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Too little, too late.

My last ipad started dying, so I've already switched to a Galaxy Tab A. Same or better specs, at half the cost. ($205 online)

2GB RAM, 32GB storage (the T580 international version)
10.1" 1900 x 1280 screen (a bit bigger than the ipad)
Bluetooth, NFC, etc etc
And it comes with a normal micro-USB port, a normal headphone jack, and a memory-expansion micro-SD card slot (filled with a 64GB chip).

All that for $200 (plus $15 for a 64GB sd card). A basic iPad Air with 32GB is going to be nearly double that.

All in all, better than the ipad for less money, plus it's expandable and you can charge it from any USB port- no proprietary Apple cable required.

The only downside is that there's no equivalent for the Zagg Rugged Book keyboard/case. It's the best keyboard/case combination in the world at any price as far as I'm concerned. Super rugged case, awesome keyboard, simply the best I've ever seen hands down.

It's not cost effective for the first world to recycle battery packs. Send these packs to the third world and let them do the work of making an off-grid power system. Also there is a project underway to make solar lights for the third world that is working. http://www.zagg.com/community/...

Yeah but mechanical bluetooth keyboards are hard to find. At lest for now.

Plus I hate to think of dragging my RK-9000 with me to use with my GNote 10.1.

OTOH if I really needed to type a lot it would be worth it, and the Surface Pros don't come with real keyboards either. Just that rubberdome garbage.

Mechanical Bluetooth keyboards are hard to find for the iPad? Really? Really? Are you sure about that?

Not one of the keyboards you list is a mechanical, moron.

Yeah but mechanical bluetooth keyboards are hard to find. At lest for now.

Plus I hate to think of dragging my RK-9000 with me to use with my GNote 10.1.

OTOH if I really needed to type a lot it would be worth it, and the Surface Pros don't come with real keyboards either. Just that rubberdome garbage.

Mechanical Bluetooth keyboards are hard to find for the iPad? Really? Really? Are you sure about that?

Not one of the keyboards you list is a mechanical, moron.

Yeah but mechanical bluetooth keyboards are hard to find. At lest for now.

Plus I hate to think of dragging my RK-9000 with me to use with my GNote 10.1.

OTOH if I really needed to type a lot it would be worth it, and the Surface Pros don't come with real keyboards either. Just that rubberdome garbage.

Mechanical Bluetooth keyboards are hard to find for the iPad? Really? Really? Are you sure about that?

Not one of the keyboards you list is a mechanical, moron.

Yeah but mechanical bluetooth keyboards are hard to find. At lest for now.

Plus I hate to think of dragging my RK-9000 with me to use with my GNote 10.1.

OTOH if I really needed to type a lot it would be worth it, and the Surface Pros don't come with real keyboards either. Just that rubberdome garbage.

Mechanical Bluetooth keyboards are hard to find for the iPad? Really? Really? Are you sure about that?

Not one of the keyboards you list is a mechanical, moron.

Yeah but mechanical bluetooth keyboards are hard to find. At lest for now.

Plus I hate to think of dragging my RK-9000 with me to use with my GNote 10.1.

OTOH if I really needed to type a lot it would be worth it, and the Surface Pros don't come with real keyboards either. Just that rubberdome garbage.

Mechanical Bluetooth keyboards are hard to find for the iPad? Really? Really? Are you sure about that?

Not one of the keyboards you list is a mechanical, moron.

Yeah but mechanical bluetooth keyboards are hard to find. At lest for now.

Plus I hate to think of dragging my RK-9000 with me to use with my GNote 10.1.

OTOH if I really needed to type a lot it would be worth it, and the Surface Pros don't come with real keyboards either. Just that rubberdome garbage.

Mechanical Bluetooth keyboards are hard to find for the iPad? Really? Really? Are you sure about that?

Yeah but mechanical bluetooth keyboards are hard to find. At lest for now.

Plus I hate to think of dragging my RK-9000 with me to use with my GNote 10.1.

OTOH if I really needed to type a lot it would be worth it, and the Surface Pros don't come with real keyboards either. Just that rubberdome garbage.

Mechanical Bluetooth keyboards are hard to find for the iPad? Really? Really? Are you sure about that?

Yeah but mechanical bluetooth keyboards are hard to find. At lest for now.

Plus I hate to think of dragging my RK-9000 with me to use with my GNote 10.1.

