Students are gearing up to go back to school all across the United States. Some tech buying will take place in addition to picking up those Trapper Keepers and new sneakers.

Here are some recommendations for tools that might make going off to college, high school or any educational experience, more productive and fun.

Verbatim Tuff N Tiny USB Flash Drive – $9.75 for 2GB

This tough little USB flash drive made our Father’s Day gift guide too. I like it that much. I personally tried to destroy one of these for a review that ran earlier this year. The drive takes a beating and holds your files intact. This rugged drive will help you back up or transfer papers (or other content) safely. The drive starts at under $10, and a large 16GB drive only costs about $40 direct from Verbatim.

iTunes or Amazon Gift Cards

You might think I’m just getting lazy with this pick. Gift cards? Really?

Yes! Gift cards supply both future and present needs. Your college student can get that useful note taking iPad app for class or some music or videos for entertainment. If you look at a local Sam’s Club you will often find iTunes Gift Cards for a few bucks less than the face value. For example, I recently bought four $25 gift cards in a single pack for only $96. You can get iTunes Gift Cards on discount at Sam’s Club or almost anywhere you buy electronics.

Amazon sells everything, and students get free access to Amazon Prime which provides free shipping or low-cost next day shipping. They can save some money using Amazon compared to getting books at the campus store. You can buy Amazon gift cards in any amount from their site.

ZooGue Binder Pad iPad 2 Case – $29.99

If your student will be carrying an iPad 2 to class, the ZooGue BinderPad iPad 2 Case can help them store it in their big three-ring binder notebook for just $30. I’ve tested it out and can assure you that it protects your iPad 2 well while in a three-ring binder. The case doesn’t add much weight to the iPad. It has three holes for the binder and you slide the iPad 2 into the top of the case. A flap with velcro holds the iPad in place. ZooGue makes it from a rugged polyester material. In the past I’ve been impressed with their iPad cases.

YooBao Slim Leather Snap On Case – $29.99

Speaking of cases, the makers of my favorite iPad 2 case have a snap-on iPhone 4 case made with the same nice leather used in that iPad 2 case. The iPhone case has a nice grip and protects your iPhone without adding much bulk or weight. The YooBao Slim Leather Snap On Case is inexpensive and looks nice too. The high-grade leather comes in three colors – white, brown and black.

Booqpad iPad 2 Case and Notepad – $49.99

Booq makes great laptop and tablet cases, but one favorite is the Bookpad iPad 2 case. It protects your iPad while adding a notepad that you can use for your note taking in class. When finished marking up a sheet of paper on the tablet side, just take the iPad out of the case and shoot an image to “scan” it into your favorite note app like Note Taker HD or Evernote. Our review linked above recommended this combination for people who take a lot of notes but haven’t become acclimated to digital note taking yet. Students often fit this category since your professors and teachers won’t wait for you to finish. Many people can keep up on a tablet screen, but many, like me, cannot if the speaker talks fast.

Booq offers a number of styles and colors to choose from including a high-end brown leather that costs $99.95 or the basic model for $49.95. We just wish that they would make a hole for the iPad 2 camera to make the capture process of the notes easier.

Also check out their other cases and bags for notebooks and tablets. You won’t be disappointed with a Booq Bag.

Livescribe 2GB Echo Smartpen – $99.95

A couple of our contributors here at Notebooks.com and GottaBeMobile.com swear by this tool. Livescribe pens will do more than just put ink on paper. They record the audio of lectures or meetings. They also record the motion of your pen, which is then transcribed into editable text. On top of that, they also offer storage for your audio. Our own Adam Mills told me, “If I was still in college, I’d definitely be using one for lectures.” With the pen you get a free year of Evernote Premium, which gives you extra storage and transfer space.

The 2GB Echo is one of the lower cost options, although they have higher capacity pens. The pen connects to a computer via Micro-USB to transfer files on and off. The ink is replaceable and the pen writes on special tablets, which you buy from the company.

Our own K.T. Bradford recommends getting the headphones with the pen. She said that they have a mic in them like you get with your smartphone. The mic picks up the sound better than the built-in mic on the pen.

iHome iA17 App-Enhanced Color Changing FM Radio Alarm Clock – $99.99

I’m a big fan of iHome’s products and the new iHome iA17 dock for your iPod Touch or iPhone should be as good as the past products I’ve tested. The radio changes colors based on your chosen settings. The base of the dock is translucent so the colored lighting shines through and will fade between colors as it changes or pulse to the beat of the music. You can turn it off completely.

The base of the dock changes colors with the music

The color feature might just be a fun attention-getting gimmick, but coming from iHome you can be assured that the sound quality will be top-notch for a product in this price range.

The dock fits anywhere in your dorm room, or on a bedroom nightstand, and helps keep you on time for those early morning classes or school days. It adds an FM stereo radio to your iOS device while it is docked, so you can both play your iPod files through the speakers and listen to the radio.

