2006? That sounds about right but it's been a while in any case. Did you think my message was spam? I forgot to add a disclaimer - I have no affiliation whatsoever with Republic Wireless, it's parent company or subsidiaries. I just though the service sounded interesting and the information might be of value to forum members. I'd like to give their service a shot. With an entry fee of $100 and $20 per month with no contract it seems like a no-brainer. I have WiFi at home and at work and don't make that many calls. If the had a better phone available, I might have given it a shot. The Optimus is supposed to be a pretty decent entry level Android phone but it's screen is much too small for my taste.

yes that would be the major downside to doing that type of connection it uses the data plan for the phone and therefore the allotted amount of the data plan would have to be pretty large. I have a minimal data plan for my smartphone so unless I upgraded to the max data plan, which would cost quite a bit more, and also paid for the opportunity to use it as a hot spot, I couldn't do it. I checked into the options with att, who is my carrier for my smartphone, and to be able to get the hot spot option you must upgrade to their max data plan which is not unlimited unfortunately but even the ones that claim to be unlimited are not truly unlimited. Amounts to quite a few additional charges. And even though att tries to say that the coverage is great in fact it's not, here at my house in the Houston area, a major coverage area on their map and a 4G area, I barely have 1-2 bars and not 4g. In Galveston it was about the same, in Louisiana it's worse. I don't know how they determine the map coverage information but I donâÂÂt agree with it from my experience. I am on the lookout for a better solution for the smartphones and the ability to connect with other technology while traveling.

Oh gosh, I hope keyboards don't disappear! I love my iPad but if I'm going to be typing much, I head to my computer instead as I prefer typing on a keyboard. I've had two wireless keyboards for my iPad but neither last long so I wasn't going to sink money into another one. Typing short responses on my iPad is fine, but I prefer using my iMac for anything more than a few sentences. One thing I've never been able to figure out on my iPad touch screen is how to force a hard return. Like if I'm posting on FB and want to make a new paragraph, I can't do it on my iPad with the touchscreen. Anyone know if there is a trick I'm missing or some sort of keyboard shortcut to make a hard return in FB? I can't remember if it happens on Gardenweb (I'm on my iMac at the moment so can't test), but I know for sure it happens in FB on my iPad.

Rockybird, I am using the smart keyboard as my only cover. It is so similar to the covers that I have for my other iPads so it works quite well. I have fingerprints on all of them not matter what I do. They are fingerprint magnets. I do have the screen protectors but I don't really notice that it makes the screen less prone to finger or bird prints (HaHa). It would be great if your bird's prints would show up on one of the sketching apps, what a fun screen saver that would be! Awm, I haven't tried that but it sounds like fun. You really can and will learn to sketch. I am pulling for you. A few tips. Get yourself a spiral bound sketch book and pencils. My favorite sketch pad is Strathmore drawing paper in the 6 x 8 size. Stick with the smaller size as it isn't as intimidating having a small area to cover when you are starting to sketch. My favorite pencils are Faber-Castell 9000 jumbo pencils. They come in a five pack and includes HB ( I use this one the most), 2B, 4B, 6B, and 8B. Also a very good eraser. Watch some how to draw videos on youtube and invest in some drawing how to books. You really don't necessarily even need to invest in books at first and the few items that I suggested won't run more than thirty dollars or so on Amazon. Tablet sketching is great but you should practice some skills with real paper and pencil. Drawing is really more about seeing than anything. Really look at what it is that you are drawing and think about what shape something is rather than what it actually is. Practice every day and date each drawing so that you can go back and see how you are progressing. Believe me, if you practice and put time into it you can draw! If you decide to pursue books the two I recommend is Drawing on The Right Side of The Brain by Betty Edwards and Keys to Drawing by Bert Dodson. The huge advantage though to any type of e tablet is you can trash a page without wasting paper and it's great because you don't have a big investment in paints, canvases, and supplies until you are ready to move on. If you have any questions at all with anything sketching related you can pm me and I will be glad to help! Fun, I think I will skip the back cover then. I am wondering how much better an iPad can get. I am so amazed at how far we've come in regards to technology. Our first computer was an IBM with a dos operating system that DH used when he wanted to connect with the company he worked for. The connection was via modem. Remember the horrible noise that used to make? It also amazes me at how little really wonderful apps cost. I remember Adobe Illustrator being hugely expensive. Way too much to spend on just one program.