Mobile computing choices are increasingly becoming more like trying to purchase a pair of shoes. When I go to the store with my kids to buy their plethora of athletic shoes I need to know what what sport with which they will be used: basketball, softball, or football? Each type of shoe has a unique purpose in order to do its job well. For example, I wouldn't buy them metal spiked cleats for the gym floor so why do I see MANY air travelers literally lugging around 17-inch desktop replacements as mobile laptops?
Now I know what you're thinking, it costs a lot of money to purchase multiple PC's for specific uses. Not really.
Here's how I did it:
- Purchased a slightly used Asus Eee 701 7-inch netbook from a disappointed user from Craig's List for very little because he thought it too small for daily use. Paid $300.
- Bought a 1st generation iPhone from a buddy of mine when he told me that was upgrading to the new 3G version. I unlocked and jailbroke this unit the first day I had it. I now use it on T-Mobile and it runs on WiFi with my trusty ATT login at all McDonald's, most airports, and all Starbucks. Paid $125.
- A work provided Dell 12-inch D410 laptop.
- And lastly upgraded my Blackberry Curve to the T-Mobile G1 running Google's open source mobile platform, Android. Upgrade fee $175.
So for the price of mid-range laptop I now have three separate units for a total of $600. The above mobile computers are particularly adapted for traveling and/or remote users. So now, I too have a "shoe" for every playing surface.
