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My Galaxy Tab, along with the keyboard/case that I bought to accompany it.
I have a modest laptop. Not too big; not too small. Enough oomph to render a video (slowly) now and then. It has now traveled to Mexico, Spain, Greece, France, and Italy and served me well. It is named “Gulliver,” in honor of its many travels.
Alas, with accessories, Gulliver weighs more than five pounds. He travels with case, a power brick, a wireless mouse, a charger for the wireless mouse, and a backup hard disk.
I just bought a tablet – the Samsung eight-inch Galaxy 3 pictured above. To my mind, a seven-inch tablet is too small (especially for word processing) and a ten-inch tablet is too heavy.
That, you see, that is my motivation: reducing weight. The Samsung weighs eleven ounces.
Bingo! I just saved four pounds. That may not sound like much, but four pounds is more than ten percent of the target weight for my travels going forward. (It’s remarkable what effect all those bridges in Venice had on my ideal target weight.)
The tablet will replace Gulliver when we leave for Mexico. It’s a bold experiment: Can I edit photos, do all my writing, and maintain the blog with an eleven-ounce tablet? Any opinions?
The Expat Almanac 
I’ll be traveling soon with just an iPad instead of a laptop for exactly the same reason…..weight. I can type on it just fine but photo editing is a challenge, as is filling out forms. Let me know how you get on.
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Debbie, I have been using the Photoshop app for Tablets. Since I am a Photoshop user from way back, it’s familiar and surprisingly adept. It’s not free, but I felt it was worth what I paid for it. How’ve, be sure to get a stylus for it. Exciting photos with fingers just doesn’t cut it. (BTW, the photo at the top of this post is a totally two exposures. I layered the tablet on top of the original exposure.)
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It sounds like a win/win, Tom. Let me know how it works. I have held back on the tablet but my laptop is too big to take out of the house and the IPhone is too small.
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Tom, It looks like a great choice. I wasn’t aware of the product so I’ll have to check it out. And I’m with you on reducing any weight possible. We always joke that our apartment ends up on the 3rd or 4th floor with no lift! Arrgh!
We’re traveling with an ipad (9″ at 1.5 lbs) to blog on – with its own pros and con. The light weight is obviously a huge plus. Sometimes getting things to “look right” is more challenging. Can’t wait to hear how you like your new Gulliver. ~Terri
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Terri & Linda — Louise just bought a ten-inch Samsung Galaxy 3 (with keyboard), so we’ll be able to make a direct comparison. So far, the eight-inch of mine is OK. There are multiple compromises, but light Photoshopping and everyday word processing are working well, so it’s definitely going to Mexico. without a computer.
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Hey Tom. To follow on from Terri’s comment, we blogged for 6 months on our last RTW with our iPad and it worked out fine (with a few adjustments and compromises). But I decided a keyboard would help, and after buying one and using it for a while, I’ve decided that I like typing on the screen better. The keyboard only weighs a few ounces, but it’s a nuisance to carry. Is screen typing an option for you? ~James
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Been thinking about that, James. Using a Swype-like keyboard certainly helps with things like email, as does dictation, but for long-form writing I like a keyboard. I may change my mind…
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Reblogged this on Android Bethy.
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Tablets are great and I think you’ll be able to do everything you want for your blog. As an iPad owner I had a bit of trouble with my blog posting until I discovered an app called Blogsy. Not sure if there’s anything similar for Galaxy?
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Thanks for the tip, Roses. I checked out Blogsy and sadly, it’s not for Android. Too bad: it looks like a handy app!
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