I'm trying to decide if the GlobLinker is worth dropping $150 on for the 2GB free monthly rollover data "for life."
my use case is that I haven't been able to consistently pay for mobile data, which at this point I'm so used to living without that I mostly only need it for texting, transit updates, and scooter rental. however, since the data doesn't expire when unused, I could theoretically stack it for occasional use when camping or something like that.
assuming they renege on the "life" deal after 2 years, that's $6.25/mo up front for the device plus 2GB/mo mobile data... 
the other aspect to this is that it lets me kick the can down the road further on getting a new phone.
I only truly NEED a new (to me) phone because I have a Poco F1, and the only cellular bands/dialects it could speak in the USA were shut down a while ago.
I've been planning to get a used Pixel when I can afford one and run Graphene, but the Pixel alone is more than the GlobLinker, and it still requires a mobile subscription to not be wifi-dependent.
based on the claimed price to buy additional data, it's much cheaper with GlobLinker than with e.g. jmp dot chat's data-only plan: https://jmp.chat/sim
@surfhosting What about ditching the phone and go with VoIP? Then just run linphone on your laptop. If you need something on the go, you could buy something like the FLX1s from https://furilabs.com/.
I'm lucky... I was able to flee to the single operator left in my country that support my old Nokia 110 4G, so there I will stay until late 2027 when they shut down dumbphones. After that, it will probably be VoIP for me.
@h4890 I found that for incoming calls, the UX of every softphone app I tried on PC and Android was not great at best, and frequently worse than that, and I tested quite a few.
I actually do use VOIP for phone calls, most of the time with a dedicated hardware SIP dumbphone, the Grandstream WP826 (which I need to make a "been using this a while now" video on, as a reader gifted it to me). ironically I believe it's also running Linux under the hood.
my need for mobile data (and hence the interest in GlobLinker) is mostly for messaging and things like scooter rentals and transit schedules. getting around town is painful without connectivity.
@surfhosting Yes, in that case, it is more difficult. =( The only hybrid I can think of is a pure data-plan and a 4g modem + some kind of linux device. Better than a full android smartphone, but not ideal.
@h4890 I'm interested in the GL.iNet Mudi 7, my current 4G modem+router has big external antennae which don't do so well in a backpack