Install an iHome app on your device to get more features like sleeping stats, weather, alarm clock, wake to your favorite iPod tunes and more.

Sony Xperia Play Android Powered Phone – Verizon – $99

Our reviewers at GottaBeMobile see a lot of different Android phones, but for Verizon customers there is one that stands out if you like to play games. The Xperia Play from Sony will help you waste plenty of time. Our own Josh Smith reviewed the phone for our sister site GottaBeMobile and liked it. If you hate using a touch screen to control Madden NFL or your favorite first person shooter, then the Xperia play will satisfy you. Josh said the following:

The Xperia Play is not going to blow your mind with graphics, even if they are pretty good, but it is able to deliver a fun mobile gaming experience. Thanks to the off-screen controls, you can use your whole display for viewing the game — which even touchscreen junkies will appreciate.

Watch his hands on video for more info.

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1TB USB Hard Drive – $109.99

You can quickly share files with an external hard drive hooked up via USB. I wish everyone would adopt the fast Thunderbolt port on the new Macs, but at present few have other than Apple and some high end accessory makers. USB 3.0 is the next fastest hard drive interface and it works with older USB 2.0 ports as well.

This WD My Passport Essential SE 1TB USB Hard Drive, on sale right now for less than their 750GB model, will store a ton of music, movie, picture and personal files. The size means it won’t take up too much space in your backpack. The drive can be powered via USB on the majority of modern computers.

Microsoft Office Home and Student – $149.99 from Microsoft

Microsoft Office is the de facto office suite for the known world. Sure you can get other cheaper and free alternatives like OpenOffice.org or iWork’s apps on OS X, but Microsoft’s suite doesn’t cost all that much. Since the vast majority of computer users have Office, why put up with the hassle of converting your documents if you don’t have to? The suite has Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. More expensive versions add Outlook, Access or Publisher.

Office retails for $150, but never pay that much. You can find it online for as little as $100-$120. You might even find it in your college bookstore for as low as $20.

Computer majors might want to consider going with a TechNet subscription which allows downloading of full versions of Office and Windows for just a little more than the retail cost of Office Home and Student.

If you use a Mac, you can get Office for Mac 2011 for the same retail price or cheaper online. Microsoft offers it through TechNet as well. The Mac version is not a clone of the Windows version, but instead incorporates some of the OS X interface to make it more Mac-like. I’ve used the iWork apps like Pages, Keynote and Numbers. I prefer Word by far to Pages because it just has more to offer, while being more compatible in the dual-OS environments you find in most schools and universities. Keynote may be a little better than PowerPoint due to more attractive themes and transitions, but not enough to choose iWork and Pages over Office with Word if you have a lot of Office users around.

SuperTooth Disco Battery Powered Bluetooth Stereo Speakers – $149

I called this set of speakers the “21st century boom box” at GottaBeMobile.com. The SuperTooth Disco has bluetooth connectivity so you can hook them up to your smart phone or laptop to blast those beats. The sound quality beats most mobile speakers we’ve tested, and the long battery life means the music keeps pumping for hours out in the campus quad after classes, or just in your room.

I’ve used the system to show an outdoor movie to a few dozen people in my backyard and to play music at the beach on vacation this summer. They worked great. I also play music in my office with them.

The speaker system comes in a nice carrying case and has an auxiliary line input to connect a non-bluetooth enabled audio device. The speakers cost $149 directly from SuperTooth.

Canon Powershot SD1400IS Point and Shoot Camera – $199.99

Why would we include a camera when so many smart phones have great cameras these days? Not everyone owns one of those great smart phones with a nice camera. A lot of people still have a cheap feature phone or an early smartphone, and many are still locked into a 2-year contract. Also, a dedicated camera is still the best option for taking a lot of snap shots of special events, or when you are traveling. I’ve missed a lot of great moments because my smart phone camera took three or four taps to get started when a pocket camera would have been ready after the push of one button.

I love my Canon SD 1300IS. The only camera I would rather shoot with is my DSLR, or if I could justify it, the Canon SD1400IS. The optics on these inexpensive little cameras are surprisingly good for still shots or bright outdoor photographs. They are simple to use and just work! Many of the product shots I take for my reviews are taken with the older brother of this camera. Below is a sample of a shot my wife took at Ft. Myers Beach, FL this summer of some palm trees early in the morning outside our hotel room.

Muzetto Laptop Case from Waterfield Designs – $259

A traditional gift for a recent college graduate heading off to graduate schools is a high-quality briefcase. While I would appreciate the thought, I’d much rather have a premium laptop case. Based on our experience with Waterfield Designs cases a great option is their Muzetto line of cases that fit anything from a 10″ tablet for $199 up to a 15″ laptop for $259. The vertical orientation bag has a leather flap to cover the computer.

The leather case has colored accents and a nice strap to carry over your shoulder. Inside are compartments for you computer, a phone, sunglasses and more. A computer in a protective sleeve or pouch would fit, giving you double the protection and the versatility of just pulling out the computer and taking it alone down the hall to a friend’s dorm for a study session.

