The Ultimate UMPC for Travelers - ECS G10IL

by atticus ~ July 18, 2008

Travel website, Nomad4ever, has crowned ECS G10IL as the uber gadget for travelers. A normal UMPC or Netbook itself is a great device for travelers. Nomad4ever listed the following advantages of a mini laptop:

It’s small, light and handy, not so bulky like a full-blown laptop
You can bring, create, store and upload your documents while you travel
Upload your pictures to Flickr or Picasa without the need for backups, which might get lost along the way
Maintain your Contacts, Calendar, Notes and Social Networking sites on the go
Use Skype or other VoIP telephony to stay in touch with loved ones
Can use a Netbook in Internet Cafes without exposing your personal data to Keyloggers and Viruses
If it gets broken or stolen, you will lose only a fifth or even tenth of the price of a normal laptop

But a normal UMPC like CloudBook CE1200V or Eee PC 900 does not solve a problem commonly faced by travelers - searching for a free wireless Hotspot in not so developed countries. Besides the standard wifi, yhe mini laptop from Elitegroup has inbuilt tri-band HSDPA and HSUPA, which allows you to surf the internet with just a SIM card. Nomad4ever says it best:

“Just throw in your local SIM card and you are set to go. No extra cables, adapters, routers or sitting on the roadside near that Wifi spot, because their food or drinks are too expensive. “

Fellow travelers, what do you think? Personally, I thought it would be expensive to use the 3G option. A combination of free wireless hotspots and internet cafes seem to work well for me.