Multi Finger Gestures

There are some multi finger gestures that are very handy on the Apple iPad:

1. Swipe left or right on a running app with four fingers touching the iPad and it will switch to other apps that are running in memory.

2. Swipe up with four fingers on the home screen or app and you go into mult-task mode.

3. Touch five fingers on the screen and grasp the screen to close an app.

Air Server

Air Server is a nice product that will allow you to hook any i-Device to your laptop or desk system using Air Display technology.  For example, you can connect your iPad to your laptop via 802.11 using Air Server and show information via the laptop connected to a projector, screen, etc.  This is sure nice to not need cables anymore.

Using an iPad in Business

December 2, 2012

You already know the iPad and other mobile devices can be extremely helpful for personal use and just plain fun, but can an iPad really be productive in business?  Well, that depends on what business and job functions we are discussing.  Since the release of the iPad, business users have needed the ability to do more than just read documents.  As it stands now we can do a whole lot more than just read stuff.

For business use of an iPad I strongly recommend that you add a Bluetooth keyboard and stylus.  These two additional devices will expand your business use capabilities dramatically.  Also, there are apps such as Air Display that will allow you to use your iPad as a second monitor for your laptop.  The last recommendation on hardware is that you buy the iPad it’s own data plan and hopefully you have LTE available in your area.  LTE is significantly faster than 4G. 

The key to successful use of an iPad in business revolves around the job function of the user.  If the user can do his or her job by viewing and editing information then the iPad has a chance at success.  People that consume or use information are great candidates.  For example, a controller can run the corporate accounting via an RDP (Remote Data Processing) app,  such as Citrix or PocketCloud, and get the information they need beyond email and instant messages including running the legacy accounting application from the iPad.  Believe it or not, you can run older Windows accounting systems with the iPad touch control.  Of course this requires some setup on the server side but is very possible.  For events where I speak I often show Open Systems TRAVERSE running on my iPad via PocketCloud Pro (courtesy of Open Systems, Inc.) And it runs very well.

On the other hand, people that produce information are not good candidates due to the smaller keyboard, screen, hard drive, and limited applications in this area.  For example, a tax preparer can easily review tax returns on an iPad, but preparing them on an iPad even with a RDP tool can be very tedious.

Also, there are some industries that just fit.  For example, a large national delivery company is now fully committed to the iPad Mini because it is a powerful iPad in a smaller form factor and can be held in one had for signature on package delivery.  The Mini is not expensive or hard to find if a replacement is needed.  Advantage, iPad Mini.

iPads can also be as secure as you like.  With 256 bit AES encryption built into the hardware all you really need to do is stop using the simple lock code in General Settings and go for a more secure passcode.  You can also use the Apple Configurator, a utility to manage corporate policy settings, on either  a Windows or Mac system then upload the HTML file to the iPad.  This will lock the iPad and users can only reset back to factory settings if they try to go around corporate policy.  You certainly want to setup each iPad so that it can be located from iCloud including invoking Erase Data setting after 10 failed passcode attempts which is located in Settings, General, Passcode Lock.

No USB port on the iPad?  No problem.  You can get data files from email or data sync applications.  I prefer to use the data sync approach and my preference right now is Dropbox or ShareFile. 

Data Sync apps:

·        Dropbox

·        ShareFile

·        SugarSync

·        Box

You can read, edit, and even sign PDF files easily.  In my opinion, all a business iPad user will need is the free Adobe Reader for normal use and GoodReader for large documents.

Popular PDF apps:

·        Adobe Reader for iPad

·        GoodReader

·        Penultimate

·        SignMyPad

·        iAnnotate PDF

MS Office documents can be a challenge.  Apple’s office tools Keynote, Numbers, and Pages are not really MS Office compliant.  While Microsoft has announced a version of Office for the iPad it will not be here until late spring next year. 

In the meantime, here are some apps that do work they just require a bit of learning and setup.  If you need to view, edit, or manage MS Office documents then you need to investigate this list.  The most impressive one on the list, OnLive Desktop, requires that you upload and download files via your desktop or laptop to the OnLive Desktop website.  You can then edit them with your iPad.  You can even pay $5 per month for the Pro version and get full flash browsing via IE 9.0 on your iPad.  Other users combine Dropbox with CloudOn and they are good to go.  One caveat - CloudOn has a built in auto-save mode so you don’t want to make changes to documents unless you want to keep the changes.

