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During CES earlier this year, Solis introduced its latest hotspot device called the Solis Go. At the time, the company positioned the new addition as a potential part of an emergency kit (which was unfortunately relevant as the Los Angeles wildfires were underway during CES) and even introduced a new data plan with that use case in mind. Now, the Solis Go is launching more widely — and, in turn, the company has changed a couple of things.
First, let’s talk about the device itself. The Solis Go takes on a different form factor from past Solis devices and basically resembles a smartphone (minus the screen). That body is packed with an 8,000 mAh battery that can apparently deliver 48 hours of usage. Most notably, the back of the hotspot includes built-in USB-A-, USB-C, and Lightning cables so users can turn the device into a power bank.
As for WiFi connectivity, the Go offers 4G LTE speeds, can support up to 10 devices at a time, and will automatically find the strongest signal. Of course, it will also work in the 140+ countries that Solis’s network supports.
So how does this roll-out of the Solis Go differ from the CES launch? That would be in the data plan and options. When it was announced, Solis was promoting the GoData Lite plan with it. That plan includes 1 GB of data per month at a cost of $2.99 per month. Interestingly, though, any unused data will roll over from month to month (up to a cap at a maximum of 24 months/24 GBs). Obviously, this plan spoke to the “emergency kit” proposition for the device.
Now, rather than looking at the Solis Go purely as an emergency provision, Solis seems to be suggesting it as an alternative to its own Solis Lite. With this pivot, the new Solis Go preorder features 1 GB of included data per month for the life of the device. This matches what’s currently offered by both the Solis Lite and Solis 5G. Also, while I was unclear on whether the GoData Lite plan was North America only or not, this lifetime data offer confirms that it is global data.
But wait – there’s more! As part of the presale for the Solis Go, customers can also earn 10GB of data for free (on top of the lifetime data deal).
In terms of price, the Solis Go retails for $119.99. That’s up from the expected $99 price tag Solis teased originally — but, then again, this now includes data, whereas the original version had a paid plan. Also, that still puts the Go $40 below the Solis Lite’s list price.
While I did think that Solis’s idea of having a dedicated emergency WiFi device was a solid one, it’s also nice to get confirmation that the new Solis Go can be used globally. With that, I can’t currently see a reason why you’d purchase a Solis Lite over the new Solis Go. That said, comparing the Go to the Solis 5G is a bit more difficult as the latter delivers 5G speed while the Go and Lite are still stuck at 4G LTE. Nevertheless, as someone who’s been a fan of Solis for years, I think the new Solis Go is a pretty great deal — especially during this presale special — so I’d consider picking one up ahead of your summer travels.