Our regular readers know that we like to tell you about details that can make your travels better, and one of the things we came across that was really convenient during out trip to Korea was our own portable source of internet!
I had come across a company that rents these little devices to visitors...
It's not much bigger than a business card!
Now, Korea is one of the most connected countries in the world. But it's very difficult to find your own secure connection to use with your smartphone, laptop, or tablet.
This little device takes a cellular signal, connects to the internet and then distributes a WiFi signal that up to five devices can simultaneously connect to. It's a fast connection and we never had a problem uploading pictures to facebook or this blog.
You can stay connected anywhere in Korea for $3.99 per day. Or you can get a one month contract with 6 GB of available data usage for $80. We thought it was a pretty good deal, and let me tell you when they say it works anywhere, they mean it! We tested it!
Plus, the battery is great and we found that it would easily go 10 hours between charges, and that's if you left it on. I think we only had to recharge it three or four times during the whole month we had it.
You can pre-order your device and they'll have it waiting at your hotel. Or, you can pick it up and drop it off right at the airport when you arrive and depart Korea.
Check it all out here... Portable WiFi in Korea
Cool! I wonder if something similar is available here...
ReplyDeleteIf it's not, it should be!
DeleteExcellent idea for tourists, glad it worked for you. We have similar devices for the USA and Canada that we purchased, and I believe you have one in Mexico.
ReplyDeleteYes, we have a "Mi-Fi" for use in Canada. It's locked to the Bell network though, and apparently not easy to unlock. We have a single cell stick for use in Mexico, but of course only one device can connect at any given time.
DeleteI've never seen or heard of anything like it in the U.S. or Mexico. It would have come in handy on our trip through the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. was the most difficult to connect. Mexico has a ciber on every street corner not to mention restaurants, Office Depot, Office Max, well the list goes on. When I work in Texas and need to send my reports, Kinkos charges .39 cents a minute. Truly a ripoff. Mexico ciber cafes are cheap, as low as 10 pesos an hour and the small cafes make a ton of money. Maybe all this is going by the wayside with the use of SmartPhones. Probably will need to buy one soon.
ReplyDeleteWe checked on the internet for the USA and they definitely do rentals on MiFi devices but they are crazy expensive, we are talking about $15 a day or if you were to go with a 4 week period it would be about $8 a day with a 2GB allowance per week. Haven't looked to see if Mexico or Canada have anything similar. At that point we think it would make more sense to buy a MiFi device that is unlocked and buy a new SIM card in each country and then just pay as you go for the data.
DeleteIf they were as reasonable as Korea WiFi then it would it wouldn't be so bad.
In Mexico buying the Telcel stick is certainly affordable but it will only service one device at a time. We love having ours but it would be better if we had a MiFi device.
That is really interesting. If the US cell companies would get their competitive acts together and offer something like this, so many folks would be able to rent them for a month or so while on vacation and turn them back in once they got home.
ReplyDeleteThe US does have them for rental they are just ridiculously expensive! Can't really understand why they are so much.
DeleteLots to learn from the Koreans, they take their connectivity seriously!
ReplyDeleteYep, they really do and they are so far ahead of us it is amazing.
DeleteVerizon has a portable hot spot. I've had one for approximately two years and it's very nice to have when there's no available WIFI hookup.
ReplyDeleteYes, we also have one for use in Canada. But the point with this is that you can rent it for a short term period. Very handy for travelers.
DeleteThis one looks interesting for the U.S. - https://yourkarma.com/store?gclid=CLjh78e8hMICFUdhfgoddmcA0A
ReplyDeleteNot bad, but data is a little expensive. And I'd want to check and see who's network they're using for coverage and if the device can be unlocked.
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