Popular MS Office apps:

·        SlideShark

·        CloudOn

·        OnLive Desktop

For the CPA in public practice we are starting to see many iPad apps that will draw information from your practice management, tax prep, and even client’s QuickBooks data installed on their systems. 

CPA firm apps:

·        Mobile CS – Thomson Reuters

·        Practice Intelligence – CCH (access via Atomic Web browser app)

·        CCH Mobile

·        CCH Tax News

·        Avatax Rates

·        Five Plus (coming in Jan to access QuickBooks data)

Accounting solutions with mobile apps:

·        Xero

·        Concur

·        Freshbooks

Bottom line, can an iPad replace a laptop?  Yes, if all the user needs to do is manage information such as email, PDF files, MS Office files (review, edit, make small changes to documents).  An iPad is not good for someone who produces a lot of information.  Instead it is an excellent tool for someone who consumes a lot of information with small management tasks.

The Mini

Well, just because I have to teach about the Mini I bought one.  Well, that isn't actually true.  I have been really looking forward to comparing the Mini to what I have seen in the Kindle and Kindle Fire.  Let's just say I am very pleased and believe the Mini can stand up to any of these products and then some.  The display is not Retina but it is still crystal clear.  I am actually a fan of the new Lightning connector (I have just as many old 30 accessories as you) but I love the positive click and universal plug (either side up).  Improved wireless is good but not the killer feature.  I think the shape, size, feel, speed, and apps make this the winner.  I am biased I know but this is a great product any way you want to argue this one.  I do see the Mini cutting into some iPad sales but a lot more into Kindle sales.

Here is a video of a Tech Update presentation I did for the Pennsylvania Society of CPAs a few weeks back that has a lot of iPad and Mac stuff live in the presentation.  http://www.picpa.org/Content/45585.aspx 

Slide Shark

In a presentation today I forgot to add one item to a slide.  Slide Shark is another good tool to use for showing PPT files on an iPad.  You must upload the file to Slide Shark's site but it runs great.  Completely PowerPoint compatible as far as I can determine.

CloudOn vs. Onlive Desktop

Just an additional note about both CloudOn and Onlive Desktop.   CloudOn will support your Dropbox account and your changes are automatically saved back to Dropbox.  Hence, don't be changing files unless you want the changes to stick.  Onlive Desktop will not work with your cellular account, no, not even the Pro edition so you will need another Wi-Fi network to get Onlive Desktop to work well.

Xero Accounting - Xero Touch App

Folks, Xero Accounting (www.xero.com) is a very well done SaaS accounting product that works great on the iPad with any browser.  Think very solid software like QuickBooks only running via any browser on any device.  Today, I was shown their iPad/iPhone app (not new but new to me) that will integrate to your Xero SaaS accounting and provide you with quick access to many key items.  I think the most helpful is the instant dashboard view but CPAs in public practice may love the ability to check on clients by backing up one level to the My Xero screen and choosing a different client data set.  Easy, peasy.  The Dashboard shows bank balances, invoices, expenses and you can easily add an expense and take a picture of the receipt with you camera then upload.  Viola, you toss the receipt.  My compliments to Xero Accounting for this nice add to their well designed SaaS accounting.

LifeProof iPhone Case

The LifeProof iPhone case really works to protect an iPhone.  I know this is not an iPad tool but it is worth mentioning that it does hold up under some pretty severe conditions.  I just completed a 17 mile hike down Zion National Park Narrows.  Most of the time we were wading in waist to knee deep water but on occasion you do trip on slippery boulders.  My pack went into the water five times and my phone is fine.  I, on the other hand, am very sore.  Good product but expensive $80.

The Narrows
http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/thenarrows.htm

LifeProof
http://www.lifeproof.com

iPad PDF Readers

iPad PDF Tools

·         iBooks is a native iPad app and can open PDF files and read them but you cannot annotate PDF files with iBooks.  Also note that if you open a PDF file with iBooks it will appear in your bookshelf in a separate PDF section.  You may or may not like this.

·         GoodReader  $5.99.  The reason many of us are willing to pay $5.99 for GoodReader is that GoodReader was the first very popular PDF reading tool on the iPad, it is cheap, and it still works very well even with large documents.  For the money, GoodReader it is an excellent tool to have handy in case some other PDF reader tool does not work right.

