I bought this in spite of the ongoing legal battle that Glocalme and Skyroam appears to be embroiled in. I believe they have sidestepped whatever issue they were dealing with with the release of updated firmware and this new unit so I'm not too worried about there being any long-term issues with the injunction they had placed against them. This device mysteriously appeared on Amazon shortly after the injunction went into effect and all the older devices mysteriously disappeared. So.... there isn't a lot of information on this, but it was a concern of mine before I ended up buying the device anyway.
I needed something that would work reliably as a hotspot for AT&T and/or Tmobile and this one mostly fit the bill. There is no band 71 support which really sucks for Tmobile, but you do what you can! I got a sim card from Red Pocket, put 60GBs on it and have been using it daily for about 5-6 days while camping in West Virginia (working remotely). It has been rock solid and has given me some decent speeds while my poor phone has had crap service from Tmobile (AT&T is the only cell carrier with a decent presence in West Virginia).
I liked this option because I know I can use it in the future for day-trips as well as short business trips and the freedom to hop carriers in the US and outside of it is huge. Also purchasing data direct, while more expensive, will really be nice to get started in a new country when I visit. I really wish I had something like when when I visited Italy at the beginning of the year. I'll definitely be packing it along for future adventures.
As far as usability is concerned, the form factor is almost exactly the same as my LG v30 with the slim case I have on it. It is pretty much just one button. Turn it on or turn it off. The initial setup was easy and I did not download the app or bind it to an account yet since I just slapped a sim card in there. All I did was name the device and setup the wifi hotspot password and it was ready to go.
One thing I was really impressed with was the wifi range. I have been roaming almost as far away from this thing as I'd roam from a normal router. It has a pretty powerful wifi signal which has been super helpful as I have been working in an all-metal building a lot. I basically leave this thing on the outside of the building and then work from the inside. Excellent signal -- works almost like a cell signal booster.
My only real complaints are, like others have mentioned, no real case options. I find myself babying the device since it really doesn't have much protection. It handles and feels like a cell phone so you want to protect the screen from damage. It hasn't been tough to protect it and I've been car camping so it has been in some decently harsh environments thus far. We'll see how it holds up long term. I won't be taking it camping often. Mostly it'll be coming along on business trips.
Also because of the lack of a case, I found it was pretty easy to turn on while in my pack. I found a pocket which holds it well enough so it wasn't pushing buttons while I'm moving around -- but YMMV. You will want to find a place where the sides aren't pressed, otherwise it'll be constantly turning on and off in your pack or whereever you're holding it.
The lack of Band 71 was also a bummer as I mentioned already. I'll probably upgrade my phone at some point and will use that when I travel too far out of the way on Tmobile's network. Since I have an AT&T sim in there right now I think I'll be ok for the time being, though.
Finally, Glocalme is a Chinese company. I want to believe they have our best interests at heart, but China is in the midst of serious turmoil right now. Communication devices such as this one make for fantastic spy equipment and while I'd like to believe that isn't the case, it is something I considered when making a purchasing decision. Huawei and Oneplus, both very popular Chinese communication companies have been caught with spyware on their devices and networks. Do not think that this company is immune to the whim's of the Chinese government. So do your own research there and make an informed decision.
Overall I have been very happy with it. It is very portable, very easy to use, and the battery has been lasting me from 8am until 11pm daily with about 30% charge to spare. Really cannot complain!
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