Rent a phone with unlimited internet in Hong Kong and Singapore

When traveling, especially business travel, it is important to be in touch. But there is one important drawback - predatory roaming of domestic operators. That is why, when traveling, many people choose a place for lunch using Wi-Fi here stickers, periodically rush into the hotel to check if an important letter has arrived. And if in the tariffs for some European countries you can still find more or less reasonable rates. For example, in Asia or America, not everything is so beautiful.

When planning another trip to Hong Kong in October last year, I accidentally stumbled upon a company that rents phones with unlimited internet for rent.

Service handy appeared recently, in October 2012. The company has two booths in the arrival hall of the Hong Kong Airport in which you can rent a Google Nexus or Samsung Galaxy Note. It comes with a proprietary protective case, extra battery, charging with a wire and a bag for accessories.


')
The second battery is very useful, Note sits quite actively. Also, just in case, I carried with me both charging and, if possible, recharged the battery.

Tariffs

Currently there are two tariff options:



In October, when I rented a phone, there was only one tariff for 68 HKD. True, I had a bonus, like everyone who pre-ordered the phone in September, it was given for 18 HKD / day.

Calls

The second tariff without the included calls, apparently entered recently, at the request of users. I used my included calls only twice. One, when they did not find my reservation at the hotel counter and had to hang on the phone from booking.com for 10 minutes while they called the same hotel and found out what was happening (they all found it later). And the second when I had to bail out a compatriot who happened to meet by chance, who found himself in the middle of the city without language and documents, who remained in a taxi and were looking for an embassy.
That is, apart from several force majeure calls I didn’t have to go anywhere. Yes, and those calls could make for a penny on Skype. Which tariff to choose is up to you.

Unlimited calls from Hong Kong are available in the following countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States.

Russia, as you can see in the list is not, but almost everywhere in Hong Kong is the perfect Internet so you can call via Skype via 3G and HDSPA.

Tetering

If you have an intolerance of phones on android, or you want to continue to use only your device in Hong Kong, you will not be able to rearrange the SIM card. She is locked on a handy phone. But there is a tethering function. You can share the rental phone as a modem, and forget about it by connecting your phone / tablet / laptop to a Wi-Fi point. It remains only to change the battery.
In truth, I was going to use it. But in the end, all the applications that require simple authorization, like Skype or Instagram, I used on the rental Galaxy Note.

System

Rental phones have onboard Android modification. On the main page is the most important, according to the developers, information for the tourist, namely, a guide and coupons.



In October, there was quite a bit of useful information, but they promised to improve everything and add ticket sales to various events, horse racing and amusement parks right from the phone. May have already added. It would be extremely convenient.
Many system settings are locked, so that you yourself can not reflash your handy. However, you can download any applications from Google Play, so that twitter, instagram and other applications will be with you. For me it was an entertaining experience, I have never used an android before. (torrent right on the phone is extremely convenient).

Comparison

The cost of renting handy was indicated earlier. Here are the prices for Internet roaming in Hong Kong of Russian operators:

Megaphone
63 rubles for 100 kb

Mts
30 rubles for 40 kb

Beeline
15 rubles for 20 kb

And they take both incoming and outgoing traffic.

There is another option with the purchase of a prepaid SIM card. For example, Smartone offers unlimited internet for 24HKD per day. This is a plus - you will use your usual phone. Customized mail application. Well, cheaper, undoubtedly. But nobody will call your Russian number and will not receive an SMS from the bank.

A spoon of tar

Not working in Macau and mainland China. If you need to travel outside of Hong Kong, you will have to look for an additional option.
SMS is not included in the rental price.
In October, they took me a pledge of either 3000 HKD, or 4000 HKD. If on return with the phone everything is fine, it is returned.

Singapore

While I was going to write a post about handy in Hong Kong, they managed to open an office in Singapore. I cannot tell personal impressions, but the site states the following:
Cost: 15 SGD / day ~ 380 rubles / day
Unlimited 3G Internet.
Unlimited calls to the expanded list of countries including, attention, Russia!

Results

Re-read the post, sounds like an advertisement. But I really liked the opportunity to rent a phone with unlimited calls and the Internet at the airport, and then pass it on the way to the plane. At what is quite inexpensive. Perhaps somewhere else there are such services?