Most packable tablet/laptop capable of:

Hello fellow inmates here is the situation:

I'm planning a long trip for next year on my wr250x. On the trip I will be taking lots of pictures and videos that I would like to keep organized day-to-day(ish). I want to avoid bringing tons of MicroSD cards and then trying to go through and make sense of them all when my trip is over. Being a small bike packing space is obviously of utmost importance. What I'm hoping to accomplish with the device is the following:

-Transfer pictures and video to an external HD
-Record daily thoughts/plans
-Access the internet (wifi only)
-Possibly some light video editing (this isn't a requirement)

The new Windows Surface tablet things seem like they might fit the bill. I like the keyboard, and its very compact. But I'm not sure if one can handle the tasks I would like it to. The Chromebooks seem promising too, but I don't really know much about them.

Most of the small laptops I've seen are $1000+ which is more than I'm willing to spend. Maybe a used one is what I'm looking for?

Thoughts/Advice?

I have a nexus 7 and it is capable of all of all the above except transferring to an external hard drive.

Record: Text, video, speech to text, etc.
Internet: Obviously
Video Editing: Yes. My CyanogenMod nexus has a built in app for this, but I'm sure there is something on the play store.

The external hard drive is tough. What you could do is use the USB OTG feature to pull the pictures and videos off your memory cards, get rid of the ones you don't want, and use the same USB OTG to transfer to a large thumb drive. You might be a little limited on storage, but between a 32gb nexus, a 128gb thumb drive you should have enough space I would think. The ability to edit, tag and organize would be the most help. The downside is process flow, you would likely have to transfer to the nexus, then off load to the thumb drive as opposed to just sending it to an external drive. You might be able to USB hub it and connect two devices, but I'm nor sure.

Biggest thing, $250 tablet, $25 USB OTG cable, $100 thumb drive, and all of it could fit in a large pocket.

Buy a second gen nexus 7.

32 GB one is around 270 bucks. Next, get the app Nexus Media Importer. This allows you to use flash drives and SSD cards after buying a OTG cable from amazon for about 5 bucks. You can use external hard drives with this app from my understanding they just need an external power source not just the usb to power.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.homeysoft.nexususb.importer&hl=en

I also have a case that has a small bluetooth keyboard with it. The surface uses windows 8 and it SUCKKKKKKKSSS..

Windows 8 that is...

I have the cable on the way and if your thinking about going that route I will let you know if I can get my 2TB backup drive to work with it.

I have an Emachines EM250 netbook that I like for motorcycle trips. It has a 250 GB HD and can be found used at pretty reasonable prices.

I think you guys might be on to something with the Nexus 7 combined with the USB OTG.. There is also a video showing how to connect a MicroSD through the USB OTG as well- it seems to be fairly flexible as long as you have the right app.

I think I'll go play with one at Best Buy tomorrow after work

I tried what you propose and wound up just writing in a paper journal and sorting my pics by date when I got back home. It's not a matter of difficulty. For me, it was more a matter of time. I'd much rather ride a motorcycle than a computer.

Surface 2 would work great. It has a USB3 port, so no special cables. If you're planning on editing video I would consider the 64gb version to make sure you have room to move the bigger files around. My 32gb Surface only has 16gb free.

There are several video editing apps. File transfers can be handled with apps or just File Explorer (desktop). SkyDrive integration is great. I use OneNote to stay organized. Battery life is still great, one year in.

I love my Surface RT, and it just got better with 8.1. I use the touch cover. My wife prefers the type cover.

I also have Nexus 7, and while it has some good niche applications that may not be available on WinRT, in general the Surface is much more of a productivity tablet due to Office and the keyboard covers. If the Windows Store meets your needs, get the Surface.

umm..

you can buy Bluetooth keyboards for the nexus 7..mine is magnetically attached to the case so it's like a little computer.

problem solved there..

Also, for Office just get the Kingsoft office app..
Free and gives you complete compatibility with all office formats on word, powerpoint, and Excel.

It's pretty powerful and has all the functionality you would need.