·         GoodNotes $3.99.  I actually own this one as well as GoodReader and I love the way it allows me to takes notes in meetings.  I don’t use it to mark up PDFs much but the ability to magnify the note taking area for general notes makes this a very good tool as well.

·         Adobe Reader (free and the current version will also allow you to sign a PDF document)

·         Evernote (free and premium edition)

·         PDF Pen $14.99

·         iAnnotate PDF $9.99.

·         Quickoffice Pro HD $19.99

·         CloudOn (free used mainly to open Microsoft Office documents not just PDF)

·         Dropbox (or your data sync tool of choice)

4G Is Not LTE

There is 4G and then there is 4G/LTE.  Don’t confuse the two.  Also, don’t feel bad if you don’t understand 4G as there is no real clear standard on 4G.  My iPhone is 4G, my iPad is 4G/LTE, and my carrier for both is AT&T.  I am in a major metro area right now and the results I have below are very typical as you go around the country.  I have been testing this now for about five months and here is a very vivid and very real world result comparing AT&T 4G, AT&T 4G/LTE, and Verizon 4G/LTE.

Tested speed with Speedtest.net app:

iPhone (AT&T 4G)

·         Ping 124ms

·         Download .50 Mbps (no I did not leave out some digits this is just bad)

·         Upload  1.34 Mbs

iPad  (AT&T 4G/LTE)

·         Ping 68ms

·         Download  20.43 Mbps

·         Upload  7.73 Mbps

MacBook Air (tested via Verizon MIFI)

·         Ping 96

·         Download 16.86 Mbps

·         Upload   7.86 Mbps

I will let you do your own math but as you can see it is a VERY significant difference even with the same carrier AT&T.  LTE (Long Term Evolution) is an evolving standard.  Currently running at best as drawn up on the chalkboard it can potentially run at 73 Mbps up and 73 Mbps down. The fastest speeds I have seen with LTE so far this year measured out at 38 Mbps down and 27 up.

This past fall I spoke at a large MAP conference for a large NE state and discussed the merits of using your iPhone as a hotspot for the iPad.  At the time it made sense as the speeds were O.K. and as CPAs we love to save money.  Now, it makes NO SENSE to use your iPhone as a hotspot as it is terrible when compared to real 4G/LTE MIFI hotspots. Marianne, please let all your members know I feel bad that I ever recommended this idea.  Everyone, please spend the extra money and buy the iPad it’s own data plan especially now with 4G/LTE.

Apple’s Migration Assistant

I know this is not an iPad topic but the story is worth telling on this blog.  Apple’s Migration Assistant is a lifesaver if you buy a new system and want to transfer everything from your old Mac including applications, data, and settings.  Windows also has such a utility but I have never been able to get it to work right.  In fact, we are now also being told that we cannot even upgrade in place from the Beta test of Windows 8 to the final code.  Noooooo!  That would be too easy.  Instead, the loyal testers of Windows 8 (myself included) will have to format our systems and start all over when Microsoft releases the final product in Oct.  Typical Microsoft.

Last month I bought a new MacBook Air.  I use a lot of virtual machines.  I have VMs for Windows XP, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Pro, and Windows 8 so you can see how the new MacBook with 8GB of RAM was very attractive to me.  While on the road teaching I went to the Apple Store in Charlotte, NC and started the process of migrating to a new system.  

Here is a brief summary of how the migration:

6:30 p.m. system purchased, left the Apple Store.

7:30 p.m. started the Apple Migration Assistant.

8:00 p.m. realized that using 802.11 to migrate will take from 24-44 hours this was not going to work well.

8:20 p.m. connected the two MacBooks with my Thunderbolt cable restarted Migration Assistant.  (If you are going to do this be sure to hold down Option-T while booting the source machine.  This will turn the source system into nothing but a Thunderbolt drive.)

8:55 p.m. done.  Completely Done!

I didn’t have to fix anything it was a seamless full migration to the new hardware and it left the correct new OS in place. End story.  Well done Apple.  

