Very good point, I completely forgot about USB-OTG.

I made the assumption that what you needed from Linux were some shell-based programming or scripting tools. For LibreOffice you'd have to run an X Server locally on the phone. I know there are some implementations but have never used any of them. I think this could be done as a proof of concept but it won't be very practical considering, as nkedel said, that the interface won't be touch-optimized.

The good news is LibreOffice documents are saved in an open, XML-based format, and someone has most likely made a native Android app for editing them. If you want to go the Android way, I'd research this option. Alternatively, you could use Android as a thin client to remote desktop into a server, where you have all the applications set up: this I'd only recommend if you always have access to a reliable network connection wherever you travel.

One "think outside the box" solution would be to carry a really cheap mini-desktop like a Raspberry Pi (might need a wireless dongle and SD card), expose a private AP, and then connect to it via remote desktop (or VNC, or X2go). The Pi (or similar things) run off USB power so a decent sized USB power bank could run it when not plugged in for at least a while. I'm not sure whether any of the tinier travel routers have enough CPU to do a decent job with LibreOffice+VNC but that could be an even smaller option.

This wouldn't cost much, wouldn't take much weight, and while it wouldn't work (or at least be officially allowd) on a plane, it could be used almost anywhere else. It still sounds more inconvenient than just getting an small/inexpensive Chromebook or PC laptop and turning it to either dual-boot or just straight over to Linux, but it's a fun idea to contemplate and could be done for well under $100 all in.

You'll still need a dock, access to a monitor and keyboard/mouse but one of the new Windows 10 phones?

Which current laptops have the weight & dimensions of the Vaio X 10", but pack more powerful hardware ?

Thanks

Nothing quite as small that I'm aware of; it's not that much lighter as today's best, with the better battery option. The dimensions and weight I see for the Vaio X are:
- 11.0 x 7.3 x 0.6
- 1.4lb with smallest batter, 2.2lb with extended battery

Most comparable high-profile models:
- Macbook Retina (11 x 7.7 x 0.4-0.5", 2.0lb; slow Core m3 or slowish Core m5)
- Surface Pro 4 (11.5 x 7.9 x 0.33" thickness w/o keyboard, 1.7lb w/o keyboard; add .13" and 0.4lb for the touch keyboard; choice of slow m3 or fast i5 processor.)
- Dell XPS 13 (9360, Kaby Lake, 12x7.9x 0.3-0.6", 2.7lb, fast-ish i3 or fast i5 processor)

There are several Surface Pro clones -- e.g. the XPS 12 and Latitude 7275 from Dell. Dimensions and weight tend to be a little heavier, but similar overall.

While the current Core m processors are pretty slow, it's worth a reality check on the Vaio X (and other Atom-based, 2009-vintage netbooks.) Modern machines are off the scale by comparison.

The Atom Z550 in the Vaio X has a passmark score of 381, and the Vaio X has a reported geekbench score of 963.

By comparison, the slowest laptop processors I'd consider not simply slowing away have passmark scores close to 1200 (Core 2 T7200), and that's three years older than the Atom. The slowest processors I'd consider using personally (i5-4200Y) has a passmark of about 2350.

By comparison, the slowest machine there (the Core m3 versions of the Surface Pro 4) has a passmark just over 3000.

Or to look at Geekbench, the Core m3 machines make about 2549 on single core or 5164 on dual core. A decent cheap-ish new smart phone, the Honor 5X (a $199 phone!) has a geekbench of ~680 on one core (nearly as fast as the Vaio on only one core) or ~2900 on multiple cores.

IOW, any decent machine from the past ~3 years is going to be insanely faster than the Vaio. Before the Haswell (2013) generation processors, there wasn't really a decent super-low-power processor, and the lightest machines were going to be closer to 3lbs, but since then the Core i5-4xxxY and the Core m and m5 processors that replaced them have been pretty darn good.

Even today's Atoms intended for "tablets" are really fast compared to the one in the Vaio X. "Toy" 8" tablets like the Dell Venue Pro 8" (5855; 0.37” x 5.12” x Depth: 8.5” ; 0.83lb) will outperform the Vaio X by about 4x (similar single-threaded performance ,but quad core.)

Might also look at some 11" Chromebooks...

Thanks for the detailed reply.

I'm considering a laptop which has the dimensions (approx.) of a 10" Vaio X. The surface pro is slim but the book cover keyboard looks flimsy. The Dell 13" seems too big.

Cheers

The keyboards for the Surface (and surface-alike) tablets vary, but none of them really work well for lap use.

