<p>My DD will be heading to France for a semester abroad. She is devoted to her Macbook Pro, but I'm wondering if one of the new iPad or iPad mini products might be a good idea for travel. </p>
<p>She will need to be able to write papers and such, so I'm guessing that an external keyboard would be a good idea if we go with something small.</p>
<p>Suggestions?</p>
<p>Thanks! :-)</p>
<p>How about a MacBook Air? Small and light and a full computer so then you don’t need to add on the keyboard, etc. as you would for the iPad. Also depending on her college, it may be required that documents be submitted via MS Word. Word isn’t available for iPads. Pages is available for the iPad but it doesn’t always translate to Word cleanly.</p>
<p>Have her call the IT office at her university and ask them what they recommend. Also see if they sell the products and offer a student discount. IF it’s a university study abroad program they should also know what will work on the foreign university’s wifi, etc.</p>
<p>Honestly I would have her take her regular computer. Make sure to have her back it up in some way. They have internet and electricity (have her buy a converter before she goes…for laptops you don’t need a transformer, just the plug converter) and everything there. For a whole semester, functionality is more important than weight.
If she was taking a vacation, I would agree with you.</p>
<p>We went through the same dilemma when my S did study abroad. In the end he took his large laptop (back it up!) and it worked out for the best. The weight was worth it.</p>
<p>Me three. S went to France to study twice , and both times took his regular laptop.</p>
<p>Excellent feedback – thank you. And maybe this should be a separate thread, but what about phones? Are the local phones that they rent smart phones? If not, is it a good idea to send the them with some kind of tablet device so they can check email and maps, etc. while on the road?</p>
<p>My S did a summer in Japan, and took a Microsoft Surface tablet instead of his laptop. He was very happy with his choice. He is the only non-Apple member of the family!</p>
<p>She can take her own phone and buy a French card to put in it from a company like Orange. Be aware that to access the internet on the phone outside France, she will have to use wifi at cafes or hostels or wherever. It isn’t that big a deal. (It seems incredible that phone data service doesn’t cross borders in Europe, but there you are.)</p>
<p>If funds are unlimited, there is probably some kind of uber-expensive solution other than that, but I never looked into it.</p>
<p>To use a card from Orange, the phone might have to be unlocked. Our phones always have been, but I recall them asking about it. Another thing: make sure she takes the US card out of her phone after the plane takes off, or she might inadvertently run up huge charges if people try to text or call her.</p>
<p>Why can’t she take the MacBook Pro?</p>
<p>Some hard-won advice: either back up both files AND applications to the cloud, or have the student also pack the original installation disks or purchase confirmation codes. D1’s hard drive failed during study abroad. She’d purchased and used a cloud backup for her data files, but not for her applications. Her study abroad program requires use of the Microsoft Office suite. 
She’s managing by using the computers at the study abroad center, but it’s not the ideal situation. </p>
<p>It’s possible to manage without a data plan and just go with phone service. So many businesses have wifi that as long as you’re not stranded on a remote rural road you’re good to go. If the data plan is going to be way expensive, this is a workable alternative.</p>
<p>If her tablet can do research, write papers, print stuff, etc. then I don’t see why not. I had no problem with my Macbook Pro when I was abroad but wish I had something lighter to carry to/from class. The library was always packed so it was great that I brought it. I don’t have a tablet so I don’t understand what it is capable of, but in terms of school, the main functions I needed were just internet for researching/research papers, and a word doc to type up my notes and papers. I also used skype a lot to talk to my family.</p>
<p>^^ Oh geez, SlitheyTove – that sounds very disheartening. I will now be scurrying off to research how to back up to the cloud. Thanks for the tip, and I’m sorry for your D’s dilemma…</p>
<p>Definitely take the computer. There is inevitably some necessary system that does not work on the iPad. </p>
<p>If you can afford the iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard in addition, it really is the best thing in the world for note-taking in class. But it’s a nice-to-have, not an essential.</p>
<p>What I do consider essential is an <em>offline</em> maps app for her phone. There are several options - I tried them all and settled on CityMaps2Go. You download the map(s) you need over Wifi, and then you can navigate using the GPS to see where you are on the map, even in areas where you have no Wifi or even cell tower signal. This system saved me from being utterly lost multiple times on a recent 6-month European journey.</p>
<p>Consolation’s suggestion to buy a local SIM card is also excellent, but I chose to spend the few bucks on the offline map solution because I knew it would work in any situation where my phone still had battery life.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone, for the terrific information. I am taking notes…! :-)</p>
<p>If she has a credit card, call the company and ask if you can have a new card with a ‘chip’ in it. European stores are only set up to take the credit cards that have a computer chip embedded in them, and your American company won’t give you a card like that unless you ask for it.</p>
<p>As far as phones go, does she have a GSM (AT&T, with a SIM card) or a CDM (Verizon, no sim card) phone? If she has GSM she can just get a new SIM card in europe and do a pay as you go type thing. If not, just get a cheap one in Europe.</p>
<p>You need to know if the phone can be unlocked to allow another sim card. Abroad, local calls are cheaper on a local cell and you can use Skype to call home. My D got an Orange phone in France with a prepay card that can be re-funded. Easy. I think at kiosks. She took her Mac for schoolwork and social media, had web access where she lived or used cafe access.</p>
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<p>Except for AmEx, not a single one of our US-based credit card providers offers cards with a chip and PIN. That said, many (in some countries, the vast majority of) European credit card readers are able to accomodate plain old signature cards, or will accept a PIN without a chip. At the very least, make sure that your D’s credit card company provides you with a PIN for the card. </p>
<p>If your D has a smartphone, Viber and other similar free texting/talk apps are even cheaper than Skype. It is a surreal experience to be running errands and talking on your smartphone to your child halfway around the world for free.</p>
<p>When I was abroad, I had an unlocked iPhone (you can unlock for free and manually at home) and bought a month-to-month SIM card for cheap with x amount of texts, calls, and MB for data. My friend has an unlocked iPhone and just went for the texts/calls no data and it’s cheaper but she relies on wifi. </p>
<p>I don’t see the need to ever call kids when they are out when they’re abroad. I set up weekly skype dates with my parents when I was in my flat with the wifi provided. There are tons of free texting apps on smartphones that give you an American number and you can use data/wifi to text through that (to any phone) or iMessage if you have an iPhone and want to text iPhones only (which is what my friend did since her closest friends had iPhones). I used the free texting apps to text my parents while I was out because I was abroad before iMessage became a thing. </p>
<p>I also recently signed up for BofA credit card and it came with a chip. Didn’t need to ask. I was in Europe a few years ago but a lot of their credit card machines indeed did not work with my American card because they don’t really use swiping anymore. But I found that withdrawing cash and using my card only for backup was a really good method to keep track of my money. I know some card companies charge intl fees.</p>