Nomad best laptops or tablets?

[urbankid12]

Looking to get a solid tablet/ laptop computer anybody got anything they would recommend? 

I’m looking for something to be recharged on 12 volt or usb battery packs. Low power usage using it for work such as light office use( no video editing and no watching videos since it won’t have internet direct but be used via hotspot)

Budget is is 200-400 might upgrade in a few years but looking for something solid for now.

Any idea or advice be much appreciated thank you!

 

[crofter]

Cyber Monday online sale - I got my laptop for $200 in 2015 and still going strong but out of date.
-crofter

 

[B and C]

You might think about a chromebook. Won't be near as expensive as windows and sure not near as expensive as an apple.

 

[highdesertranger]

I just got a new laptop back in November. a Lenovo with SSD. boy this thing is fast. it works for me, but I am no expert. highdesertranger

 

[mpruet]

I’d go with a refurbished I-pad air. Costs about $419.

https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/ipad/ipad-air

 

[maki2]

There a thousand devices that match your criteria out there as you really don't need all that much computing power. You could walk into any Target, Walmart, Fred Meyer, Best Buy, Office Depot, Costco, store and find something that will meet your needs for power consumption, computing power, reliability and be within your budget. All of those stores are open during the stay-at-home restrictions.

Regarding the 12v charger..... before you buy check to see if there is a 12v charger ready made for that particular device. They don't typically come with one but I was able to find one for my laptop on the company website and on Amazon. There are also aftermarket 12v chargers that will work for many of the devices. You can use keywords on Amazon to find them by entering the make and model number and the words 12v charger.

 

[iamk]

There are two costs I considered: 1) price 2) privacy

I found that privacy was proportional to price; I could get more privacy with a higher price and less privacy with a lower price.

For example, gmail is free in terms of price but expensive in terms of the privacy I would have to give up to use it.

I purchased a MacBook since it had the price/privacy tradeoff I was comfortable with.

 

[highdesertranger]

Fred Meyer sells computers??????

highdesertranger

 

[maki2]

Yes Fred Meyers stores I have shopped in have an electronics department with a selection of laptop computers including netbooks, that match the requirements of the poster. They do carry they known brands. They also carry I-pads as well as other tablets.  They typically have several  laptops on discount.   Maybe not every Fred Meyers has an electronics department, I have not visited all of them

 

[mpruet]

Well, I’m going to make another pitch for an I-Pad.  

You suggested a limit of $400.  For $329 you can get a refurbished I-Pad with 128 Gig memory.  That leaves you $70 which can be used to get a I-Pad cover with a typewriter keyboard.  Also the I-Pad is charged via a 12-volt USB port which meets another one of your requirements.  Looks like it meets all of your requirements to me.  

Also - and this is probably the best as far as I’m concerned - if you have an I-Pad, then you would have access to the Apple App Store.  From that you can get access to a LOT of apps - both gaming and productive.  A lot of the apps are free and those that aren’t are generally for less than $50.  I have budgeting tools, spread sheets, presentation tools, stock portfolio monitoring, email, video, Boondocking, Tax Preparation, my library, my music sheet portfolio, etc. loaded on mine.  Also in the past I was editing videos on my I-Pad, so have done some high-end processing on the I-Pad.  The only apps that I actually bought was for the video editor (Luma) and Tax Preparation (H&R Block).

During my working years I was a software engineer at a major corporation and had all kinds of laptops and desktops.  In my home lab I had two high-end desktops hosting 8 virtual systems all networked together so I could develop my multi-node software.  To this I also had two laptops - the company one and my personal one. When I retired, I retained my laptop and my I-Pad.  I got rid of all of the other equipment.  Since I wanted to be on the road a lot, I chose to switch as much as I could to the I-Pad because I wanted to save both space and minimize my power usage.  I’ve been amazed at just how much I could do on the I-Pad, how long the battery lasts, and how little power it consumed while being recharged.  I now do everything on the I-Pad and I would still consider myself to be a ‘power user’.  