Lantronix xPrintServer

Having trouble printing from i-devices?  Well, this one will cost you around $ 140 but works even better than claimed in the advertising.  In fact, the installation took all of about one minute.  Yes, that is sixty seconds folks.    In sixty seconds,  the Lantronix xPrintServer (www.lantronix.com) found all the printers in my home network and I then printed web sites, email, and PDF files to various printers from my iPhone and iPad.  The only caveat is that all the printers and i-devices need to be hooked to the same subnet which should be very easy for almost any business or home network.   At first I thought I needed to keep this device in the middle of my home like a wireless router then I realized that it does not work directly back to your i-device but through the existing wired and wireless network so I plugged the device right into my wired switch downstairs.  This one is a winner and I would give it a full 10+.  I bought mine at Amazon.com.  All the best!

K2 Enterprises Crosses 100,000 Views on YouTube

I am very proud to announce that our company K2 Enterprises (www.k2e.com) has crossed the 100,000 views mark on YouTube with our training videos.  See http://www.YouTube.com/K2Enterprises .  We believe we have some excellent training videos on Excel, QuickBooks, iPad, etc.  Enjoy!

Intellicast HD

I have written a bit about Intellicast HD before however I have been getting a lot of good response and questions about this app.  Intellicast HD is a free app for the iPad (only iPad) and provides some of the best radar images you will ever see including annomated radar.  This is real HD radar.  Using standard iPad controls such as pinch/zoom, doubletap/two finger tap you can easily navigate the screen and the locate me now button works great.  You can zoom down to your rooftop level if you like or plung into the dephts of the oceans.  Intellicast HD is probably my 2nd favorite app on the iPad right behind MLB.com.  I actually use Intellicast HD sometimes to see a "lay of the land" look from space.  :-)  Happy iPad-ing.

iZon IP Camera

iZon Stem IZON IOS WRM-WA0-00 Remote Room Monitor

Well there is a first time for everything I guess.  I have never bought a bad product from the Apple store until this past week.  I wanted to get an IP camera setup for my home office that I could check and show while on the road.  This one looked great on the shelf but my instincts were telling me to check the reviews on Amazon.com first and they were right.  If you check the reviews you will see I don’t have to write much today to tell you other than in my opinion this is the worst product I have tried in ten years.  I spent over six hours trying to make this thing work with either my iPhone or iPad to no avail.  I recommend that you stay away from this one.

OnLive Desktop Plus

OnLive Desktop Plus

So I broke down and decided to pay the $ 4.99 per month for OnLive Desktop Plus just to get full flash support for some CPA technology sites.  The one I wanted to run the most was www.xcmsolutions.com workflow which is an excellent workflow solution for CPA firms and can fit certain industries.  I know they are working on an iPad app but I want to be able to run the whole workflow tool.

Done and it works great.  If you need to have full flash support on a website and run stuff you never dreamed you could run on an iPad such as Office 2010 (no kidding) this is the product for you.  Remember to get the full flash support you must sign up for the Plus version the free version will not let you open browse to any site.

OnLive Desktop

http://desktop.onlive.com/

Two Strong MS Office App Options

Two Strong Office Apps 

Need to open a Microsoft Office document on an iPad? Well, the world of iPad and Office just got better with two very strong apps.  Each one has features that shine and the good news is the basic version of either is free.  Every accountants favorite four letter word, FREE.

CloudOn (free)

CloudOn supports Dropbox, Box, Google Drive and reads directly to and from these sites.  You will need decent Internet access to make CloudOn work correctly.  With no access you have no use so you will want to improve your Internet access options.  CloudOn supports Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and PDF documents.

According to their website (www.cloudon.com) here is the official description….

CloudOn brings Microsoft Office to your tablet. All of it. Of course you can format text, change fonts and catch that typo, but imagine being able to track changes while editing Word documents, use pivot tables and insert formulas in Excel and present your PowerPoint slides complete with transitions.

 Another nifty little feature is the ability to view PDFs (including 3d PDFs) and fill out PDF forms on your workspace! You also have a universal viewer that lets you view virtually any file – from raw Photoshop images to everyday image files like PNG, JPEG and GIF.

OnLive Desktop (basic version free and premium account $4.99 per month)

OnLive Desktop requires that you sign up for the account via an Internet browser before the iPad app will work.  Also, files need to be uploaded to their site with a web browser.  They start you at 2GB free.  I found this one to have the best Microsoft Office interface. to date.  By the way, where is the world is Microsoft? 

This one is so close it looks exactly like Windows 7 and Office 2010.  If you ever need to load an Excel file and convert (Save As) to a PDF this is the tool for you.  While it does not support your cloud data sites until you upgrade to the monthly subscription it still is very impressive.

