North American laptops in Europe

[mrsundaynight]

My wife is going to Switzerland for a year, and she wants to buy a laptop before she leaves. So here's my question: if she buys a regular laptop from Dell.ca in North America, will there be any hurdles to her using it in Switzerland? Any hardware or software issues?

Off the top of my head, the first thing I think of is internet access. Does anyone know if European ethernet cables are the same as North American?

I suppose the first obvious difference would be the power adaptor. Can we just buy a generic European power adaptor and use it for her laptop?

Any help would be appreciated.....hope this isn't a dumb question!

thanks

[ynchu]

The only difference will likely be the power adapter. However, that's not a problem at all, it is so easy just to get an adapter virtually everywhere.

Otherwise, everything else is the same. Wireless does not change much, nor the actual cables. Oh, European cables are indeed different! They're likely 2 times faster than our ISP's here in Canada, while the cost would be 2 times lower. I always envy those people who can upload faster than my download speed...

[ProfessorChaos]

My wife is going to Switzerland for a year, and she wants to buy a laptop before she leaves. So here's my question: if she buys a regular laptop from Dell.ca in North America, will there be any hurdles to her using it in Switzerland? Any hardware or software issues?

Off the top of my head, the first thing I think of is internet access. Does anyone know if European ethernet cables are the same as North American?

I suppose the first obvious difference would be the power adaptor. Can we just buy a generic European power adaptor and use it for her laptop?

Any help would be appreciated.....hope this isn't a dumb question!

thanks

most laptop batteries are made for 100-240v operation but check it out first just to make sure....i dunno what voltage they use in the swiss....but all you would need is just the NA -> Swiss prong adapter...

and yes...european internet is quite fast...100mbit costs about $30 in sweden...but nothing compared to japan/korea where 1gbit to the house is like $50 a month..

[CodecX81]

All previous advice is correct. You will need an adaptor, as Switzerland uses type J (http://kropla.com/!j.htm) plugs. The power on the laptops charger will be able to regulate for the proper current. These things are built to travel.

But if you really want to know:
Switzerland: 230V/50Hz
Canada: 120V/60 Hz
Since its a laptop, it should have international support on the warranty, I'd double check before buying though.

[mrsundaynight]

Thanks everyone.....very helpful.

[rabbit]

You will need an adaptor, as Switzerland uses type J plugs.

Funky looking plug. Anyways, in case the notebook you get has a power adaptor that has a separate power cable, you may opt to get a Swiss power cable instead of a plug adaptor. If you're getting a Dell, ask them if they can get one for you. I found that it sucked using a gimpy plug adaptor. It was a bit loose, and I had that third ground pin hanging out.