When buying a laptop for travelling, there are a few features that are must-haves. The focus here is on travelling, not commuting. Your laptop should be able to adapt to the conditions and requirements that may occur during a visit to another country and not merely catching the train into work every day.
Portability
When it comes to laptops for travelling, size matters. Unlike the RAM, once you buy your laptop, you’re locked into whichever size you pick until it’s time to get a new one. If portability is a priority, then a smaller size is not always the only feature on which to concentrate.
Some laptop brands on the market are associated with being considerably lighter and thinner than their counterparts. This is a feature that is immediately apparent when comparing the brands side by side, and you don’t need to read the specs to see this. Unfortunately, the thinner and lighter a laptop model is, the more expensive the purchase price will be.
If you’re a regular traveller and carry your laptop with you wherever you go, then paying out the extra money for a lightweight laptop model may be the best option. Shop for computers that have screen sizes of 31,75 cm to 33,7 cm and weights between 1 to 1.5 kgs. Remember that your laptop will have to be continuously pulled in and out of your backpack during security checks, so keep it handy and secure.
Battery Life
Travelling with a laptop that has poor battery longevity is one of the leading causes of digital nomad unhappiness. A laptop becomes a useless dead weight when it can’t hold a charge. There are plenty of laptops and notebooks that have battery endurance of up to nine hours; more than enough to see you to your next charge-up.
You can also consider buying a model that makes room for an extended battery option. This can extend the battery function of a laptop to around 16 hours. Checking that the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are switched off when not in use saves battery as well.
Storage Space
Look for laptops that will easily be able to store everything you need because access to mobile data or reliable Wi-Fi is not always guaranteed. Check there is sufficient hard drive for pics and videos or invest in an external hard drive or cloud drive.
Remember that the more storage space a laptop has, the heavier it will be. Keeping videos and photos on a portable hard drive is a much better, and lighter, option.
Processing Power
You will need a higher price-range laptop if you plan to work while travelling. If you are not a professional digital nomad it’s a better idea to stick to budget models; social media posts and watching downloads only need simple functionality.
If you plan on running high-resolution videos or an editing program, then your laptop needs to have more processing power. When you need access to gaming, high-resolution streaming, or 3D designer programs, it is easier to buy a separate graphics chip that won’t take up a chunk of RAM. When too much of your laptop’s RAM is used it slows down the overall performance of your device.
Even if you don’t need more processing power in your laptop, it is still a good idea to buy an integrated graphics chip. If you want to get one that shares system memory, then make sure your computer has this function.
To enjoy your travels with the perfect equipment by your side, buying a laptop (could be using Afterpay if you don’t have the budget right now) that is reliable and fully insured is the best way to be able to relax and enjoy your journey.
Robert runs most of the daily operations at Clever Shop List. From finding new categories to cover, to researching to blog content, he makes sure everything stays up to date and is running smoothly. He is an expert on consumer behaviour.
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