Traveling today means relying on a mobile phone for a whole host of systems. From maps to communication, an internet connection through a local SIM card is a common solution, but it can also be expensive. While there are a few countries out there like Thailand that can net you unlimited data for low prices, many other places will be prohibitively expensive. Traveling on a budget can exacerbate this problem even further, but luckily, there are ways you can save on data costs as you go.
Low Data Use as a Basis
A solid starting place to understand data use as you go is to understand that not all apps and websites are created equal. Online casino games are a perfect example of this. Games on these services can require constant connections, but these connections won’t use much data as you go. If you play Sweet Bonanza, for example, each spin costs only a few kilobytes. When other forms of interactive experiences can easily use a megabyte a minute, games like slots can keep your data going on mobile or laptops. Of course, it’s possible to take this idea even further, too.
Preload What You Can
The best way to mitigate necessary data costs is to preload everything you can from a free Wi-Fi hotspot, like at a hotel or even before you leave. For general web browsing or playing online casino games, this can be as simple as playing a few rounds of a game before going mobile. For videos and music, it means downloading whatever you can. This can store a lot of the game’s data on your system, reducing the amount of data required to load.
The same applies to tool use, as with translation and map apps. By preparing beforehand, you can download map data for an area from Google Maps, for example, or get a program like Sygic, which is developed especially for offline use. Though offline versions of maps or translation apps won’t be as powerful or updated as their online counterparts, they’ll still get you what you need in most cases.
Remember Data Saving Modes
Most phones and laptops come with modes that can reduce or eliminate extra data costs that we tend to overlook. Without turning data saving on, you could be playing a few spins of a slot only to find an update to another app in the background that used a hundred megabytes you would never have consented to. Data saving modes can vary depending on whether you’re on an Android or other system, but a quick Google will guide you if you need help. You also can’t forget the usefulness of airplane mode if you want to disable data transmission completely.
Prepare in advance, and even humble mobile travel SIMs will often be enough to give you what you need. In extreme cases, it might even be possible to forgo a SIM completely and rely on low-data apps and an abundance of local free connection points, such as in the South Korean capital of Seoul. Whether playing a few rounds of slots or finding your way to the best local food, getting around without data is still viable, and it still offers most of the tools and opportunities in your mobile’s arsenal.