"Too big" is entirely subjective; for my own taste, the slight size differences among this class are pretty much an irrelevancy (and indeed, going much smaller than the Dell produces a keyboard too small for my comfort.)

You might also look at the Macbook Air 11", although the width is at the high end of the range.
Height: 0.11-0.68 inch (0.3-1.7 cm)
Width: 11.8 inches (30 cm)
Depth: 7.56 inches (19.2 cm)

Any recommendation of the Macbook/Macbook Air depends on running the MacOS one them.

Onen machine which will not feel that much faster than the Vaio X, but which is incredibly inexpensive is the HP Stream 11. It's basically the Windows equivalent of a Chromebook. 11.8 x 8.1 x 0.71 in, 2.57lb, but $199 MSRP.

The pricessor isn't awful, but the the eMMC storage is cr*ptastically slow. There seem to be a whole bunch of other similar 11.6" ~$200ish low end Windows laptops

I'm on the road ~250-300 nights/year. Do you really need to carry an entire second laptop with you? While I desire a certain amount of self-sufficiency while on the road, I also have learned what I can & can't source on the road.

Most of my travel these days is US/Canada, so I can usually overnight just about anything I need. I do back up frequently and keep as much on our office's servers as possible. If I get in a bind, I can remote into a desktop session at the office. I also carry a cheap Bluetooth keyboard & mouse which are paired to my tablet & phone. My phone has an HDMI output, so I can use the hotel's TV as a monitor if need be. Not ideal, but I can limp along with it until the next day. Similarly, I can always pick up a cheap laptop locally and limp along with it until I can order a proper replacement.

Now, when I'm heading out of the country, I usually travel with one of the company's netbooks or generic laptops and remote-in to do everything.

Hello, mzzxx11 ! I agree with @fassy. I also use Surface Pro. It's sleek, business-class, and a great convertible for any purposes. It's extra light, thin, and compatible to Windows (Windows OS by manufacture) and I think that's what you are looking for. It's packed with varying memory sizes so you have many options depending on the size of the back-up. I personally find it a valuable when it comes to mobility and performance. I use it to upload and edit photos on my Surface Pro 4 whenever I go on a trip. It's a travel companion.

I would propose the "self insurance approach", i.e. if your laptop would totally break, you would just buy a new one wherever you happen to be. Unless you're in the "middle of the jungle", there are going to be many PC shops around. It won't cost much for a basic PC laptop, and you can keep going after a short break to install the new machine.

This will get you back to speed in after about day or so of delay. Then you need a solution for surviving if your laptop breaks just before an important meeting or something:

For the really top critical things, I do carry backup hardware, for me this is a) Ability to show my work presentations, b) work email and VPN intranet access and c) secure passwords access.

I use my iPhone as backup, which I carry anyway.

Both PowerPoint and Keynote presentation apps work well on the iPhone, you can present well to projectors or any TV using the VGA and HDMI dongles or even make some last minute edits to the presentation.

So the only extra I need to carry are the iPhone VGA and HDMI dongles, which are small and light.

Before each trip I sync over the presentation files from my laptop to the iPhone (I use the GoodReader App to manage files on the iPhone), along with PDF travel itinerary and other files I might need.

This means that if there would be a major problem with my laptop, I'll be able to go on and do the most critical things during the trip with the iPhone, not perfectly, but OK, and keep goinggood enough until getting back home.

I've had some hardware failures during my trips, but I've been able to buy the necessary new power supplies, cables, hubs, etc. while going on with the stuff on the phone.

I have an Asus X205TA that I got a couple years ago on Black Friday for $150. It only weighs 1.5 lbs which is lighter than a Microsoft Surface Pro of the same size BEFORE you even add on the weight of the Surface keyboard. I carry it everywhere because it's so light that it feels like a paperback book. It has a 11.6" screen and 32GB SSD HD which is fine for Windows, Linux, and a few apps. No personal files, as they are all in the cloud. It's a cheap backup laptop that can handle all your office productivity needs in a pinch.

Also, for weekend getaways I often don't feel like carrying my work laptop around so I just throw this in my weekend bag and use it for work and web surfing. If it breaks or gets stolen (which is more likely during weekend getaways than during the week when you're on business), no big deal because it's so cheap. Plus like I said earlier, put all your files in the cloud so none of your personal information is compromised if your backup is stolen.

EDIT: I noticed they have since released a new Vivobook which is the same 11.6" size, but offers a faster processor and double the RAM and it still costs only $199. I'd get this one if my X205TA broke or got stolen.