Reddit reviews GL.iNET GL-AR150-Ext/Developer Kit (5dBi Version)
We found 3 Reddit comments about GL.iNET GL-AR150-Ext/Developer Kit (5dBi Version). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
I don't know of any apps, but there might be ones you can sideload (no idea either way).
There are cheap Open VPN routers you could conceivably use. I've been meaning to try something like this (https://www.amazon.com/GL-AR150-ext-External-Antenna-Repeater-Tethering/dp/B015CYI8DY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1493649077&sr=8-3&keywords=home+vpn+router) with AppleTV. Not ideal as I think you'd at least have to change your AppleID on the AppleTV, but for someone who frequently needs to use a VPN it might be worth exploring.
I'm definitely interested in better solutions though.
Given your price range and the limited number of travel routers with battery that can run a variant of openWrt, e.g. HooToo HT-TM01, you might want to think of two components instead of one. For example, coupling the GL.iNet AR150 with a USB battery of your choice. The AR150 has 64MB flash making it pretty easy to customize.
In my experience, most of the 'nano' type wifi adapters are the bottleneck. With a single user, I was never able to get more than 10 Mbps throughput using one. I've used slightly beefier wifi adapters on the RPi, but after a lot of tinkering, decided that using a small travel router running openwrt gave much better performance at less than the price of the RPi3. GLi has other versions of those routers, but they seem to be unavailable on Amazon for some reason. I've found them for $18-25 typically.