Laptops and internet coverage

If travelling as above go Telstra / Bigpond wirelss as it the only realistic option IMHO

we have beed on the road for 2 1/2 years and have a Bigpond external modem (was the Maxon previously with external antennae connection, but newer models available I believe - go to Bigpond website)

we use an external antennae sold by Telstra MATCHED to the modem and have fantastic reception for internet/email etc when mobiles don't work

others are quite jealous of our reception at times

research thoroughly and talk to NON Telstra/ Bigpond retailers also

get a picture of what is available and what you need versus what you want

you can then come back to this forum and say will this setup work for us we want to do XXXX with it

hope this helps Baz

hi kristy
keep an eye on catch of the day they regulary have the "Asus eeepc 1000h" for under $500 A wonderful little machine Good reviews from all the computer magazines. Recommend you Google and have a look

Gooday,
Would strongly agree to go with Telstra for coverage, Modem, as said, a variety of same, we have Gateway and have had good resuts with that,
As far as a Laptop, if you only need to do E-mails and web searching etc they have come down a lot in price.We have Dell which we have had very good service from but you will get lots of other reccomendations on this.
Cheers,
Boroma 604.

If you're only doing a short trip and want casual access then you can use a Telstra NextG phone as a modem and save the cost of the USB stick.

Just picked up my junk mail - Retravision (in WA, at least) this week have an HP mini notebook with 10.1" screen, 1GB RAM, Windows 7 Starter, 160 GB HD, with a bonus external 250gb HD for $398. They don't come much cheaper than this. This sort of thing, with an Atom processor is not the fastest thing in the world, but works fine for emails, websurfing and OziExplorer.
cheers,
Gerry

Most of the new netbooks are supplied with 1gb ram running either XP or Win 7. Both will run fine on 1gig, unlike Vista. Be aware that Win 7 starter is missing a lot of features of the Home premium edition, go with a netbook on XP.

Travelled up west coast into NT and down through the centre then back across Nullabor last year and used my Toshiba laapy with a telstra stick modem. We had reception wherever we could get a Next G phone signal and the days we didn't we just enjoyed ourselves. Found we didn't need to be in touch "every day".

HP Pavillion Series laptops or the Lenovo range, whichever suits your budget. The pavillion is packed with features so would be a good choice and off course go with a Telstra Next G Card.

For ease of use and protection from viruses buy a Mac

They seem a bit expensive but check out the whole software package and remember you get what you pay for.

We have used them for years now laptops and desktops they are great stable machines.

I have had a HP Pavillion DV600 for nearly 3 years and it has been as tough as nails. Bought it of Ebay for $1100. We now have 3 in the family.

Travelled SA, NT & WA with a Vodfone dongle, worst coverage ever, even in CBD's.

I have gone to the Bigpond plan with the express card and external aerial, not that I have needed it yet. It worls out $7 a week dearer than Vodafone, but well worth it.

Cheers from Barra

I went for the Next G USB wireless device from Bigpond. Was not aware at the time that Telstra and Bigpond compete for your buisness with the same devices.
When you contact them be very specific what you want the device for and the expected use, as it took some 9 months and 6 devices to get a unit fit for purpose.

I did this, ie desktop at home and laptop while travelling with in some 9 months and 6 devices to get the right one even after telling them what I needed it for.

Your modem speed is related to Next G (mobile tower) signal strength so the ability to connect an external antenna capability which not all devices have is a big plus.

The Bigpond plans have recently been upgraded with more plan download and reduced price. They advertise this for new customers, but a call to them will get existing users onto the enhanced plans.

As for machines there are quite a few good 10-12" screen machines out there. Most of the 10" screen machines do not have a DVD player so software has to be loaded through a USB device or down loaded which will eat into your down load GB, but should only be once.

Any way good luck with your choices.