Ultra portable laptop with International Warranty?

[Sloracer]

I'm looking to buy a good quality ultra portable laptop in Australia for use in my time in Thailand. I want to be sure that the unit has international warranty just in case it breaks in Thailand.  Advice appreciated.

I'm looking at a Lenovo thinkpad x1carbon which seems to fit the bill and looks to be a model supported in Thailand.

[yesandno]

I was looking at options recently for something portable to take with me and I think i am going to get a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 with the Book Cover Keyboard that looks like a microsoft surface keyboard.

https://www.samsung.com/au/tablets/galaxy-tab-s/
https://www.samsung.com/au/mobile-accessories/galaxy-tab-s7-book-cover-keyboard-dt870-ef-dt870ubegww/

My deciding factors were weight (610g), 12.4" display and I can use an attachable keyboard.  Around AU$1k total cost.

The downside is it is a mobile OS so i will be limited to apps from the playstore.

I'm going to play with one in store sometime soon and see if i think it will be worthwhile.

Edited October 29, 2021 by yesandno

[Garzan]

My solution to that, focusing on the 'ultra portable' was to buy one of these with the keyboard cover. While you're limited to a 12" display, it's hard to find anything more portable. 

I'd been eyeing a Surface Pro 6 for a while since I really got sick of my Android devices getting old enough that updates were no longer possible. I wanted to change to Windows since I don't do IOS. When the 7 came out with USB-C, I bought one shortly afterwards. Over a year later, I'm still very happy with it. 

I've recently upgraded it from Windows 10 to Windows 11 without issue, so no more not being able to update Android apps because the manufacture no longer updates the Android version. That may be okay (not so horrible) on a phone, but on a laptop or tablet I found it unacceptable. 

Edited October 29, 2021 by Garzan

[Garzan]

The new version, with Thunderbolt ports. 

 

[yesandno]

15 hours ago, Garzan said:

The new version, with Thunderbolt ports. 

 

That's a lot lighter and cheaper than i expected, 890g with a 13" screen and AU$1650 for the base model.

[Garzan]

1 minute ago, yesandno said:

That's a lot lighter and cheaper than i expected, 890g with a 13" screen and AU$1650 for the base model.

Yes, still definitely not cheap, but for me, I've really had enough of Android on a tablet. I've still got my original Samsung Note 10.1 tablet. I've had the battery replaced in it, and it's still a fine working tablet hardware-wise. Sadly though, the Android OS version can not be updated, so current apps, written to use current Android OS hooks can't be installed on my old tablet. 

I figure I'll be using my Surface tablet many years into the future. There was a price premium to go from an Android tablet to a Windows tablet, but to me it's worth it. I should get years more software use out of the Windows device without needing to buy new hardware just to be able to update the operating system of the tablet. 

[yesandno]

Good point, for the price premium you do get much more compatibility of software/OS and you can upgrade it yourself with more RAM or SSD capacity (after warranty).

If OP is looking at an X1 carbon than he will possibly be able to save some money with the Surface Pro

[Smeghead76]

IMO you can't be Macbooks in this scenario.

But I know many are not fans of the apple OSX

[LarryDarrell]

I'm interested in the Fujitsu UH-X, but I'm not sure if it is being sold in Australia.  I can't buy one in the US yet.  It depends on how serious you are about "ultraportable."  I won't travel with anything that weighs more than 1 kilo, and would prefer something less than 800g. 

[whitespider - RIP]

18 hours ago, Sloracer said:

I'm looking to buy a good quality ultra portable laptop in Australia for use in my time in Thailand. I want to be sure that the unit has international warranty just in case it breaks in Thailand.  Advice appreciated.

I'm looking at a Lenovo thinkpad x1carbon which seems to fit the bill and looks to be a model supported in Thailand.

Work or just social?

100% only on travels or use back home too?

If it’s social only and travel only I’d seriously consider a tablet. 

I have an office PC setup, an Acer laptop and two iPads. I’d say I use the iPads at least 50% of the time now and pretty much 99% for social use.

Tablets are certainly not for everyone but probably perfect for travel only purposes. They fit in safes for starters.  If you “work” on it, then not ideal at all.

 

[gatorade88]

19 hours ago, Sloracer said:

I'm looking to buy a good quality ultra portable laptop in Australia for use in my time in Thailand. I want to be sure that the unit has international warranty just in case it breaks in Thailand.  Advice appreciated.

I'm looking at a Lenovo thinkpad x1carbon which seems to fit the bill and looks to be a model supported in Thailand.

Assuming you want to stick with Windows...depends where your sweet spot is for productivity versus portability.

