Best Computers for Travel

It would be great to travel completely free from electronic devices, but, more often than not, this is not possible. Sometimes you can get away with just taking your smartphone or iPad, but, often times, this just does not cut it when you need to work on the road. The No. 1 quality people look for in a travel computer is a lack of weight paired with functionality. With the backing of Consumer Reports, here are a few options you might want to look into if you are working while on the road.

The Acer Aspire is barely 3 pounds and costs around $600. Why is it so high on the list? The machine boasts a more than 13-hour battery life, can handle video editing and still functions at fast speeds.

The Mac Book Air, for die-hard Mac users, might be a must. Weighing in at just less than 3 pounds with a 17-hour battery, this computer is hard to criticize. As a bonus, it is made with a sturdy, solid state hard drive that allows it to stand up to almost anything. The longevity of these machines is also well-documented. You can eek a solid six–seven years out of one, which might justify the baseline price of at least $1,000.

Microsoft Surface Pro is another option and one of the lightest and cheapest. This is a good idea if you need primarily web and word-processing access. This is comparable in price to the Acer, but it provides you with the versatility of a tablet. It is less than 2 pounds and provides around nine hours of battery life.