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Multi-country Prepaid Mifi/Wireless Hotspot Solution

Multi-country Prepaid Mifi/Wireless Hotspot Solution

Old Aug 7, 2015, 4:09 am
  #31  
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Don't forget there are "normal options" for those who only visit countries covered by network "Feet At Home" plans.

For example, a 1GB per month mobile broadband plan from 3 in the UK costs me £8 a month. The Mifi dongle was £49 I think. I can use it for free in:

Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Isreal, Italy, Macau, New Zealand, Norway, Ireland, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.
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Old Aug 7, 2015, 12:55 pm
  #32  
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Why are they doing Kickstarters for Mifi devices?

Why not just sell sims?
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Old Aug 10, 2015, 10:23 am
  #33  
 
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Originally Posted by wco81
Why are they doing Kickstarters for Mifi devices?

Why not just sell sims?
You don't replace the SIM - it's preloaded with a worldwide SIM so you just load with a credit for use (or buy a country specific or worldwide package) and the device finds the best signal as you travel.

If you travel to lots of countries or travel with multiple people this saves you buying different sims, and means locked iphones can use data internationally.

That's the theory - it works in Canada but will be heading to Greece next week and the states in 3 weeks.

I like the idea of only paying for the data I use when I travel instead of a package because wifi is becoming easier and easier to find.

Last edited by tlvancouver; Aug 10, 2015 at 3:42 pm
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Old Aug 10, 2015, 10:29 am
  #34  
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OK, why not just market the worldwide SIM?

Mifi devices are becoming obsolete because you can buy nice phones under $200 which will tether.
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Old Aug 10, 2015, 3:42 pm
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Because not every device is unlocked, most people want to use their own phones with all the settings established.
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Old Aug 10, 2015, 4:14 pm
  #36  
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Originally Posted by wco81
OK, why not just market the worldwide SIM?

Mifi devices are becoming obsolete because you can buy nice phones under $200 which will tether.
My Three mifi device is considerably smaller than a smart phone. That's why I like it.
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Old Aug 11, 2015, 4:02 am
  #37  
 
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Originally Posted by Wozza2404
My Three mifi device is considerably smaller than a smart phone. That's why I like it.
I think this kickstarted is somewhat larger than the standard hotspot.

A disadvantage with a hotspot is your data consumption on a phone can be higher when connected to one of these devices. On Android phones, I've found a deep setting which will let you set an incoming wifi signal as a "cellular hotspot" and limit what it downloads. On iPhones, I haven't found an equivalent. Also, thus far I haven't found a way to do a Bluetooth connection to a data device from these units which means USB tethering is your only way not to burn through battery life.

Last edited by Dubai Stu; Aug 12, 2015 at 3:45 am
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Old Aug 11, 2015, 11:32 am
  #38  
 
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I totally agree. Plus, some of the mifi devices out there do not necessarily have all the bands that may be found on a phone. Plus, with a mifi device, it's one additional thing to carry with you.


Originally Posted by wco81
Mifi devices are becoming obsolete because you can buy nice phones under $200 which will tether.
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Old Aug 12, 2015, 5:47 am
  #39  
 
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Originally Posted by wco81
Why are they doing Kickstarters for Mifi devices?

Why not just sell sims?
With respect to this device, it seems to use a soft SIM for its own operation. Some of the other MiFi devices have multiSIMs and some software "glue" to figure out which one to access. It also seems to be LTE, not simply HSPA so there are less phones with large complements of bands for under $200, particularly when you factor in the need for dual SIM to get voice.

I can tell you that when I suggest to friends that they should take one of my old smart phones instead of their brand new shiny iPhone, I get a "what are you smoking look."

The catch is to tweak everything for foreign use I've spent a lot of time rigging up the phone and can't take the time to do that to each of my friend's phones. First, one of my SIMs requires manual APN configuration, another requires jailbreaking if you want to tether (which the SIM company is fine with), third I use data compression software to keep the megs down and to give the people a US internet connection with a foreign SIM, then there is a VOIP dialer tweaked for low bandwith, then there is the Google callback being set to deeply integrate into the dialer, etc. I came to the conclusion that it is easier to plug in your email information and Facebook on my phone than for me to reprogram your phone. I have the setup backed up and wipe the phone when I loan it.

My last friend decided it was easier to just use Verizon and pay them the roaming money than deal with the complications. They invoked that old burden shifting line -- "I just want it easy. Ugh.

Last edited by Dubai Stu; Aug 12, 2015 at 5:58 am
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Old Aug 18, 2015, 12:57 pm
  #40  
 
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Originally Posted by Dubai Stu
I think this kickstarted is somewhat larger than the standard hotspot.

A disadvantage with a hotspot is your data consumption on a phone can be higher when connected to one of these devices. On Android phones, I've found a deep setting which will let you set an incoming wifi signal as a "cellular hotspot" and limit what it downloads. On iPhones, I haven't found an equivalent. ...
Good point. I provided a hotspot for our crew on a recent sailing trip. Things were great when there were just Apple devices connected. But when the first Android device was connected, it started to madly update its apps over its "wifi" connection and consumed lots of data. The Apple devices were not a problem because they would only update apps "on demand".
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Old Aug 18, 2015, 1:44 pm
  #41  
 
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Originally Posted by MDWCommuter
After posting last night I went ahead and funded the Kickstarter campaign for $99 as a "super early" adopter of the Glocalme G2. They say it will ship in September.

I'm pinning my hopes on it working well as I've got an around-the-world trip planned for the second half of December and it sure would be handy not to have to acquire data SIM cards at every stop.
I just funded this also. I kicked in the extra $20 for 400 MB of global data. Not bad when ATT charges me $60 for 300 MB of data. Still a lot more expensive than a local SIM, but very convenient. Let's hope this device works well when it ships.
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Old Aug 20, 2015, 6:18 am
  #42  
 
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I accidentally just bought the G1 which looks similar to the G2. I like the device, but the absence of SIM slots is definitely a detractor. I have a TMobile SIM I'd love to put in it when I am flying out or into the US (and hopefully Canada) soon that I could use. the unit is definitely thicker than a typical hotspot.
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Old Aug 23, 2015, 6:05 pm
  #43  
 
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Originally Posted by Dubai Stu
I accidentally just bought the G1 which looks similar to the G2. I like the device, but the absence of SIM slots is definitely a detractor. I have a TMobile SIM I'd love to put in it when I am flying out or into the US (and hopefully Canada) soon that I could use. the unit is definitely thicker than a typical hotspot.
not to mention that the G2 is 4G. I am hoping that they have it available prior to my early Oct trip to the EU
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Old Aug 24, 2015, 4:50 am
  #44  
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Originally Posted by mikel51
not to mention that the G2 is 4G. I am hoping that they have it available prior to my early Oct trip to the EU
For the EU, you can get Three mobile PAYG sim card in the UK and use the data and texts from that in any EU country in their "feel at home" programme, for free.
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Old Aug 25, 2015, 1:16 am
  #45  
 
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I spoke too soon. The one I bought didn't work for my husband in the U.S., France or Greece. Waste of money ��
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