Mobiles/netbook or notebooks?

Go with Telstra Next G for best phone coverage.

If you can do without a PC for 8 weeks, get a Smart Phone. My Nokia 5800 (does not work on NextG) does email, Skype over 3G and WiFi, GPS turn by turn, etc etc. Maybe an iPhone although Skype over 3G may be a problem.

I had a choice of a high end Netbook or low end laqptop recenlty when I had to replace my 6 year old Sony - went for a low end 14" Compaq laptop which has better features than a netbook and far better spec'd than my year old work Dell that cost twice the price. 1Kg heavier and I have 2 batteries to get around the same battey life as a netbook. Happy as with my decision.

Stevesub

Totally agree, If you want a small netbook with a next g usb wireless dongle, if you want research new destinations/ entertainment/ skype/ email/ blog/ navigation software.

shop around you can pick up stuff cheap, graysonline has cheap netbooks/ laptops.

I hope this helps.

hi Belfastgirl

have to agree, go with telstra for phone and internet ( wireless) for your trip, i have optus at the moment and when my contract is up i am changing over to telstra.
We have just had 4 weeks through NT and Queensland and only Telstra worked in the remote areas.
Talk to them and explain where you are going they will help
Dick

Hi, I have a Acer laptop & a Nokia 6720 next G phone with a data pack which we use for exactly what you have asked about. have had it for over 2 years.
Last August we travelled up from SA to Brisbane ( 4x4 and van) and back down to central NSW and were very happy with the coverage,
We are on a plan with home phone etc and the data packs are cheaper than with a Pre paid dongle( stick) .
We get 200 meg for $10.00 a month and you can turn it on and off when you dont need it,
Just plug the phone in ( or use the bluetooth) and you are connected in 10 seconds,
We found that amount was ample to check the Emails everyday and check the net for maps and info, also talked to family in WA & SA on Skype , a bit of Google Earth as well and we never used anywhere our allowance.
I usually check the mail on my server page and delete the singing and dancing jokes and Emails , anything with music and video's uses a fair bit of data,
also if the laptop has wireless built in a lot of C/parks have free internet , we used that when ever it was available.
Happy with that set up , works well, you can get bigger data packs , $20.00,- 500, $35.00 - 1gig, & so on.
When you get home , ring and they just turn it off untill you are off on holidays again.

Cheers Des.

Telstra has the best coverage. So get a telstra mobile and Telstra wireless broadband in the form of a USB stick.

About an hour on Skype will use about 100MB of data. So 1gig of data should be enough

The upload and download speeds vary with wireless so on some occasions Skype might be a bit iffy but mostly ok.

Telstra next G only real option for telephone.

Then either Internet kiosks/cafes, or USB dongle or data pack for email.

Netbook or Notebook?

Lots of bulldust flying around about this subject.

Essential specs for both are USB2 and Windows XP, hard drive at least 160gig. Personally I'd avoid Windows Vista (too slow on low end computers), but Windows 7 probably ok.

For netbook, most brands are ok, I recommend you buy cheapie say $300-$400. Atom 450 processor preferred, Atom 280 ok. Remember they are only 'Internet appliances' and are excellent for emails and photo downloads. They can do some regular PC stuff as well, but can be slow with movies. Most too slow to run TV dongles. No DVD options. Look for long battery life, 4-8 hours may be possible.

Notebooks are good desktop replacements, and 90% of them have DVD burners, and play movies ok. Get a Pentium or Core 2 or better processor. I'd avoid the slower Celeron. Some can run TV dongles. Get XP or Windows 7. Battery life way lower than netbooks, but 2-4 hours is possible.

Don't get snowed by people trying to sell you 'top end' and 'high spec' 'futureproof' stuff. These things are cheap and therfore disposable, last about 2-6 years.

Personally, I'd be getting a netbook for travel, 'cos it's small and cheap.

I'd avoid the 'does everything' box. If you want movies, get a TV/DVD as well.

Recommend you buy at large retailer with professional assistants like Harvey Norman or Officeworks.

Yes, JB hifi and Dick Smith are also possibles, but I've found that the young gelled-hairs serving at JB Hifi treat me (54 years old) like a fool (maybe because I ask critical questions), an I reckon many Dick Smith assistants are just not qualified.