The Thinkpad X1 Carbon is a more traditional laptop with the largest screen at 14", attached keyboard at a touch over 1.1kg.

As you get smaller you tend to focus more on the touch devices...

Surface Pro 8 is 13" and ~= 900g (plus optional detachable keyboard is around 280g)
Surface Pro 7 is 12.3" and ~= 800g (plus optional detachable keyboard is around 300g)
Surface Go 3 is 10.5" and ~= 550g (plus optional detachable keyboard is around 250g)

For portability, don't forget to factor in the charger too...though they all do USB-C PD so a nice compact aftermarket GaN charger should suffice.

For warranty, Lenovo Australia don't offer international warranty for most of their laptop lines - but they do for the Thinkpad models.

Not so sure about the Surface devices but according to Microsoft AU/NZ:

https://download.microsoft.com/download/1/4/8/1480759a-d46c-4c0c-8623-3a78c75c7239/Standard_Limited_Warranty_EN-AU_NZ.pdf

'Warranty service may be available only in the country where you purchased the Microsoft Product. If
warranty service is unavailable to you in the country where the device is located when warranty service
is requested, Microsoft may offer you other support options for an additional charge.'
 

Edited October 30, 2021 by gatorade88

[likeaking]

One major determining factor when I bought a laptop for travel was how small could the keyboard be and still be comfortable typing. Turned out to be a thirteen inch laptop five years ago. 

[Sloracer]

3 hours ago, whitespider said:

Work or just social?

100% only on travels or use back home too?

If it’s social only and travel only I’d seriously consider a tablet. 

I have an office PC setup, an Acer laptop and two iPads. I’d say I use the iPads at least 50% of the time now and pretty much 99% for social use.

Tablets are certainly not for everyone but probably perfect for travel only purposes. They fit in safes for starters.  If you “work” on it, then not ideal at all.

 

Thanks I already have an ipad and Samsung tablet. So looking for a full featured laptop to replace my bigger and heavier 15". Mainly social use but I also run some share trading software, myob and ms office.

[Man7]

Usually Apple MacBook Air or Lenovo/Dell business class laptops (thinkpad, xps etc) 

 

[Garzan]

2 hours ago, Sloracer said:

Thanks I already have an ipad and Samsung tablet.

Since you already have an iPad, I'll withdraw my Windows Surface recommendation. Instead, I'd suggest an IOS something or other. Maybe a Macbook Air or whatever the current version of that form factor is called. 

I'm a proponent of keeping to an ecosystem--my ecosystem of choice is Windows. Since you're already invested in IOS, I'd suggest sticking with it. 

[Sloracer]

10 hours ago, Garzan said:

Since you already have an iPad, I'll withdraw my Windows Surface recommendation. Instead, I'd suggest an IOS something or other. Maybe a Macbook Air or whatever the current version of that form factor is called. 

I'm a proponent of keeping to an ecosystem--my ecosystem of choice is Windows. Since you're already invested in IOS, I'd suggest sticking with it. 

Only use the ipad for porn, screen is good  otherwise I'm not an apple fan, hence why I brought the Samsung tablet.

Just been looking at the lenovo 1x Nano, looks decent, 1kg and available in a high spec. I've found over the years that the business class laptops are more robust and have less gadgets that you never end up using anyway.

 

[Ben75]

Any of the big international brands will give you good warranty and a decent quality laptop. Depending on what you are comfortable with go for a Macbook, Microsoft Surface or one of the lighter Lenovo laptops. I prefer the Macbooks, solid quality, good warranty and although expensive I also use them for 6+ years until handing them down to my kids.

[Farangkie]

Before I came to live in Thailand I bought an MacBook Air (M1, 2020) in Australia. The main reason was that from previous experience Apple's customer service is by far the best if you have a hardware issue.

Over the years Iv'e had two iPhones and a Macbook Pro replaced or repaired well past their warranty expiry dates. In the case of the Macbook Pro is was replaced 18 months after the warranty expired.

So here in Thailand if Iv'e got an issue with my Macbok Air, I'll just take it to the nearest Apple store, and I'm confident that it will be fixed. Don't think it would be that simple with any other brand of computer.

.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Syco

[Sloracer]

I thought I'd do a quick update on this just in case it's useful for others.

I ended up with a lenovo yoga carbon. It's 13", weighs at just under 1kg and it has an I7 CPU. So small, thin, light an it has enough grunt.

I bought extended warranty which is valid internationally as its just an insurance policy for breakdowns. For the Aussies, Harvey Norman and Jb hifi were my sources.

So it gives me some peace of mind if it breaks once out ot warranty and I'm abroad.