The Answer:
Tablet
I have looked a lot of tablets; 3G/WiFi, different sizes and different brands. For along time its looked like it was an Android tablet, due to the flexibility the system offers along with the huge price difference compared to even the first generation iPads. I was unsure of how much to spend, going to cheap I thought bad screen so it would be no good for showing my work and to much and well I couldn't really afford it. Then last week the answer to my dilema Google provided the answer in the form of the Nexus 7.
The Nexus 7 which is only 10.4mm thick packs a huge 4326mAh battery that promises up to nine hours and forty nine minute life per charge.
The L-shaped motherboard inside the Nexus 7 carries an Nvidia T30L Tegra 3 chip, the DDR3 RAM, Max 77612A inverting switching regulator, AzureWave AW-NH665 wireless module, Broadcom BCM4751 integrated monolithic GPS receiver, NXP 65N04 and finally Invensense MPU-6050 gyro and accelerometer.
Now I'm not entirely sure what all of this means, but any tablet with an Nvidia graphics card, quad core processor and a screen with 7in 800 x 1280 HD screen seems to be on to a winner.
The best part? The price, expected to be around £159 for an 8gb and £199 for the 16gb. Seems I have found the answer to the first part of my problem.
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_8gb&feature=nexus7_campaign
Ebook
Now this was discovered on a bit of a spur of the moment purchase, at a pawn shop in Derby I found a cheap E-Reader. Before I brought it I did a bit of reading up on it and found it on offer at The Works for an even cheaper price (and new). It without doubt seemed at first to have a few floors, for example it will only read .txt files aposed to .epub files, this however was adressed with software provided in the box. It also does not like DRM (Digital Right Managed) files, meaning certain books will not be able to coverted to the correct format (without the use of a 3rd part software). However its plus sides do out way this, for a start an e-ink screen to stop eye strain and make reading possible in the brightest of lights, between 1-5gb allowing for the storage of 1000's books taking up less than the size of a paper back and a great battery life (around a 1000 page turns before a charge is needed). Even better, the price the Binatone 2281 is available online from around £25-35 this model is due to be replaced shorty from what I've seen the 2282 has moved to a colour display and will now read the epub files, however with the upgrade the price goes up and you lose the e-ink screen. Worth shopping round to find the older model .
Compact System Camera
Now this is the part I and if you are trying to do the same as me will struggle with, finding a camera that is as capable in low light as a high end DSLR whilst being small enough to pocket but still whilst not emptying the bank. To do this new you will struggle, there are plenty of great cameras out there such as the new Fuji X range:
Which are more compact and offer different things, for me this is not an option whilst each of the cameras is a bargin for what it offers its no flexible enough or the style of camera I am really after, meaning I am left with the Compact System Camera, for me I have been looking second hand and have been lucky enough to be searching at the right time to buy from a friend (The Other Photography Blog) so I am now purchasing an NEX-5 bundle. Of course its not the only option nor really is it a huge amount more for some similar quality cameras brand new for example the GF3, which has received fantastic reviews is in fact cheaper to buy new, for a small amount more the pancake lens which is available is the perfect way to have DSLR control along with near DSLR quality in a pocketable camera, great for concerts, premiers and places where you are not allowed your full size SLR
The upgrade of my camera:
So from going to a large bag weighing more than I care to know, I will hopefully over the next few months (and before Uni restarts) have a kit which will allow me to travel very light but never be without anything I need. If you couple this with the adapters planned to be available for the Nexus and a Google Cloud account, you will be able to go on a short holiday with all your gadgets in a bag smaller than well smaller than most peoples camera bags. Now its time to get my sell on and shift some old bits and bobs to cover the costs.
Going small an option for you? Traveling too light? What do you think?
Going small an option for you? Traveling too light? What do you think?
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