Of the questions we receive at JohnnyJet.com, none comes up more often than those related to connectivity abroad. Will Wi-Fi be available? Will it be fast? Should you get a local SIM card, or an international package with your cellular provider—or something else?

These are reasonable questions. In the age of Wi-Fi, it can be jarring to drop off the map, especially in a new place (either without recourse or to avoid absurd roaming charges). You lose access to Google Maps/tools of direction and to the abilities to coordinate/link up with others on the go, pull up hotel confirmation numbers and addresses, assure friends and family back home that you are still alive, and so much more.

With a RoamingMan (like this one in white), you can bring Wi-Fi with you
With a RoamingMan (like this one in white), you can bring Wi-Fi with you

RoamingMan Wi-Fi Hotspot can give you those things back. It’s a rentable, pocket-sized device capable of international Wi-Fi delivery in 68 countries for a flat fee. For $9.99 per day, each RoamingMan provides overage-fee-free access to high-speed Wi-Fi tethered from the strongest local carrier signals. It’s WPA2-protected (you’ll have a password) on up to five separate devices at one time. And there’s no setup; RoamingMan, on all devices and without any further parts or process, just works.

Here’s how:

  • On the RoamingMan Portable Wi-Fi Rental website, you select the number of days you’ll be traveling (and confirm that your destination is included among the 68)
  • You pay a guaranteed $9.99 per day (there’s a sliding tool that calculates total cost on the homepage)
  • Your RoamingMan arrives at your door one or two days before you leave
  • Throughout your trip, you connect to 4G (3G when 4G isn’t available) as you like on up to five devices at once without regard for cost (there is a 500MB cap on high-speed Wi-Fi, after which the price does not change but your connection may slow)
  • Upon your return, you ship it back using the pre-paid UPS shipping label
How RoamingMan works: Cloud SIM technology
How RoamingMan works: Cloud SIM technology

The sell is in the ease of use, but the RoamingMan is an electronic device. It is battery-powered, which invites the possibility that a drained battery might kill all the cheap, high-speed fun. Well, worry not: With each charge, a RoamingMan stores some 15 hours of battery life. And, if that’s not enough, the device can be repurposed as a charging station with which to store your other, power-hungry devices.

I haven’t tried the product myself. In my experience, detaching yourself from the internet’s web can be invigorating in the right context—but not all trips offer the right context. More than once, I have scoured the foreign streets of a transient home in search of Wi-Fi. I have battled language barriers, SIM cards locks and dense jungles for access to work emails and hotel booking sites, and I have lost often. As long as there has been Wi-Fi, that battle has been a part of travel. But that appears to be changing. For the next time I need Wi-Fi far from home, RoamingMan appears to be an able ally.

Johnny’s take:
“I let one of my friends borrow the device since they were driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco and needed Wi-Fi to do work. This was her review: ‘This device is great! I can take it anywhere and always have internet.’ I give it two big thumbs up.”

This is a sponsored post.

 

1 Comment On "RoamingMan: The Device That Lets You Take Wi-Fi With You"
  1. Tony Manzi|

    How does this compare to FreedomPop ?

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