Post #29 eSIM Laptops For Travel; A Few Thoughts

I am not a professional laptop tech. nor I.T. trained. You may wish to follow along with my own layperson thoughts that I am happy to share here after my research. Your own thinking & conclusions are also necessary. Hopefully I can save you some time by sending some of your thoughts in helpful directions & towards useful questions.

We have already looked at smartphones with eSIM capability, & why they can be excellent for travel. Can one acquire a travel laptop that has eSIM capability? Yes. If you don’t have one yet, then next time you need a new laptop you might consider buying same. Similar benefits to having an eSIM capable smartphone. Also known as Always Connected PCs. A 2019 comment seen: “an Always Connected PC is simply a [Windows?] device that supports eSIM & LTE [LTE: think faster downloads] & offers great battery life, regardless of the processor that powers it. …also capable of instantly turning on when you need it” (like a smartphone).Though 2019 article also says you might get “mediocre performance”, I don’t know if their performance has generally improved since.

Let’s look at a couple of the current (reasonable cost) options / examples for an eSIM capable travel laptop:

Budget ~$1100 USD (+tax); maybe less?, then I find the following very interesting. Per a Feb. 20, 2024 article: “Acer, MediaTek, & SIMO Collaborate on an Always Connected Laptop: The Acer TravelMate P4 14”. I’ve used SIMO portable hotspots traveling for several years; my own customer experience has been very good. Laptop apparently has vSIM technology built-in, “designed for international travelers, remote workers” & others always on the move. May eliminate need for “potentially unreliable or unavailable public Wi-Fi”. Select model of the Acer TravelMate P4 14 reportedly may benefit with included SIMO 365 service = “30 min. of free 4G internet access globally, every day for the first year.” Would double check on that. Says laptop available @ retailers / online stores Summer 2024 [or sooner?].
Since I am already a fan of SIMO hotspots, I would really like to trial one of these laptops on my next trip(s).

On more of a laptop budget?: Can consider / check out a Microsoft Surface Go 3 laptop (believe it has LTE); regular price ~$500USD (+tax, as applicable).

A Feb. 2024 article: “What laptops are eSIM compatible?”… gave a current list & says that if you have a laptop that’s on the list, “you will be able to acquire an eSIM card”. The list of devices I read there included many devices from ACER, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft & Panasonic Toughbook G2. Highly suggested by me: If really wanting a device that is eSIM compatible, must double check on that detail with retailer(s) before any new purchase.

Per a Jan. 2024 article:  “By connecting a SIM card to a laptop, users can enjoy internet connectivity wherever they are, without relying on Wi-Fi networks or tethering to a mobile device.”

And in the meantime, if without a laptop with eSIM or vSIM capabilities, you may wish to travel with a small Mi-Fi gadget – a portable hotspot (your own portable hotspot, around the size of a deck of cards; I believe that it often [always?] has its own private wireless network). Gadget is also known by other names, including: portable Wi-Fi router, pocket Wi-Fi, mobile Wi-Fi device,[& more]. If you can get an unlocked one, that may be a further benefit.