But right before I left for my NYC trip just last month, I discovered a mobile WiFi rental service right here in Manila that seemed to offer a very promising “near future” for me, my friends, and our Internet-consumption-needs. So I gave it a shot, and as some of you have noticed if you were able to follow my NYC posts… the connection and our consumption did follow through effectively, and quite conveniently using FLYTPACK.
I’ve received significant inquiries from some of my friends and followers about it too, so I’m sharing here with you a brief review and my personal thoughts on my overall FLYTPACK experience. In three words, I’d summarize the entire service as SIMPLE, CONVENIENT, and SECURE.
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The registration was pretty straightforward too, but you have to book & pay online at least five (5) working days before your departure. All you have to do is visit their official site, reserve online, confirm your order via email after payment has been settled, and you will receive the delivery or collection details.
I chose the delivery method so my FLYTPACK Travel WiFi was sent right to my doorstep a day before my departure. If you’re in a rush to try out their services but missed the ideal 5 working days before departure registration period, last minute bookings may also be possible depending on the availability of units and staff assistance. Just shoot them an email via hello@flytpack.com and you’ll see!
Having a pocket WiFi when you travel is a huge convenience. Especially since we drove around the city and the country! Even if we had GPS in the car, we would refer to Google Maps, and Waze regularly for road updates and to make sure our route navigation is aligned with the GPS. You never know!You can use it for so many other needs and wants too! Searching, connecting with friends and family, updating your social sites, getting updates from social sites and pages you follow, making sure you receive important emails, making sure you’re in the right location or meeting place, cramming your itinerary and checking which restaurant is the most recommended by Yelp, and the list goes on.
Because of my Internet connectivity on-the-go, we were able to meet up with the rest of my friends in NY and properly communicate to figure out where and when to meet, we got to book last minute concert tickets and ended up seeing an amazing show, we got to play whatever music we wanted to on demand that weren’t saved in our devices just so we can rock out to them on the road, and we got to plan our day as it progressed wherever we were, whatever time it was.
All that, PLUS the Flytpack device doubles as a powerbank for select mobile devices too!
You can connect up to 5-8 devices too, on average, at the same time… Be it your laptop, tablet or phone.
NAVIGATING + EXPLORING THE CITY
So if you’re traveling for a week, and per day the rate is 300 pesos, your total bill will only be PHP 2,100. No more, no less! No bill shocks!
The rates vary according to the country of destination as well…
Starting at PHP 180 – 400 in select Asia Pacific countries.
PHP 350-550 in select Western and European countries.
Cross country packages are at PHP 300 for Asia, and PHP 500 for Asia + Australia.
You can also be sure that the WiFi Kit it comes with is complete. It includes charging cables, a super cool universal charger, and a user manual to guide you on using the router and of course, the router itself, just in case you want more info! The average battery life is about eight hours, depending on the number of connecting devices, and data consumption. Being frugal with battery life in general, I always make sure I switch the device off whenever not needed. So there were even nights when I didn’t have to charge my Flytpack unit because the battery was still so full!
DRIVING TO THE COUNTRY AND BACK
In terms of the connectivity speed, it was pretty smooth throughout the entire trip except for places with really poor signal because of the area’s infrastructure and location… For instance, in our underground room in the cabin where we stayed in
for a few night’s for my friend’s wedding.
There’s also a Fair Usage Policy that may affect the speed of your Internet surfing. The FUP is a set of guidelines implemented by the country’s local carrier to limit the amount of data consumed by the end user. Once the user reaches the estimated data cap, the tendency for the Internet speed is to become slower… adjusted by the local Internet Service Provider. This is to prevent data abuse such as bandwidth hogging.
DISTANCE
Connectivity distance can accommodate a network range of about 10 meters… And I actually experienced it first hand. There was a time I accidentally left the WiFi device switched ON in the car, parked right outside the brunch place we were dining at. Then I noticed that my phone was still connected to it, and the signal was pretty strong still. I’d still receive notifications, and could surf the net with ease.
RETURN POLICY
The courier will collect the Wi-Fi router from you one (1) day after you’re back from your trip! Make sure you return the entire kit complete and on time because extra rental charges (as per country rate) will be imposed from the second day until the day when you return travel pocket WiFi to FLYTPACK. There are also penalty charges if you lose any part of the kit so best be careful and mindful when storing it!
CONNECTED BOTH ONLINE AND OFF
UNTIL THE NEXT!
Love,
Janeena
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