According to their website (desktop.online.live) here is the official description….

Access a Powerful PC from Anywhere!

•PC Microsoft® Office with 2GB cloud storage FREE*

•Full-featured document viewing and editing

•Instant-action, media-rich Windows® cloud desktop

•Lightning-fast Web browsing with Adobe® Flash®

•For iPad and Android™ tablets. Coming soon to PC, Mac®, TVs

Verizon Jetpack 4620L MIFI 4G/LTE

Verizon Jetpack 4620L MIFI (9275)

For two years I have been packing a Sprint 3G MIFI around with me.  Sometimes it worked great.  Most of the time it was useless or very slow.  This lead me to drop the Spring account and then just use my iPhone as a hotspot.  The Verizon Jetpack will support up to ten devices at 4G or LTE speeds.  The initial cost was around $60 (Internet special) with a monthly cost of around $50 for 5GB.

My service for my iPhone is AT&T.  While AT&T cellular data service is improving data services is spotty like the Spring MIFI but not quite as bad.  My iPhone 4S sports 4G or so they claim.  While it shows 4G it often cannot even get data service at all.  All carriers when they are overwhelmed will prioritize voice over data and either throttle back your data or cut the data feed altogether.   Don’t believe me?  Go to any large gathering of people like a concert or sporting event and try to use data services.

Using my iPhone 4S as a hotspot is fine where I have great service and I don’t connect more than one device to the iPhone.  Two devices will bring it to it’s knees even with great service.   So, when I read about the Verizon Jetpack MIFI which is capable of not only 4G but LTE I was very interested. 

Many folks like me have been confused about 4G and LTE.  I actually thought that LTE was a watered down version of 4G.  Not true.  Let’s just say that LTE is what you want to see on your device not 4G.  In comparing speeds in the real world on my devices 4G will run from 5Mbps to 7Mbps up and down at it’s best on a good day. 

LTE, on the other hand, will peg the needle on any of your speed test tools with my tool topping out this week in Boston at around 55Mbps up and 60Mbps down.  No kidding.  I have now tested LTE in Salt Lake City, Dallas, Jackson MS, Portland OR, and Boston.  In all cases the 4G was good but LTE was great where it worked.  Not all cities had LTE yet.  I am sure that they are all moving to LTE quickly.

I learned about LTE by activating LTE on my new iPad which supports 4G/LTE.  When 4G shows it will get 5/6 Mbps.  When LTE shows it will peg the speed tests anywhere from 38Mbps to 60Mbps.  From trying to read various standards on LTE it appears that the standard will support up to 73Mbps.  This is enough to run a small business.

Even when the service falls back to 4G it still appears to be stronger than AT&T’s 4G.  The device is smaller than the new Spring 4G device and comes with a wall adapter.  I have also found I can power the device from any USB port.  Note, you will not charge from a USB only run the device which is just fine.  Battery run time with average use appears to be around 5 hours.

So, bottom line.  Is the Verizon Jetpack 4620L MIFI worth the money?  Absolutely the best Internet connection device I have ever owned.  

Camera to PDF

I just tried a few apps today to convert a picture to a PDF. Most of the time we don't need this as we use Concur.com for our expense reporting and that feature is built into the mobile apps so I didn't have a real favorite. I tried two of them. JotNot Pro and Scan To PDF. Both seemed to work well but the JotNot Pro seemed to work better with the camera and also had some interesting effects you can apply to photos as well as converting them to PDF. My report on the Verizon 4G/LTE hotspot will come next week after I get to test it in one more city. Regards.

The New iPad Review

The New iPad – An Executive Review

Yes, I own a “The New iPad”.  You already know by now that Apple in one of it’s stupid moments decided that the latest iPad would not be the iPad 3 but officially “The New iPad”.   Sometimes they really don’t understand the business world.  iPad 3 would have worked much better.  Oh well.  Now that we have The New iPad what is different?

A5X Chip

Dual core processing with quad core graphics.  Much faster but not really worth selling your iPad 2 to get this new processor.  Most of the increased horsepower is used up by the new display.  If you are still on a original iPad then, yes, upgrade.

