Envy 14 traveling to China

Hello guys,

I have an Envy 14 with a radiance screen (one of the earlier ones back in August 2010) and I'm going to China this summer.
Basically, I am asking if there are anything I should know about for:

- Using / charging / wifing/ anything about this laptop in China that I should prepare for (as opposed to the California, US where I currently live)

- Perhaps using my laptop / charging it on a economical class airplane ride to china?

Thanks!

 

I bought my Envy 14 shortly before you (July) and I've been using it in China ever since. You should have little trouble finding outlets that can handle it, since a lot of outlets here can accept some dozen different standards of plug, and the adapter is 110-240v. Wifi should work normally as well.

As for charging on the plane, you're likely to find that you can use it on AC power or charge it while turned off, but maybe not both at the same time - I think the E14 needs more power than the plane's outlet will provide (assuming your flight has an outlet) to do both.

 

for now charging is only for business class, not economy

 

Also try to find a way to elevate your laptop when you are using it as the weather in China (well at least Shanghai) gets really humid and very hot and it could affect temperatures. In fact, I find Shanghai even hotter than California.

My Envy 15 nearly overheated once when I was using in Shanghai last August, had to elevate it with a few books to get the temperatures down to a normal range degree.

The charger itself will work with the voltage ratings in china, but do go get an adapter to match the sockets in China and WiFi works really the same as in the United States, or at least the (poor) WiFi network my aunt uses at her place does with me fiddling anything with the WiFi adapter itself (Intel 6200N).

Also, Korean Air at least has a charging port for every row in economy, but don't expect to game on it since that generator can only spew out so many watts at a time, but it is sufficient for movie or music watching though. Dunno what other airline business charging stations work.

 

my think pad over headed when i was in italy 35 degrees Celsius and it burnt out, dont use it on a bed or cloth and try and avoid day time

 

What kind of adapters should I be looking at ? You mentioned that I need an adapter (especially perhaps because China's sockets are different?)

 

I can take a picture of it for you. I brought one from China back home with me since I will be going to Shanghai again this year. They aren't really expensive and they are quite necessary for especially three-pronged plugs to work in the Chinese sockets.

They should be just like an adapter with the US layout one side for input and the Chinese prongs as the output on the other side.

 

If you end up needing a plug adapter, you can find one in China for a couple RMB (about a quarter), but there are outlets all over that will accept your Envy's adapter straight up, as I said before.

I can also confirm that I've had access to outlets on Air Canada and Asiana, both economy, and Star Forge is right - the voltage isn't sufficient for really intensive tasks (though you could potentially try and do that stuff on battery with Powerplay turned off and then charge up after), but it'll get your through normal stuff. Also, there aren't as many plugs as seats, so if your neighbor needs it, you might have to share.

Where will you be in China and for how long? The heating thing is pretty dependent on location, naturally. I live in one of the "three furnaces" of China - weather just like Shanghai but hotter in the summer and colder in the winter, and I've had some questionable moments that are likely to get even worse during the summer.

 

If you need to plug into the wall, the walls here have 2 different shaped plugs, one like this:
Amazon.com: VCT VP 103 - Universal Plug Adapter For Australia / New Zealand / China / Argentina: Electronics

And one like this:
Amazon.com: International Travel Adapter Plug - USA & European to Australia, New Zealand, China: Electronics

The adapter needed is the same as for Australia.

If the place you're going has a power strip, your computer will plug right in to that. It will look a little funny (Like the female side of the first link I posted), but your 3 prong computer plug will go right in.

The second one I showed isn't grounded, but I use one like that when I need to here. I of course normally plug into a power strip (which needs no adapter as I just said), use a 3 prong/grounded adapter (like the first link), or use the non grounded one when I have to (and it's never caused any issues).

Besides the shape of the plugs, you don't have to worry about anything else, as people above mentioned. However, if you hope to get on basically any social media-type site (facebook, twitter, youtube, blogs, etc), you might want to look at getting a vpn before you come since everything is blocked.

BTW these:
http://www.amazon.com/American-Euro...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1305226409&sr=1-11
Also work if you have any of them sitting around.

 

You might want to invest in a laptop cooler as temperatures in Shanghai can be extremely hot during the summer.

 

No need if you are in a region where there is AC and you elevate the laptop with books. Bringing a cooling fan is a nuisance, especially if I want all my tech stuff stuffed in one carry-on backpack.

 

Unless we know the nature of the OP's trip, advising on cooling seems kind've pointless. If he's travelling the country, portability is key so an external cooler probably isn't an option or a necessity. If he's going to stay in one place, he could probably get a cooling solution in-country, and it depends on where he goes to determine whether it would be of any use. Even in one of the so-called three furnaces of China (think the same weather as Shanghai but more extreme in both directions) I've only had a couple heating problems on my Envy, and they seem to have been anomalies and unrelated to the ambient temperatures, which were very mild when they occurred.