I would highly recommend this device if you live in a Verizon 4G area because it is very fast.

The only caveat is that it seems to die after a a day of occasional use.  I would turn it off with one less bar of a full charge and the next morning, the MiFi has no juice left.

I was about to call Verizon Wireless to complain about the crappy hotspot connection when I stumbled upon a firmware update on their website.  The update took about 15 minutes to install.  I changed the default settings on the MiFi (ah-ha, instruction manuals are there for a reason!)  Also, I made the hotspot backwards compatible to older Droids and to include the 802.12n for my computer.  No Droids using the hotspot but I figured the setting would not hurt since I am experiencing connection issues.

I am typing this post using the MiFi and — knock on wood — it is working.  The firmware update and/or change in WAN settings made a difference.

Only time will tell if this solved the MiFi’s dropping connection issue.

I did a factory reset and it would turn it self on about a minute after I turn the phone off (not in sleep mode, but OFF).

Other issues I’ve noticed after the factory reset:

• The screen and touch buttons became less responsive to unresponsive.  It got so bad that I would hit the back key five times, then tried the home key and nothing happens.  I pulled the battery and the phone reset.   But the Droid 2 would randomly become unresponsive as the day progressed.
• Battery life was worse than before the factory reset.  I went through all settings to prevent apps from “polling” to pull content for the app with the exception of my emails.  My phone and app settings remained the same but my extended battery drained to 40% by 3 p.m.  This is 3.5 hours premature compared to Android 2.2.

It’s really unfortunate I cannot “roll back” to Android 2.2.  I am aware I could root the Droid 2 and most likely roll it back, but I do not have the time or inclination.  I am waiting for my replacement phone, and hopefully, this works out.

• Battery life is the same.
• All black screen effect where there is no border on the top of screen.
• Smoother icons.
• Text messaging error where I could not type with the physical keyboard or screen keyboard.  The “p” and other keys opened esoteric Android programs, preventing my ability to text.  I had to pull the battery and it went away… for now.

Otherwise, I have not noticed much of a difference.

Grab it by going to Settings … About Phone … System Updates.

With great curiosity, I went to a Verizon Wireless store to try the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (LTE).  A store employee stated that the micro-SIM was installed on the display unit.  I navigated through the various screens on the tablet, never had tried Android Gingerbread OS.

I hate to say it, but my first impression was that Gingerbread did not look much different than my Droid 2, running Android 2.2.  I was impressed by the glossy HD screen.

Bored with just scrolling through the available apps, I decided to go online… and the tablet searched and searched.  It had no signal.  Yep, in a Verizon Wireless store.

A store representative tried to fix it but I could see that this was becoming a fruitless endeavor after standing there for a few minutes.

I left the store.

My initial impression of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (LTE) was: pretty screen with no signal.  Or trouble finding a signal.  Whichever the case may be, it was definitely an investment I will avoid.

I’ve been mired in business phone problems that I rarely come up for air to see what is going on in news.  The United States government could default on its debts in August if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling.  Our government is broke.  So are a bunch of people who were laid off after the 2008 mortgage debacle.  And what about all the uncontrolled borrowing by people who took out exotic mortgages and cannot pay it back?

Let’s face it: the world is broke.  The costs of operating a business has gone up since 2008.  Fuel costs have affected the price of everything including groceries and transportation.  The only thing that came down is residential real estate prices.

Raising taxes is insane: the Obama Administration is punishing businesses that have functioning businesses.  Small businesses like the one I work for have a very small margin.  The moment taxes go up, people will be let go.  In a bad economy, I thought that is the last thing you want to do.

I really think the Obama Administration needs to GET REAL and start cutting “Obama Care” that was his first act to massively increase the US debt.  I did not ask for nanny-government health care reform so I have to pay the federal and state government more money related to health care on top of my rising health care premiums.

Thanks for nothing President Obama: ObamaCare did nothing to help lower my health care costs.  It increased them.

My message to the White House: you need a reality check.  We do NOT need more taxes.  You need to cut your precious health care reform to reduce government spending.

]]> http://gadgetluv.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/get-real-president-obama-cut-obamacare/feed/ 0 Muse Budget Budget Budget http://gadgetluv.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/hating-voice-over-ip-voip/ http://gadgetluv.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/hating-voice-over-ip-voip/#comments Sat, 23 Jul 2011 00:55:04 +0000 Muse http://gadgetluv.wordpress.com/?p=278 ]]> I never though setting up an office with voice-over-IP would be so painful.

Originally, I hired a VOIP service that gave us poor voice quality and none of the phones worked correctly.  Calls would go directly to certain people rather than through the reception, as programmed.  Calls could not be transferred certain extensions.  The phones would freeze after dialing the last number and needed to be constantly unplugged to reset the phones.

Unhappy with our VOIP service, we hired a company that promised to network our office and provide a better quality, hosted VOIP system, with technical support and training.  They had more expensive Cisco phones with more bells and whistles than our original service provider.

So the phones are installed.  They can make calls, with the proper caller ID listed when you call out.

But we have more problems.

We cannot record our names for our extensions.  Or our voice mail recording.  The VOIP web and voice mail interface are so complex that any misstep locks you out of the system.  The “System Administrator” is a subcontractor to the VOIP consultant.

The VOIP consultant claims our networking equipment are faulty.  So they had to put in new equipment.  I discover the IT consultant recorded his own name on the head honcho’s extension and left it that way on our phone system.

I am ready to fire the VOIP consultant for incompetence, poor execution, and complete disregard of a client’s business needs.

I am ready to go back to folds of Baby Bell after a month of phone service hell.

After two disasters, massive phone interruptions, I see that VOIP is not ready for business use.  It’s a joke.  Overly complex and easy to break.

It’s highjacking news content everywhere.

This smacks of monopolistic behavior but I have a feeling that not much will come of this: Apple has quite a strong evangelical aura among its users (most of them are in the media, therefore the multitudes of flattering press about Apple).  They make good products.  I use the iPod Touch for my multimedia needs and I like it.  To me, that does not mean that they are the end-all-and-be-all of computers/electronic products.  I guess I tried the Apple Kool-Aid and do not find it as intoxicating as others find it.