Hi Glenn... yeah we are all good... would be good to see you guys though... maybe we should arrange a Herts Laners cookout over the summer break!
I do have a couple of concerns... but they are based more on personal opinion than hard and fast fact.
Firstly a traditional laptop has a number of moving parts... not least the hard drive. It also has lots of bits and pieces plugged into the main board. This means that unless you are very careful when choosing somewhere to mount the machine itself you could risk damaging it when offroading (especially if it is YOU offroading... remember we have all seen you drive... suspended in the air and everything!)
Any damage to the unit would be costly and difficult to rectify if you are out and about. Secondly considering that the unit will need to be heavily protected against shocks... you must also take care not to restrict the airflow around the base of the laptop where ventilation holes allow fresh air to enter the unit to cool the processor. If the processor does not get enough cooling then you will end up with no computer. On the cooling theme remember that there is a fan inside the laptop whose function is to draw fresh air in from the outside. If you are travelling in a dusty environment then it would make sense to protect the laptop from the risks of dust or sand ingress since this can also be a killer for a laptop.
The beauty of a CE device is in its simplicity. No moving parts, completely portable - set up the routes and data on your computer and plug the XDA into it's charger... instantly transferred data. Additionally if the XDA gets stolen you have lost £30 worth of kit rather than £500 upwards.
I seem to remember that Griffdawg runs a pc and he would have more experience of any issues in dusty terrain than I would.
If your longer term plans include Algeria then the bluetooth antenna is definitely the way to go since you will need to hide it when crossing the border. I Don't know what the Algerian attitude is to the laptop type hardware is though.
The screen on the XDA is roughly 4 x 3 and can be used in the same orientation that you are used to seeing your PC screen - It does have internet and email capabilities and also has a lot of availabel software downloads from the net.
Just re-read your post and noticed that you are sticking to the Euro Zone so my comments about Africa are pretty obsolete really