If you’re contemplating adding an ultra-portable laptop to your traveling writer arsenal, a recent set of AT&T ads featuring Bill Kurtis has probably intrigued you. AT&T has a promotion where you can get a mini-netbook for $199 when signing up for a service plan.
You get that final price after rebates and instant savings, but many tech blogs criticize the plan, saying the final cost of the laptop is far more expensive because of the $60-per-month data plan (for 5gb of transfer). When your two year contract is over, you’ll have paid as much for the data plan as you would have for the laptop.
It’s easy for freelancers to get swayed by these arguments, but I always remind my friends that data plans, laptop costs and other expenses can be written off, so that’s a bit of a moot point, at least for me. I know there is calculator voodoo you could do here, but I’ve already moved on, thanks. Continue reading The $199 Netbook? →
They aren’t the fastest machines on the block but these lightweight Acers are perfect for an ultra-cash-strapped freelancer who needs a small laptop specifically for writing and hitting deadlines on the go. Here’s the rub on these sale-priced Acer Aspire One AOD 150-1920 laptops selling for just under $300 at Amazon.com.
- A 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor
- 10-inch screen
- 6-cell battery provides up to 6 1/2 hours of battery in theory. We don’t know how they hold up in the field, but if you’re writing and surfing, you should be able to get fairly decent life out of them. Reviews say the battery does indeed perform longer than 5 hours under the right conditions.
- Windows XP Home
- 160GB Hard Drive, 1GB RAM, Integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi Certified
Again, these are NOT the state-of-the-art, but anyone who needs connectivity for under $400 is sure to be tempted. And yes, the price is for the ruby red model pictured here. This is one seriously portable machine. Don’t try to run video editing programs on this baby, but for your travel writing needs, the price is right.
Chicago-based content writing, editing, and social media. 1579 N. Milwaukee #220, Chicago Illinois 60622
