What Laptops are Best for Travel?

What To Look For In a Laptop For Travel
Up until recently, trying to work while traveling was very difficult, for many a majority of work these days requires use of the internet. For me, I can’t use WordPress to edit my articles and reviews and check my HTML coding unless I’m online. So I would have had to just work in Word or in txt edit if I wanted to code. Well times have changed, airlines and airports are finally doing extra things that are not required of them. Wireless internet is now available in a lot of airports for pretty economical prices, especially if you are frequent traveler. What is surprising is that even some airlines are beginning to offer wireless internet. I flew Alaskan Airlines this past weekend (no, I was not in Alaska), and wireless internet was $5 on the plane. As much fun and productive as it can be to have wireless on a plane, internet is a big drain on battery life, so having laptop with respectable battery life is that much more important.

Other important features for a laptop you plan to travel with is build quality and compactness. While build quality sounds like it should speak for itself, there are some misconceptions. While a heavier laptop may feel better made and stronger because of its heft, a lighter laptop will hold up better being knocked around in a bag because its weight won’t break itself. Macs are extremely well made, don’t get me wrong, but a big Macbook Pro such as the 17inch or even a 15 inch can get dented or put pressure on important parts such as the hard drive or processor when getting knocked around on a bus or at security in an airport. Something like the Macbook air with its solid state hard drive is going to be very secure.
Build quality wise, while having a $2000 HP toughbook that can withstand bullets is not necessary, but certain features such as Lenovo’s spill resistant keyboard is a nice touch. On the plane from Seattle this weekend, I saw someone struggle with their drink and 15 inch laptop, managing to spill her diet coke all over her keyboard. After her freak-out and furiously wiping it with napkins, everything turned out ok (I think she had a ThinkPad which is the business standard, and therefore pretty much spillproof). While on the plane I was taking the Sony W netbook out for a spin (10 inch screen) and the tray table easily fit it along with my water and a bag of pretzels. This leads me to my next point, compactness.

It is nice to have a small laptop for traveling purposes, but it is especially nice when on the plane. Have you ever had someone lean back and knock your computer screen closed? I know I have. With the Sony netbook though I had no problem, and I doubt anyone would with any netbook would.

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