coach

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:53:30 +0000

Sorry hit post by mistake.

I have been using it since May. It is VERY easy to type on. I have the first model so my HDD is only 60GB and Sony uses a lot of that out of the box.

It does have a decent amount of USB ports.

However, I also have an Acer Aspire One and that one is less than 50% of the cost, bigger harddrive, and still at 8.9″ screen is still small enough for plane use.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:50:56 +0000

I have a Siny P500 and they are great for airline use and everywhere else (as I type on her).

This is actually my second one because I left my 1st one in my first class seat on a NWA flight. So be warned… they are easy to misplace.

By: CF

CF — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:06:47 +0000

Thank you everyone for the input. I ended up with a Toshiba. I knew that I wanted built-in 3G, so that narrowed the field dramatically. I really liked the new Nokia netbook but that is tied only to AT&T and their coverage sucks. I looked at the HP ones, but I hated the keyboard. In the end, the Toshiba had just about everything I wanted including a good keyboard. And, if you’re willing to sign a two year contract (which was fine with me), you can get it for a mere $199 at Best Buy. What a deal.

By: rick ingersoll

rick ingersoll — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:13:49 +0000

Acer Aspire One with 8.9″ screen, extended cell battery for 5+ hours of life. Load with Window XP. 2 pounds

About $250 with shipping.

But then again, I am the Frugal Travel Guy

By: Marshall Jackson

Marshall Jackson — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:32:47 +0000

Purchased a Toshiba T135 just before Thannksgiving and love it. 3.8 lbs, and I was able to use it in coach last weekend.

By: David

David — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:55:55 +0000

How about simply flying JetBlue, with the most seat pitch available in coach, and saving yourself the cash to buy a laptop… problem solved!

By: Sofia

Sofia — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:30:48 +0000

I used an 8 inch laptop when I was travelling around for 8 months this year, but I found it slightly too small for my liking. If you’re looking to spend a lot of time on the computer (for example with your blogging) you might find it difficult with such a small screen and keyboard.

I actually bought a new one recently, slightly bigger (eee pc 1005HA 10″) with an ergonomic keyboard. Made a huge difference!! Easy to type and the 2 inches larger screen makes a big difference.

I initially wanted the Mac book 13 inch one, but found it too expensive bringing with me on the road.
If money isn’t a problem, check that one out, it seems awesome!!

Good luck!!

By: MathFox

MathFox — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:08:11 +0000

I am the happy owner of an Asus EeePC 900 (out of production now); the machine accompanies me on all overnight trips (and some day trips too). It is easy to carry around, the average economy class table has enough space to work with it and (partly) thanks to the SSD the machine is robust, it hardly received a scratch in 1½ years. I use it for web surfing, web-mail, light editing tasks and giving presentations; moving files to and from my main workstation over my home network. It is a secondary machine in most respects, except that I plug some external speakers in at home and use it as my main music player. Only negative point is battery life (~1.5 hours).

Yes, there are cheaper netbooks available than the Sony, but carefully look at the size and specs. Battery life and size/weight are important if you are on the road a lot; having 3G built in is convenient too instead of hooking on an external GSM. A netbook is no replacement for a full-blown PC, but can replace a laptop if you have a good machine to work on at home.

By: Beth

Beth — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:27:01 +0000

I have the an Asus 10-inch from Amazon. I also but an additional 2GB of memory. I love this machine, and the brushed aluminized case does not show fingerprints. Also, the battery life is close to 5 hours before a recharge. Specifics below:

ASUS Eee PC 1002HA 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 10 GB Eee Storage, XP Home) Brushed Aluminized. $4414.88

Crucial 2GB 667 Mhz CT25664AC667 DDR2 200-Pin SODIMM Laptop Memory, $23.98

By: Jay

Jay — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:10:59 +0000

The mini Dell notebook is nice. I find that using any of the minis for more than a couple hours is maddening, but it is so nice to have a tiny little device that can perform. The flash hard drives are lightning quick.