Small Laptop for Travelling Europe ~ $300 Price Range

dbadcock on 06/03/2015 - 21:39
Last edited 06/03/2015 - 21:40

Hello All,

I'm looking at backpacking Europe in the coming months, and have come to the conclusion that my smartphone won't be up to the task for everyday computing needs. (Researching places to go, booking flights, ect.)

The laptop doesn't need to be fast, or have lots of storage. Which I am willing to sacrifice for Battery Life and Cost.

I have 3 laptops that I am currently looking at

The HP Stream 11 with 2gb Ram Celeron 2840 6hrs battery life 32gb SSD $287 DSE
The Lenovo 11.6 with 2gb Ram Celeron 2830 5.5hrs battery life 500GB hdd $299 JB
The Asus EEEBook 11.6in 2gb Ram Atom 3735f 10hrs battery life 32gb SSD $328 JB

Has anybody had any experience with these laptops? Or could give me any insight into build quality?
Or could recommend anything else.

Thanks

Computing

Comments

  • RockyRaccoon on 06/03/2015 - 21:47
    +2

    No experience with any of those, but have you looked at a tablet instead, lighter with longer battery life, and still give you all the internet access you may need.

    • iridiumstem on 06/03/2015 - 21:51
      +2

      Just adding onto this, if you need Windows, why don't you get a Windows tablet with keyboard dock?

  • dbadcock on 06/03/2015 - 21:50

    Hi RockyRaccoon. I have had experiences with tablets, but so far none of them have been enjoyable, even with a keyboard and mouse. Much prefer to have a small laptop. - Out of interest, which tablets would have longer battery life than 10 hours?

    • iridiumstem on 06/03/2015 - 21:53

      HP Pavilion X2, Toshiba Encore 1 in Windows Tablet department (I am not sure other ones, but those ones are known for their battery life)

  • dbadcock on 06/03/2015 - 21:56

    Cool, thanks for the information. And Yes, Windows would be my preferred operating system. I like the Pavilion X2 but it is a little bit more than what I was looking at spending for a travel laptop.

    • scrimshaw on 06/03/2015 - 22:23
      +2

      Inspiron 11 via the Dell Outlet. It has a touchscreen and 4GB of RAM. It also folds back on itself, allowing you to use it in a tablet configuration, which is very handy for one-handed use. I find the lack of RAM in the low end netbooks disturbing.

      It is however, slightly thicker and heavier than the current crop of netbooks featuring eMMC storage, but it does boast better storage performance as a result. You can even upgrade to an SSD which will put cheap eMMC storage to shame.

      • Geekomatic on 07/03/2015 - 14:21

        1 @ 369.00 left. 14 @ $427.

        I agree— I'd def get this over an anemic tablet, any day!

      • mrmarkau67 on 07/03/2015 - 16:42

        +1 for the Inspiron. Its surprisingly well built for this price level. Screen is bright with good angles, picks up fingerprints though, and sound is great. Keyboard good, trackpad awful.

        Its horribly slow to start up. Would be good if you could stretch your budget to an SSD to remedy this.

  • danield on 06/03/2015 - 23:32

    Im off to Europe next week and recently got the Toshiba Encore 2 from this deal
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/183026
    I originally had been shopping for a netbook, as my main purpose besides booking and researching on the go is to back pictures up from the SD card.

    I have to say I am really happy with the Windows 8 in the tablet form. Works well as a tablet, plays videos and music no issues.
    And by adding a small Bluetooth keyboard and small USB mouse it is completely functional as a computer being able to install all my usual applications I would use.

    • Geekomatic on 07/03/2015 - 14:22

      Dell outlet has their Venue 8 for $173. Has good ratings that I see…

      FYI to all

      • iridiumstem on 08/03/2015 - 12:59

        I think the Venue 8 you are referring to is the Venue 8 Pro (with 2GB RAM), the Windows tablet one.

        The ones in Dell Outlet right now are Android ones and the Windows one with 1GB RAM.

  • Bystander on 07/03/2015 - 19:41

    Just to throw something else into the mix
    http://goo.gl/NRv7KB
    11 hours battery
    1.3kg
    c$326

  • andyman1908 on 07/03/2015 - 21:59

    I purchased a refurb Toshiba Satellite NB10t from graysonline for $185 (+$30 postage). Decent specs for the price, 11.6HD Touch/Cel N2810/4GB/500GB/Intel HD 4000. Noticeable slower than my HP I5 ultrabook (screen is busted), and will take time to get used to the keyboard, and screen is way glarey but nice and compact and will do me well commuting to and from work.

  • shaybisc on 08/03/2015 - 10:34

    All of the 3 you mention will meet your needs and all of them have received favourable reviews.

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