I’m doubtful that I would ever go back.  I’m constantly amazed at how much I can do, how easy it is to get work done, how simple the user interface is to use, and how easy it is to find free or inexpensive software apps for any need that I might come up with.

 

[Random Painted Highway]

Does anyone here who uses a tablet/laptop on the road also utilize a large external monitor set up to use as a pseudo desktop? I think i could make that work for me, just wondering if it successful out there. As one gets older i like the larger screen for my eyes and ergonomics....i find with the tablet my posture/neck hurts after a awhile.

 

[mpruet]

I sometimes hook my I-Pad to my TV by using a Apple Fire / HDMI adaptor.

 

[Random Painted Highway]

I sometimes hook my I-Pad to my TV by using a Apple Fire / HDMI adaptor.

Good to know. Thanks for the advice.

 

[B and C]

I just connect an HDMI cable to my TV if I want to use my laptop.  My android tablet will cast its' screen to the TV too with a Miracast dongle: https://www.amazon.com/Actiontec-Sc...1591550274&sprefix=screen+cast,aps,195&sr=8-2  Keeps the clutter down with no cable between device and TV.

There are several ways to get a computer to show on your TV.

 

[jacqueg]

Well, I’m going to make another pitch for an I-Pad.  

I’m doubtful that I would ever go back.  I’m constantly amazed at how much I can do, how easy it is to get work done, how simple the user interface is to use, and how easy it is to find free or inexpensive software apps for any need that I might come up with.

Thinking about replacing my 6-year-old MacBookAir with an iPad. Only thing that is causing me hesitation is my music and movie library. I understand that iPads can now make use of external drives. Can you offer any advice as to best way to do this?

 

[Dingfelder]

Does anyone here who uses a tablet/laptop on the road also utilize a large external monitor set up to use as a pseudo desktop?  I think i could make that work for me, just wondering if it successful out there.  As one gets older i like the larger screen for my eyes and ergonomics....i find with the tablet my posture/neck hurts after a awhile.

Sounds like a problem with your tablet's cover, not your eyes or your tablet etc so much.  

I get tablet covers with a strap built into the loose cover part's inside, so that I can slip my fingers in there and hold it.  That way, it is always at the perfect angle to prevent strain.  No matter how I move my body and arm, it comes along for the ride, and I adjust it accordingly.  So there is never any strain. It's one of those very rare order-of-magnitude improvements that it is easy to think doesn't matter.  

So that's the ergonomics part.  If it isn't impossible to get better ergonomics than you can get with the proper jacket, please let me know.  

As to what's good for your eyes, besides removing the glare the way a tablet in the dark does automatically, font size.  I read in landscape with the font turned up quite a bit, and it works great for me.  In fact I read very quickly in comparison to regular books, which have me adjusting so constantly(and thereby losing momentum) that I took it for granted, not even noticing it until I saw that on a tablet with the right cover and font size, I was literally reading at least twice as fast.

 

[RVTravel]

Thinking about replacing my 6-year-old MacBookAir with an iPad. Only thing that is causing me hesitation is my music and movie library. I understand that iPads can now make use of external drives. Can you offer any advice as to best way to do this?

Article on connecting ipad to external drive.
https://www.imore.com/how-use-external-hard-drives-your-iphone-or-ipad

 

[thezenvan]

Thinking about replacing my 6-year-old MacBookAir with an iPad. Only thing that is causing me hesitation is my music and movie library. I understand that iPads can now make use of external drives. Can you offer any advice as to best way to do this?

I would recommend looking into upgrading to a SSD and increasing the RAM to 16GB, those two changes have the best ROI for older (5+ years) computers and are cheaper than getting a new device.

 

[highdesertranger]

please with the abbreviations. what does all that mean in terms I can understand. please define all abbreviations that are not listed in the rules.
highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

Unfortunately it is tech jargon which comes too easy for us

SSD = Solid State Drive which replaces a regular spinning hard disk drive.
Ram 16Gb = is the size of the memory workspace on a computer.

This still may not be clear