OTOH if I really needed to type a lot it would be worth it, and the Surface Pros don't come with real keyboards either. Just that rubberdome garbage.

Mechanical Bluetooth keyboards are hard to find for the iPad? Really? Really? Are you sure about that?

Yeah but mechanical bluetooth keyboards are hard to find. At lest for now.

Plus I hate to think of dragging my RK-9000 with me to use with my GNote 10.1.

OTOH if I really needed to type a lot it would be worth it, and the Surface Pros don't come with real keyboards either. Just that rubberdome garbage.

Mechanical Bluetooth keyboards are hard to find for the iPad? Really? Really? Are you sure about that?

Yeah but mechanical bluetooth keyboards are hard to find. At lest for now.

Plus I hate to think of dragging my RK-9000 with me to use with my GNote 10.1.

OTOH if I really needed to type a lot it would be worth it, and the Surface Pros don't come with real keyboards either. Just that rubberdome garbage.

Mechanical Bluetooth keyboards are hard to find for the iPad? Really? Really? Are you sure about that?

I think you don't realize that watches have had sapphire glasses for decades. A sapphire glass may cost 30 bucks for a 5" screen, but it is probably much cheaper for a watch-sized screen. And I can assure you that sapphire will stay perfect for a long time. The Tissot watch I am currently wearing is more than 5 years old and the glass is still _perfect_. The metal case however is quite badly scratched.

Hmm, thank you, I did not know about any of this 'SapphireGlass' material until reading your post. I use a screen protector ( http://www.zagg.com/invisibleshield/index.php ) on my LG smartphone so I can treat it casually. All my previous phones developed 'glaze-itis' over time, making the screens really difficult to read. So if these companies are going to make a viable smart-watch, this SapphireGlass will need to be the standard.

Tablet or iPad

For my money, iPad + this case + Dropbox (or similar) + a VNC client and WiFi would get me about 95% of the way to operational. Mouse would be nice and cover the rest of it, but I could live without. That case provides a hard shell to cover your screen plus a bluetooth keyboard and iPad stand, at a cost of 1/8" to the ipad thickness, and 12.2 oz. to the weight.

But really, if the difference between an iPad configured thus and a Air/Netbook/similar means the difference between ridiculous fees from an airline, your last line is the most relevant: Submitter needs to learn how to pack light, and stop carrying a ton of unnecessary shit with him. Buy your toiletries on site, and make use of what the hotel(s)/hosts offer.

Bring as many USB-charging items as you can, and a single small power strip/converter for whatever country you're heading to (on a recent trip to Ireland, I brought my MBP's power supply + US & Ireland plug heads, and every other accessory was USB charged, so my MBP worked as a power strip as well - cuts down cable clutter and bag weight because I wasn't carrying wall warts for a million little things).

Bring comfortable multi-functional clothes that can go from office to dinner to casual walking around use. Bring a pair of lightweight shorts/t-shirt to wear while you do a load of laundry on longer trips - carry enough for no more than 2 days, and plan to either have laundry done at the hotel, or do it yourself as you go.

Learn to layer properly to adapt to changing weather circumstances.

Virtualize as much reference/reading/informational material as you can - load it in pdf form on your laptop/tablet/etc.

Or get a job working for a company that doesn't try to nickel and dime you out of every penny while shipping your ass all over the world. If you truly NEED to carry all that gear with you for business, then your company truly NEEDS to pay for it.

The tablets failed when the manufacturers starting putting features on them and raising prices to make them little notebooks. People bought $250 netbooks, they did not buy $500 netbooks. They also failed when Windows XP started appearing on them.

Tablets are different. I know my iPad 2 is not a 'real computer', that is what Ubuntu is for. But, aside from a few missing features, it is a well designed highly functional piece of equipment. I can take it places and do things with it that I cannot do with a 'real' computer. The touch interface is great and much better than a standard mouse. A netbook/laptop also has a hard time matching the battery life an iPad gets. Once AirPrint setup on Mac/Linux/Windows, printing is a breeze. I can remote into my other systems when needed. etc.

FYI: There is a cool single case iPad keyboard device here , but I have not used one. Probably others out there too...

Here's another one: http://www.zagg.com/accessories/zaggmate-ipad-case

As you noted iSSH also works with bluetooth keyboards - a nice combination might be an iPad with a Zagg case. I'm thinking about getting one myself...

I just can't believe it.