As you may have noticed the care package a week plan hasn't been panning out. Turns out my soldier really doesn't want that much...but boy when he does. Ha. Thankfully the upside of him being active duty is he is making better wages than he did as farm help...so far the bump in pay has been spent on $300 boots and $900 in electronics and accessories.
The Internet isn't that great where he is stationed, so communication can be limited. The USO does provide on free 20 minute phone call a day, but he doesn't always have time to make it to the USO. In fact so far I have only received 2 phone calls (well all together 3, but one was using a calling card). For Pre-mobilization when he was down in Texas we had the benefit of Skype generally a few times a week, it wasn't always the greatest, but seeing him and hearing his voice kept the boys and I on cloud 9. In country Skype hasn't been good enough to support video or voice, so when we do get a chance to talk it is like messenger...and he still loses connection multiple times. However, other couples are having luck using Facetime on Apple products.
Which leads us to this request/mutual decision. We decided I should order two Ipads. Little known to me though, the USPS has a ban on sending batteries including lithium batteries, so many electronics can no longer be shipped overseas as of May 2012. (The ban is expected to be lifted in January 2013). In the meantime the only way to get them sent is by a private carrier (at a higher cost) such as UPS, FedEx, or DHL. We don't have DHL where I live, and I discovered UPS does not deliver to APOs, so that left FedEx. For what it is worth the FedEx driver was very helpful and it wasn't too painful of a process to send.
Anyone who knows me, knows I am not the most techie person out there, in fact those kind of purchases I prefer to leave to the Hubby. He does a lot of research, sets a budget, and goes for it. Now it was all on me. Embarrassing confession: I really had no idea what the heck on Ipad was or even did! So I don't know if I made the best decision, but knowing our budget and doing some research I think I did alright. PS- I'm still not exactly sure what all it can do, but it seems to be pretty much a little computer.
I went with the Ipad2 instead of the Ipad3/new Ipad. Price had a big part of that decision, but also that the older model has great reviews and when it comes down to it Facetime is what we wanted to use (at this point I was still unclear what else one could do with an Ipad, besides download e-books; plus I have a smart phone so I wasn't sure what the tablet offered that I didn't already have access to). When it came down to memory I asked around and memory doesn't affect Facetime operation, speed, etc. Again not having any other use in mind I went with the 16GB, the Hubby thought we should maybe go at least 32GB but the extra cost didn't make it seem worthwhile...plus the possibility of it not even getting to my Hubby made me really not want to splurge. I have a feeling I may regret this decision down the road. The other choice I made was to get the Wi-Fi only instead of the option of 3G. I figured it will mainly be used at the home anyway.
The Internet isn't that great where he is stationed, so communication can be limited. The USO does provide on free 20 minute phone call a day, but he doesn't always have time to make it to the USO. In fact so far I have only received 2 phone calls (well all together 3, but one was using a calling card). For Pre-mobilization when he was down in Texas we had the benefit of Skype generally a few times a week, it wasn't always the greatest, but seeing him and hearing his voice kept the boys and I on cloud 9. In country Skype hasn't been good enough to support video or voice, so when we do get a chance to talk it is like messenger...and he still loses connection multiple times. However, other couples are having luck using Facetime on Apple products.
Which leads us to this request/mutual decision. We decided I should order two Ipads. Little known to me though, the USPS has a ban on sending batteries including lithium batteries, so many electronics can no longer be shipped overseas as of May 2012. (The ban is expected to be lifted in January 2013). In the meantime the only way to get them sent is by a private carrier (at a higher cost) such as UPS, FedEx, or DHL. We don't have DHL where I live, and I discovered UPS does not deliver to APOs, so that left FedEx. For what it is worth the FedEx driver was very helpful and it wasn't too painful of a process to send.
| I ordered one of each in black and white...no mix ups later on! |
I went with the Ipad2 instead of the Ipad3/new Ipad. Price had a big part of that decision, but also that the older model has great reviews and when it comes down to it Facetime is what we wanted to use (at this point I was still unclear what else one could do with an Ipad, besides download e-books; plus I have a smart phone so I wasn't sure what the tablet offered that I didn't already have access to). When it came down to memory I asked around and memory doesn't affect Facetime operation, speed, etc. Again not having any other use in mind I went with the 16GB, the Hubby thought we should maybe go at least 32GB but the extra cost didn't make it seem worthwhile...plus the possibility of it not even getting to my Hubby made me really not want to splurge. I have a feeling I may regret this decision down the road. The other choice I made was to get the Wi-Fi only instead of the option of 3G. I figured it will mainly be used at the home anyway.
For accessories:
- 2 x Zagg screen protectors, I wasn't handy putting it on, and ended up throwing it away. I do have another one I may take in and have someone else install it on mine.
- 1 x Otterbox the Defender series: it had good reviews, was heavy duty, and we have had good luck with the brand in the past. Another bonus, it has a screen proctor sheet built in, so I'm no longer feeling guilty about not getting the Zagg installed on the Hubby's.
- I have not bought a case for mine yet, looking for something a little cuter, or maybe more of a carrier or multi purpose holder.
Making it special
- I pre-registered everything on the Ipad so it is set up and ready to go as soon as my soldier opens the box.
- I setup the contacts and tested out Facetime between the Ipads. Hopefully it works across the world as well as it did from across the couch.
I also added little surprises for him to discover:
- I played around with the camera and took pictures so he would have something from home pre-loaded.
- I also recorded a little 'I Love You' video message...mainly me rambling about how proud I am of him. In retrospect I should have cooled my jets and did the video message with the boys in the morning. Have I mentioned before I have no patience?
- I wrote out a list of reasons I love him on the notepad.
- Had I been
thinkingmore patient, I also would have waited for the list of apps he would like and had them downloaded before sending it off. (Because the internet isn't that great setting up the account and downloading apps is difficult)
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