To iPad (only) or not to iPad? Introduction

As someone who makes a living—or at least pays the technology hobby bills—partly as a tech journalist and partly as a consultant to startups, extensive traveling is just part of the job.

Along with travel—including significant international travel—comes the requisite gaggle of gadgets, wires, chargers, and receptacle adapters.

For years, I've traveled with a laptop, trading up and down in size (and operating system) to find the perfect balance of power and compactness. From early 10" Sony Vaio laptops, to Apple Powerbooks, to 15" MacBooks and, finally, to the 13" MacBook Air, I've tried it all.

I've even done a few product reviews along the way, testing the use of a widescreen laptop in economy class to see just how much work can be done while staring down at a screen balanced on my ample tummy while trying to peck at the keys. Sometimes it works, at least when fingers fit between the screen and keyboard, until the passenger in front of me decides to kick back and sleep.

One of the last trips, to West Africa, proved the MacBook Air's worth: its thin wedge-shaped front lip could be stuffed down between piles of dirty clothes, virtually disappearing in to a roller-board suitcase during the never-ending stops (where local militia search vehicles for "bombs" or "explosives" while at the same time begging for money).

Could there be an even better approach, though, one that would include a tablet that could be separated from the physical keyboard, allowing for even greater flexibility (or better hiding places) while on the road?

That question, and the sale of my Apple MacBook Air just before last month's worldwide developer's conference, coalesced in to the perfect opportunity to try out the new iPad (iPad 3 for those of us who keep track) as the sole computing device.

Stay tuned in a few days for the outcome of week one of a four-week trip.