mev

I've either been fairly fortunate or haven't beat up my laptops as much. Most recently I've been using Thinkpad X140e. There are some work-related reasons why I have this particular model, but overall the Thinkpad has been reasonably built and I like the 11.6in screen form factor. I like having a laptop rather than Chromebook because I do some offline photo processing and also occasionally boot into Linux. My criteria list would be slightly different but on your list above here is how I would rate things:

1. reliability: 7 of 10; no problems yet and reasonably built but not going higher until I have more time with it.
2. price: 6 of 10; this particular model is $400, so beyond your target range
3. performance: 7 of 10; ok at this particular point, but not speedy compared to more recent laptops
4. weight: 4 pounds; depends on your reference points but size and weight work for me.

C9H13N 

I occasionally boot into Linux on my Chromebook, via crouton and a dedicated USB stick. There are some limitations, but they are mostly related to my Chromebook having an ARM processor, newer Intel based Chromebooks don't have this problem.

Losligato

On our last yearlong backpacking trip we each carried a Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet with a bluetooth foldable keyboard and a bluetooth mouse. I kept mine in a bombproof, waterproof pelican case. Now that we've returned home I carry it around town in my Ortlieb handlebar bag. Fits perfectly. Weighs very little. It takes some getting used to the 8" screen. I was able to edit videos on it (I am terrible at this as you can see on our website but I do it any way) as well as photos. You can usually get them at the Dell outlet for $99. After more than a year of use I would recommend it. Here it is in action in Bali.

DropBarFan

Wow, pretty incredible price & weight, tablet seems like a good option for those not needing a heavy-duty work netbook/laptop but more capability than a phone. Even the fancier "ultrabooks" are basically 2 lbs or more at ~9x cost.

Sharpshin

$200 is about my limit, an I'm still behind the times enough to want USB ports to download my camera cards.

In 2014 I bought an ASUS Notebook from BestBuy for that price. No complaints, rode in the pannier for 2,000 miles. I'd still be using it except that I picked it up recently with the charger plugged in and broke the charging port.

Just picked up a Lenovo Ideapad from BB last week, same price range. Lighter, thinner and seemingly faster than that 2 yr old ASUS. Gets good reviews....

Lenovo Ideapad 100S - Full Review and Benchmarks

Mike

Tandem Tom

We just picked one up at Best Buy last night. $140 open box Geek Squad Checked. We just finished loading Quicken on to it this AM. Going to play around to see if this will work out.

spectastic

what'd you get?

Tandem Tom

The Lenova IdeaPad 100s.

kennj123

what connectivity to the internet do you have? i would like to find something with a decent keyboard(not bluetooth) that i can put my sim card in.

GeoKrpan

I'm not sure what you're asking but it connects to wifi at home and everywhere else.

Here's a link to the model that I have, factory recertified, at Staples, $129. It does have a Micro SD Card Reader.

https://www.staples.com/office/supplies/StaplesProductDisplay?

kennj123

A lot of tablets are sold with 3g build in and subscriptions(you pay extra per month) so it uses wifi when your home, but it can use 3g when away from home. It doesn't matter , i wait and see what happens with windows stuff, new phone is coming out in feb and it might have some more features i want.

GeoKrpan

Ok, I see what you mean now. There are Chromebooks with 3g built in. A work around is to tether a cell phone to the laptop. Provides Internet where there is no wifi and charges phone at the same time. Better than setting phone as hot spot.

kennj123

a lot of cell phone plans don't allow tethering. mine is one. hoping to find a more powerful cell phone that i can put my sim into. windows is coming out with some new stuff that might work for me. ie windows phone 10.

GeoKrpan

The Chrome operating system runs very well, better than Windows. It resides in the clouds, no updates needed.

Biketouringhobo

I also have Acer Chromebook 11in I use free Wi-Fi Hotspots at Starbucks, Panera Bread,
Chick Fil A and Some Wendy's, Taco Bell, KFC etc and My Smartphone from MetroPCS has Wi-Fi Hotspot for $5.00 9GB

Losligato

You can get a dongle and sim card then plug it in. We've done this in several countries.

eugened

Regarding to your question if cheap and reliable laptop exist? Yes, they do. Actually, I just bought this Dell Inspiron 14 Inch Laptop for $250 online. Good stuff about this laptop are follows:

Battery duration is good
keyboard feedback is good
its light and just 3mm thicker
Simple design
touchpad works great

This one is a great buy, I must say.

Squeezebox

What kind of wt are you talking about?
I wonder what % of bicycle tourers bring a laptop or such.

fietsbob

get you one of those Microsoft Surface things.. spend , spend, spend..

wanting it for $200 is Delusional ! you may have to go to China and work in the factory to see that cost.




My friend gets old IBM think pads on Ebay and puts in Linux software.. look for used stuff..

fietsbob

Of course there is the No weight, free cost Option

Just use the computers at the Public library where you visit, and store stuff on your own web Cloud site..

gpsblake

Took an HP stream 7 tablet (running MS Windows) on my tour last year, not a lick of problems.

BobbyG

If you don't need to edit video or print, a Chromebook is nice. There are just no offline video editors. I keep hoping Google will make good on their plans to allow Chromebooks to run Android Apps. I can edit video on my android phone but not my Chromebook. There are some programs that will port Android APKs to Chrome, and I've had success with some programs, including Canon's Android Wifi printing app. So now I can print from my Chromebook to my office printer without having to use "web printing".

njkayaker

If you are also carrying a smart phone, consider tethering your computer/tablet to it. That avoids needing to pay for two cell plans. Computers/tablets that don't have a cell modem are a bit cheaper.

You probably can't expect you will get cell access everywhere. Chrome, at the moment, is useless without internet access.

Don't expect unlimited wifi everywhere.

A device around 8 inches is easier to carry, store,and charge compared to a larger device. You might be able to use the same charger you use for you phone or other devices.

Larger devices, though easier to do work on, are a good bit heavier and often require specific chargers (even more weight).

USB C might allow using a charger that you can also use for other devices.

jefnvk

If all you want is internet and basic office apps, get a Chromebook. Cheap, and available almost everywhere.

If you need more, get a full Windows tablet. Can do anything a regular computer can, packaged in the size of any other tablet, including USB ports for keyboard/mouse/printer etc. Love mine for traveling, although the battery is shot and I have to finally replace it after four years.

BigAura

I'm guessing 11.34%.