Reply To: internet on the road

Tags: , , Hello, My tech experience spans a dumbphone and a few desktops (one of which I built 12 years ago). Never owned a laptop, tablet or smartphone. Just didn’t want to deal with them. Now, I’m contemplating a project that might need more advanced connectivity. I’m planning a high stakes solo road trip and since my destination will be determined by the weather, I will need access to updated weather forecasts and extensive maps.

I think I should buy a mobile device with on the road internet access. I want to keep costs around $300 to $400 (if possible) and avoid buying expensive gizmos that I won’t want later. But, my dumbphone – with its cheap cellular plan and small screen – won’t work well by itself, or even as a hotspot for another device.

I’m considering buying an inexpensive laptop with its own internet connection through a cellular network. My current idea: – refurbished laptop, something a couple of years old windows 10 is OK preferably can accept a cellular SIM card – if no SIM support, then add a plug in USB modem that accepts a SIM card – prepaid plan connected to the SIM card from a reputable carrier I guess at least 20GB of high speed data before throttling would be nice don’t expect to need the plan for more than a month – I won’t be sending sensitive info.

I can handle business with my phone – download some maps ahead of time with Microsoft’s Maps app, saving data – GPS optional; I can navigate with a decent map I was hoping for some advice about the following concerns: – compatibility issues between an older laptop, USB modem, SIM card and data plan what specs should I focus on for compatibility? where should I get this equipment? – what SIM card and provider would be good? – what am I missing? – are there better ideas I should consider? Thanks for any direction you can offer me..