Resolving connectivity issues with Verizon 4G LTE JetPack 4510L MiFi and your Apple devices

I've been dealing with the fact that my iPhone 4S and my first generation iPad could not connect to my Verizon 4G LTE JetPack 4510L MiFi hotspot. They did connect to it when I got this Mifi hotspot back in September 2011, but now they seem to flake out and ultimately never connect to it. Not sure if it was a MiFi issue or a device issue. I was getting to point of just returning the hotspot but thought a last ditch effort to resolve the issue may do the trick. Luckily, it seems to. Here's what I did.

1. Make sure the firmware on the hotspot is up-to-date. Update if not.
2. Changed the radio protocol to 802.11n. It was set to 802.11g.
3. Changed the network key on the hotspot.
4. Forget the network on the Apple device.
5. Connect to other network, selecting your MiFi hotspot network. When prompted for network key, enter the new network key.
6. Done!

Preparing for DevJam Jam Session iPhone presentation

I've been spending some time working on an iPhone development presentation that Bob McCune and I will co-present at DevJam's Jam Session this coming Wednesday. I was looking at job trends at indeed.com--iPhone is #3 on the list of top job trends. Here's the graph:

iPhone Job Trends

iPhone jobs

Wow! Talk about growth. Looking forward to the presentation.

First impressions of the new iPad

What a beautiful device! A little bit heavy to hold in one hand for an extended period of time. Smudges from finger taps and swipes are more noticeable on this device, especially when reading text. I'll have to investigate a protective film and see that makes any difference.

The processor in this device is very fast; the device is very snappy with animations, games, and video. I can see game makers really going after this thing. EA seems to have a couple of games out for the iPad (I tried Scrabble and Need for Speed). Game control was very good for Need for Speed.

Transferring .epub files to your iPad

Transferring .epub files purchased outside of iTunes seems to be very easy. Download the .epub file to your computer. Open up iTunes and select File -> Add to Library... menu item. From the file chooser, select the .epub file that you want to transfer to your iPad. Click Choose and the eBook file will be added to your Book Library in iTunes 9.1. Sync as usual and the book will show up in iBooks.