Sorry..I just can't stand Windows 8 so biased but android has many more apps and is just, if not more, productive plus a hell of a lot more intuitive. We have a windows 8.1 touchscreen laptop...it stays shut off...

But try both...as one can see preferences vary

I took an ACER Netbook on my recent Colorado trip. Did everything you need. Took a Passport in a small Pelican case as backup so I had all my Videos and pics on both in case I had a problem with the Netbook. Had the ACER in a neoprene case in my side bag. No problems bouncing around offroad. The ACERs are inexpensive. Battery life is the only draw back I see. You will need to hit a campsite with Elect at least every other day. There were three of us taking Vids and pics and loading onto the ACER. Over 3,000 in all.
Windows 8
AMD Dual core
4G DDR and 320G storage

Netbooks seem to be on their way out but that's what I've been using for the last 5 years and 60,000 miles of travel by motorcycle. The little XP Acer has been trouble free and does everything well. When it recently began to die the only replacements I could find were tablets and Chromebooks which wouldn't run Photoshop and other programs I use, or larger laptops. Went with a small 11.6" Windows 7 laptop but miss my netbook.

Since your planning on wifi anyway, what about using dropbox rather than carrying an ext HD?

I had an Android tablet. Gave that to my daughter. I now have a Surface Pro. It is nice having the full desktop power in a tablet. It of course should do what you want, but you need to also carry a portable drive.

Another thought, I have an Android phone, a Galaxy S4. I can plug an OTG cable into it. I can plug a card reader into the OTG cable. Transfer photos from a card to my phone, then transfer them from my phone through the OTG cable to an external hard drive. A bit clumsy, but it would be compact if you are already carrying a phone the works with an OTG cable.

Then of course there are the external hard drives that have the memory card port. Just plug in your memory card, and the files are copied to the external drive.

I'm in a similar situation. I got an HP Mini netbook that is small, seems pretty tough, and can do basically everything it sounds like you would want it to. You can get them pretty cheap, too.

I considered this option as well. However in past trips I frequently found myself at my campsite at the end of the day twiddling my thumbs. I think this will be a productive way to keep myself occupied when off the bike (as opposed to drinking or creating massive bonfires every night )

I should add that is this trip is of the leave-everything-behind-and-wander variety. Everything I own will be with me on the bike so I definitely want some kind of organization tool.

You may wish to consider the Kingston Mobilelite

here is some info

http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/29/kingston-mobilelite-wireless/

this creates it's own Wifi network. I have an iPhone4 plus the new Nexus 7, 2nd gen and with the kingston app I can access this unit.

You can plug in an external USB pocket drive and plug an SD card into the slot and transfer from one to the other, all wirelessly controlled from your iOS or Android device

It also functions as a power bank with a 1,700 mah battery so you could also charge your iPhone battery ONCE.

You can charge the internal battery from USB power outlet while riding

bob

You may laugh at me, but I use a Panasonic Toughbook CP-30.
It is bigger and heavier than a tablet, 2.8&#8221;(H) x 11.9"(W) x 11.3"(D)<wbr>, but I take comfort knowing it runs mapsource, connects to all my cameras, has 500 GB of storage, does everything a computer is supposed to do and that it's Mil-Spec shockproof and waterproof, and virtually impossible to break. A full charge lasts about 8 hours.

It's fun writing Ride Reports in the rain at your campsite.
Q~

I use my 7,9" acer netbook for stuff like that. It also charges helmet cam ect.

I bought a bigger battery for it, and bought a 12v cigeretteplug charger, so im charging it as I ride.

Harddrive is 160gb, so for me, plenty of space for video, images ect.

Windows tabs for me as well. I've got the acer solid stats everything one. No defragmenting HDD's and compatible with everything as a full fledged computer.

I'm no windows lover, but android is limited and apple ipad is like a prison.

ultrabook, thin, light and powerful with full version of windows 8

we have an acer ultrabook, got it on sale for $359, 11.7" screen, I3 processor, 4gb ram, tb hard drive, very thin and light with webcam built in and a touchscreen.

Android limited? Umm you are using win 8..root an android and can do about anything.