Help Me Pick a Travel Laptop

November 20, 2014 7:50 AM

I will be traveling internationally for two weeks and so I need to get a laptop to work on while I am gone. Please help me pick the best option. I am struggling between getting a dedicated laptop or something like the Surface Pro.

I am a university professor and I don't do a lot of traveling. I will be teaching in Saudi Arabia for two weeks in January and I need to be able to do work while I am there. I already have an iPad Air, but I don't really like using that as my full machine. I can spend really whatever would give me the best use, but the main issue is opportunity cost, I would prefer to spend less so that I can use that money later for other things.

I need to be able to run Office and Stata. I have been thinking about getting a Surface because then when I get home, I have another tablet that my wife or kids could use. I won't use a laptop much after the trip.

posted by bove to Computers & Internet (14 answers total)

Dedicated laptop and Surface Pro are going to be comparable in costs.

I have faculty that use Stata on a Surface 2. It works well for all but the most demanding of users.

Since opportunity costs is what's important to you, and you are going out of the country, have you considered engaging your local IT support person and asking for a loaner?

If one of my users was going out of the country I would build them a box with the caveat that when it comes back I am wiping it clean, so it's not a long-term deployment with tons of installs and customization. It's what you need to do your work and that's it.

I'd also give them the least best box capable of doing what was needed. Not a new off the shelf, but a three year old serviceable laptop that I won't cry if it gets busted or doesn't make it back through customs.

Also, investigate the travel requirements of the country you are visiting. Some get wonky about things like encryption, so don't put any personal data on there at all.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:00 AM on November 20, 2014

I would take a Macbook Air then sell it once I got back. Apple kit has good resale value.
posted by gorcha at 8:15 AM on November 20, 2014

For two weeks, could you get a dedicated keyboard to convert your iPad to something which is easier for you to work on? It seems that, unless you actually need a laptop for things other than this trip, purchasing one is a poor investment.
posted by ChuraChura at 8:55 AM on November 20, 2014

Your university IT dept doesn't have anything you can borrow? You could investigate renting a Macbook Air for a couple of weeks. Laptop rental is a thing that exists.
posted by Leon at 9:00 AM on November 20, 2014

Seconding check with your university - the library at my university rents out laptops for short-term and long-term use, and they are usually decent, although never the newest, coolest models. As a professor you might have access to better loaners/rentals than students do if you check directly with your department or IT.

If that's not an option, you might be able to find a really basic Windows laptop for pretty cheap (especially with Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals going on soon) - you could use it to run Office and Stata only, and keep it around after your trip as a basic working computer. My partner and I have done that to be able to use SAS off-campus and traveling, and we've been pretty happy having the extra laptop around in the long term.
posted by augustimagination at 9:14 AM on November 20, 2014

If you don't like using your ipad as a full computer you aren't likely going to like any other tablet.

I have a Thinkpad X1 Carbon that is tough, light and small, I really like most things about it, it's very fast and weighs less than 3lbs.
posted by Cosine at 9:19 AM on November 20, 2014

A Surface is much more like a typical laptop than it is like an iPad. However, for similar cost, a low-end Mac or mid-range Windows system can be had. The Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro is making many of the best light laptop lists right now. It's more laptoppy than a Surface rig, but can function as a clunky tablet as well, mostly so it can be used as a media device, I think.

Do worry about data security. See if your university has a vpn service or investigate the cost of a private one. Access to your mail and your documents need to be protected. Keep as little as you can on the local machine.
posted by bonehead at 9:28 AM on November 20, 2014

I would go for the surface pro 3 or a lenovo yoga. You can probably get a $10 version of office through your university.
The surface pro feels completely different than using an iPad. It is not as good for long typing sessions as a full tablet, but is much easier than an iPad for doing productive work sessions/staying in touch.
posted by troytroy at 11:07 AM on November 20, 2014

I had not even thought about finding a loaner or rental. I just emailed my IT group to see if that is possible. I looked into borrowing a laptop from the library, but that doesn't look feasible for two weeks. My main reason for thinking of a Surface, was that I could use it as a tablet when I get back. That way if I buy something new, I will still be able to use it when I get home. All of these comments so far have been helpful.
posted by bove at 11:14 AM on November 20, 2014

It's unclear from your posting whether you normally only use a tablet, or a laptop or desktop computer. I would think that you would want something as close to your normal work situation as possible.

Anyway, whatever you do, prior to traveling, I recommend putting in place a cloud-based backup scheme, either using something like CrashPlan (if using a laptop) or else by using something like Dropbox or Google Drive to store your files (if using a tablet or if you don't like a true backup system like CrashPlan). This helps guard against loss, theft, confiscation, hardware failure, and other problems that have a nasty habit of happening at the least convenient times.
posted by StrawberryPie at 11:16 AM on November 20, 2014

At work I use a desktop with two monitors. I don't work from home at all. I use my iPad as a leisure device, mainly to read ebooks, check email, etc. I already use Dropbox for all of my files. While I am gone from work I need to be able to work, but mostly I will be writing and editing documents.
posted by bove at 11:21 AM on November 20, 2014

Turns out my department has a MacBook Air I can borrow. Seems like a perfect solution.
posted by bove at 5:54 PM on November 20, 2014

You can even have them put Windows on it, and depending on license Stata (though that program is cross platform). Glad you got this one!
posted by cjorgensen at 5:35 PM on November 21, 2014

Seconding Thinkpad X1 Carbon. I have one with a 512 GB SSDD and it's effin' awesome. NB: If you're a pure touch typist the keyboard layout takes a little getting used to.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:59 AM on November 22, 2014