Retina Display

3.1 million pixels. (2048 x 1536)

This is a higher screen definition than any HD TV you own.  It is the most complex display ever built for any device, mobile or desktop.  It is brilliant and clear.  Whether you need this display or not is up to you and I will just say that you need to compare this new display sitting right next to your iPad or iPad 2.  Do I think this is the big reason to upgrade?  Maybe.

iSight 5MP, five lens, f/2.4, rear facing camera capable of capturing video at 1080p 

While this is an improved camera and very clear it is actually not as robust as the 8MP camera on the iPhone 4S with all the other same specs.  Upgrade for this feature?  No, your current camera is adequate unless you work for National Geographic taking photos or video.

Dictation

Yes, you can go download the free Dragon Dictation and be very close to this feature but now it is built into every aspect of the device and it works great.  From what I understand Apple licensed the basis for this dictation from Dragon and improved how it integrates with the iPad.   Upgrade for this feature?  No, go download Dragon Dictation from the app store and wait your turn with the next iPad.

Bigger battery with longer battery life

Well, they needed this bigger battery to power the super HD display and new processor but along the way they also ended up with longer battery life.  Well, that is unless you are playing games that are using a lot of video resolution then it will drop quickly and also tend to heat up a bit.  Heat issues?  Not for the real world only for gamers and even then the difference is minimal and was used as a tempest in a teapot by Apple distractors.  The new iPad is a bit heavier and can be a bit warmer but I would not use the term hot.

4G/LTE

O.K.  This is the biggie.  I must confess that I have been recommending that folks just buy an iPad with 802.11 and forget the extra data plans then use their iPhone as a hotspot.  Well, the iPhone as a hotspot is fine for one device, two if you have excellent cellular data support, but that is about all.  Also, I must admit I had never really seen 4G/LTE work.  Now I have.  Where supported I have been getting speeds as high as 38-47 Mbs both up and down.  NO KIDDING.  This is for real folks.  If you need to have better bandwidth this is the way to go.  I have been completely taken by this new technology.  Even it cities where I only get the 4G and no LTE the speeds are still 4-5 Mbs down and 1-2 Mbs up.   I have become so enamored by this technology that I have also purchased a new Verizon hotspot device that I am testing this week that will support up to 10 devices via 4G/LTE.  I will write on this more when I have more real world results but for now let me say it is already very promising.  Another nod to Verizon is that you can turn your “New iPad” into a hotspot using your 4G/LTE account and that there is GSM support in the Verizon iPad now catching up with AT&T.  AT&T will not allow their version of the iPad to be used as a hotspot, yet.    Not smart on their part as the data plans are not unlimited.   Is this worth the upgrade?  Yes, if you are a heavy data user.  No, if you just check email and are a light data user.

Hope this helps.  Happy iPadding to all!

Dropbox

One of the best ways to move files to and from an iPad is Dropbox.  I have been using Dropbox free account now for over nine months and it has been great.  Last fall my HP laptop died when the power on button snapped off in my hand while traveling back from a speaking engagement in NC.  I am so grateful that my partner, Tommy Stephens, had recommended Dropbox to me a few months earlier.  As soon as I was able to get a new laptop I was able to quickly restore all my critical teaching data and some very important personal files.  No, I don't put anything up in Dropbox that contains sensitive personal information but i probably could as Dropbox is both encrypted in transit and encrypted at rest.  If you decide to use Dropbox for sensitive data be sure to evaluate the security policies before you put up sensitive data.

Right now I had Dropbox on two Windows-based PCs, one Macbook Air, an iPhone, iPad, and iPod.  All my data flows accross these devices seemlessly.  I haven't been this excited about a sync tool since Windows 95's Briefcase.

Here is a referral link for Dropbox:  http://db.tt/Cl16SlXj

Next week I will write about SugarSync.

Regards.

Back In The Saddle Again

Sorry for the lapse of time.  It has been a very busy spring but good right?  How about that new iPad.  You know, the one that should be called the iPad 3 but is officially called "The New iPad".  Great update on the screen but the killer feature is LTE.  I will write more on LTE soon but for now let me say that if you are buying a new iPad do not buy anything except the The New iPad with 4G/LTE.  No question, hands down, the best Internet access to date with speeds up to 72Mbs.  

I am also testing a new Verizon hotspot which I will write about very soon.  Hint, it has already blown away anything I have ever owned in hotspot devices. 

Welcome back, tell your friends I will be updating this much more often than ever before.