A question for anyones that's taken a laptop around india

PeakXV

I really think that the internal dangers far out number the external dangers in India. Make sure you source a surge/spike filter for that wonky Indian Electricity supply - especially dangerous during Monsoon. I'd bet a pretty penny that alot of unfiltered computers get some sort of damage while in India ...... but only cease or blow several months later when back home and nobody puts two & two together about the real culprit (Bad Ma India Juice!).

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

gypsie,lotus

I too am wondering and contemplating about taking my laptop with me, I want it but I cannot make up my mind.

Indiafan

I put mine in rucksack. Bought bluetooth, cheap phone and Airtel sim card for a year and did configuration. Can access internet from everywhere in India. Perfect.

gautam_n_

Thats why most things use a stabilizer which takes care of that especially in India. Oversurge, voltage fluctuations happens all the time.

Surge during monsoons ? You must be joking. There can be no surge cos there is no electricity during the monsoons most of the time.

It happens more in the US during the monsoon as seen by us all Indians when I worked in the outsourced call centre. And yes many americans aren't aware of this happening either that lightning on phone can burn the computers main board out as well due to surge.

PeakXV

..... At any rate the following link has some interesting tidbits, good suggestions about travelling with a laptop in India - be it pre-monsoon, monsoon, or post-monsoon!


http://www.neoncarrot.co.uk/h_hints/...rnet_p2_1.html

gautam_n_

I never meant not to take precautions Conditions do apply

kazintrepid

I have been travelling in India with laptop now for nearly a year. It is a Dell Inspiron 700m so small and compact. I picked up a Airtel Datacard with SIM in Delhi at an Airtel shop. I have been roaming on it everywhere except in Kashmir where due to government restrictions Airtel is unable to turn on their data services in Kashmir. You can get your monthly bills emailed to you and you can view them online. They have 3 packages Rs599, Rs 799 or Rs999 per month. It just depends on how much you use your email I guess.

As I write to you now I am on my laptop in Mcleod Ganj, running off the battery overlooking the Himalayas. Pretty special really.

I have my 40gig ipod with me and I back up my laptop onto that about once a weeks. Due to my increasing photo and music collection I now back up my photos onto a creditcard size Merlin back up drive and just use the ipod to back up the rest of the laptop.

I did have a funky travelling laptop sack to carry my laptop around and found that too cumbersome so ditched that in Kashmir and now just use the STM padded bag can be bought at stmbags.com.au and stick that in my bag. I am a solo chick traveller and until I read this thread it never occurred to me that people worried about leaving their laptops in the room. I just put it in the padded bag and stick it in my travel bag which I lock. Have had no problems with this at all.

I have loved having my laptop here to just login at night when I feel like it and email friends etc, I have been able to submit my tax return online, download my photos from my camera and shown the kids, monks etc who I took the photo of and even when I felt like seeing a western movie I just bought a dvd, so cheap here and watched it on the laptop.

That is about it!

traceyam

Has anyone found an alternative to laptop keyboards? They are too small for me.

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TimMakins

Brilliant post! Although I have been working with computers for quite a few years, I am still a newbie when it comes to laptop roaming, so I wonder if you would mind explaining what you are doing in a little more detail?

Your 'Airtel Datacard with SIM' - am I right in assuming that this is a credit-card-sized device that fits into the card slot on your laptop, with a bit sticking out of the side - the antenna? Am I also right in assuming that this device will connect directly to the wireless network over most of India, so that you don't need an additional mobile-telephone or cables to connect to the Internet?

Do you then have an account with 'Airtel', and pay a fixed monthly fee or so much per minute that you are online?

Does the system work indoors, hotel rooms etc., or do you have to be outside?

Tim in Ireland.

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john.sw

Hi Tim,

I have a RIM (Reliance India Mobile) phone and cable. I am on pre-pay and it costs me Rs.30/- an hour peak rate and Rs.15/- an hour off peak to connect to the internet.

It works anywhere that has mobile phone coverage (on the RIM network), which is, basically, everywhere I have tried it!

All the best,

John.

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TimMakins

Please bear with me - I have never owned a mobile phone before, despite being ultra-high tech in all kinds of other fields...

So you need a separate mobile phone with a socket on it ? Do all mobile phones have these, or is it a special type ? Does it plug into the laptop's USB port, or maybe the laptop's modem phone socket? Does it work indoors as well as outdoors? What kind of connection speeds do you get?

I am assuming that RIM is a company with offices all over the country. A quick search found them at this page:
http://www.relianceinfo.com/Infocomm...e_roaming.html

I would prefer not to have a phone really, as its just one more thing to carry and charge-up, so will wait to hear what kazintrepid has to add as well, but MANY thanks to John for this info.

Tim in Ireland

gaya

Yes, kazintrepid, log on! More info please!! Great post. Thank you.

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kazintrepid

Hi,
My goodness.. pleased this information has been useful. Honestly before I came to India I didn't know much about these things either so happy to help others who are getting used to the technology.

Yes you are right it is a credit card sized device that fits into what they call the datacard slot at the side of your laptop and yes it has a little bit sticking out with an antenna. Inside this card is a slot for the SIM card which is the same that you have in a mobile phone. Though this SIM card has 'data' switched on so you can do email internet etc. You basically are connecting to the internet using the mobile network so anywhere where you get, in this case, Airtel coverage, you get internet access. So you don't need any further mobile, telephone cables etc.

Yes, I have an account with Airtel it is a postpaid account and I just have it set up that it is automatically paid from my creditcard each month.

It works anywhere you get mobile phone coverage so yes works indoors, in hotel rooms etc. Absolutely works outside and I have often used in cafes, parks etc.

No you don't need to buy a mobile phone as noted above it is just a datacard you buy to fit into your laptop. Please note not all laptops have datacard slots so make sure yours does so you can set up this way.

Other information...
Datacards You can buy datacards anywhere overseas and this may be an option you might want to look at. Basically because in India when buying a datacard and setting up a postpaid account you need to be able to provide a residential address and prove that you have this address ie: rates notice, letter sent to this address etc. So if you will not have a set residential address it would be worth looking at options of purchasing datacard overseas and have the roaming option. Companies like Vodaphone offer this service. I used Vodaphone datacard very successfully in South Africa. In South Africa they also had rental options where you could rent a datacard which was a great option, I haven't looked into this for India though a simple web search should help there. To look at airtel's offer go to ... http://www.airtelworld.com/datacard/

SMS Another feature on datacards is that you can send sms's so if you don't want to take a mobile phone with you on your travels you can just use your laptop to send and receive sms's through the software that comes with the datacard.

Reliance A word on Reliance I have not used their product though there coverage in India is not so extensive yet. For example up here in Himachal Pradesh it doesn't work everywhere. They just don't have enough mobile towers yet so your coverage is a little hit and miss so my friends tell me.

Hope this helps.

john.sw

No problem!

R-Connect only works with RIM mobile phones.

The cable plugs into the USB port.

Connection speeds vary depending on how many people are online - I get 128kbps on a good day (notmally at night).

It works indoors, outdoors, in aeroplanes , and anywhere else that is covered by the RIM network.

The advantage it has over a data card is that you can also use it as a telephone. Personally, I have a seperate mobile phone (on Airtel) for voice calls and rarely make a call on my RIM phone.

smida02

I have also used Yahoo chat with voice in India to talk to friends and family in the US for free. It works quite well!! The laptops now have built in speakers and mics so no need to carry headphones and a mic.