Originally Posted by blawson

I wonder if somebody could offer me advice - out with my comfort zone.

I live in the UK and visit the US 3-4 times per year. While I am away I probably use web cafes 3-4 times per week to access the internet to catch up on e-mails, sport and of course flyertalk ;-) I am looking at buying a cheap netbook to allow me to avoid going to web cafes - but instead do it from my room or hotel lobby.

I saw some very small and light netbooks in a local store which I took a fancy to.

Most of the hotels I stay in have free WiFi or your able to connect your PC to a high speed connection in the room at a cost. If not - the local starbucks will have.

Will any netbook I buy off the shelf do this? Is there any ongoing costs?

Will any I buy in the UK work in the US - I assume they come with a tranformer for power issues. I assume that any wireless connection in the UK works exactly the same in the US.

How does the free wireless in hotels work - do you click on the wireless icon on my netbook and select the hotels wireless connection?

I don't require spreadsheets, games or even word.

It will only be used for internet access and maybe for listening to mp3's.

Any advice would be appreciated.