Once in a while I run across equipment that offers me more flexibility when traveling. I am always looking for smaller and lighter.  Less weight and less space are important.

For a photographer, having a means to view and save digital photographs while in the field is important.  I have used a Vosonic VP8360 unit for viewing and saving photographs on it’s 120GB hard drive, but I have been disappointed with the resolution on it’s tiny screen, although Vosonic has not let me down ever; it’s a great company with wonderful personalized support.

Recently, while visiting CompUSA, I saw an Acer Aspire One laptop.  I was attracted to the device because of it’s size.  It measures 9.8 X 6.7 X 1.14 inches and weighs 2.19 pounds.

It has a terrific LCD high resolution screen with 1024 X 600 pixel resolution.

Moreover, I was impressed with it’s price.  I paid $380 for the 160GB model.

I was amazed at what the little device can do.  First there is WIFI built in, meaning that I can connect to the Internet wirelessly.  Second, it has three USB ports, and more importantly two card slots that read SD card media including SDHC.  So, with no adapter, I can offload photos taken on SD cards directly to the hard drive.  And, with my external 120GB drive I have more than enough space to keep two copies of all my shots over a month long period or more.

Important too is how well it is made, it must be reasonably rugged.  I have found the Aspire One to be a quality product, equal in all respects to machines costing hundreds of dollars more.

It took me about two hours to set up the machine the way I like.  I have loaded Firefox and Thunderbird, added software to sync with my Nokia E71 Cellphone, installed a bluetooth adapter so I can use a bluetooth mouse, and then installed Irfanview, wonderful free software that will allow me to review shots I have made, including RAW files.  I don’t expect to be doing any major Photoshop work while traveling so I have not loaded the software.  What I have is a great device for storing my photos while on the go, a device with a high resolution screen for viewing photos, a device that will allow me to tether to my E71 when I am not near a wifi connection, and connectivity to a hotspot for surfing the web or reading email on the go.

It has a lot more stuff, but the items I have mentioned are the ones I will use constantly.

Including from time to time adding entries to my blog while on the road.

But what I like most is it’s size.  Less is better.

Setup was painless for a Windows machine.  I’m a Mac user and I expected lots of difficulties configuring the PC Home software, but I have to admit, it went smoothly.

So, now I have a small and easy-to-tote laptop that will help me out on the road.  And all for less than $400!  And the good news is that it will fit quite nicely in my LowePro Mini Trekker AW camera backpack!

And, BTW, if you love travel and photography, stop by Photo Travel Review.  In fact, submit an article there, there are thousands of folks who would love to hear about your latest travel adventure.