I love Waterfield Designs products and think you will be pleased with one of these bags. You might want to look at the Racer-X if you want to go with a mid-range price. At the lower end is their Sleeve Case for the MacBook Air, which I reviewed and still love.

Slingbox and Mobile Apps – $299 + $29.99

A Slingbox hooks up to your TV and video source, like a cable box or Satellite, and streams the video from those sources to other TVs or the mobile app. This setup rocks for a student going off to college. Have the box connected to your home cable system, or satellite dish, and then you can load the iPad or another mobile app and watch content anywhere your mobile device has Internet access. It also supports watching through an Internet browser on a Mac of PC as well.

I live in North Carolina, grew up in Wisconsin and went to college in Kentucky. Before the days of DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket I only watched my beloved Green Bay Packers when the national game of the week featured them. I can afford the NFL Sunday Ticket, but a lot of college kids never could. And even if they could they would not be able to instal it in most dorm rooms because you need a DirecTV satellite dish. Slingbox and the mobile app gives them access to their home team, local news broadcasts and any other TV content without paying the cable or satellite man for a feed in the dorm or their apartment.

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer – $399

Everyone knows about the iPad, so recommending it is too easy. Not many people know about the excellent ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, which I really like. It is cheaper than the iPad by about $100 and can do a little more. First, the optional keyboard dock connects to the tablet and turns it into a fully functional Android netbook and doubles the battery life thanks to the keyboard dock’s battery. I’ve used it to type for long periods of time and, while I would not give up my MacBook Air or Pro, the keyboard was good enough to use without getting frustrated or feeling cramped.

The tablet comes with Honeycomb. A 3.2 update makes it one of the earlier 3.2 tablets. The update is not earth–shattering, but it is nice to have. I love the bright crisp display, the responsive interface and the feel and weight. A forthcoming review will give more details, but for now I recommend this as the best Android tablet available because of the screen and the added functionality the keyboard dock with extended battery gives you. Take notes by day with the tablet in all of your classes and then use it as a netbook all evening long to write papers.

Now if only Android had as great a choice for tablet apps as the iPad we’d be set.

Just know this. ASUS will be probably release the Transformer 2 sometime this fall with a faster Tegra 3 processor, so you might want to hold off until then. If that doesn’t matter, the Eee Pad Transformer’s versatility makes it a great choice right now. Below is my first look:

Mili Pico Projector 2 HP-A10 – $449.95

Our friends at XenGadget sent one of these units over for review and it is cool. I’m testing the Mili Pico Projector (HP-A1) V2 out now, but based on limited experience I wanted to include this in our roundup for those Friday night movie nights in the dorm, or for an overnight at a friend’s house. The little projector is about the size of two stacked iPhones and has a dock port for an iPhone. Plug it in and the video will be projected through the tiny lens. The projector works best in dark rooms, but isn’t that how you want to watch a movie? The LED light projects the image. You won’t get HD, but remember, you are carrying your projector in your pocket.

The device has a battery so you don’t need to plug it into the wall outlet while watching your movies. You could do presentations from your phone, iPod touch, iPad or computer if needed. The latter can be done through a VGA input. The projector casts up to 70″ from corner to corner, although 40-50″ will look the best.

As you can see from the image, the device has a kickstand that folds out of the back. Connect it to external speakers or use the ones built into the projector. They might disappoint, so I’d suggest external speakers.

The device comes in either black or white for about $450. There is a nice carrying case and remote in the package too.

Gateway ID47H02u 14″ Laptop – $699

We look at a lot of notebooks, but the Gateway ID7Ho2u made our editor Josh Smith “do a double take” when he opened the box the first time. The screen offers an edge-to-edge display, meaning you get a nice width without a lot of bulk. The ID series of notebooks from Gateway have a little more style and performance than others from the budget manufacturers. Josh said it was “worth a closer look” for buyers who want something with some power at an affordable price.

Here are some of the basic specs:

• Intel Core i5 2nd Gen Processor
• 4GB of RAM
• 500GB Hard Drive
• Intel HD 3000 Graphics
• DVD Super Multi-Drive
• USB 3.0 that will charge while it sleeps
• VGA, HDMI out
• SD card reader
• Dolby Home Theater v.4 Audio
• Full size keyboard but no number pad
• Over sized mousepad

Apple MacBook Air – $999 for 11″

If money is no object, the one computer I would recommend to all students is the Apple MacBook Air. It is fast, light and looks cool. You can perform any basic educational task with it. It is under-powered for intense uses like gaming or creative content creation, but you can do limited video and photo editing with the included iPhoto and iMovie. I’ve played a few of the games available in the Mac App Store on my 2010 version. The 2011 MacBook Air has a faster processor and faster SSD too.

The 11″ travels perfectly for those taking it to class or for pulling it out on a public transportation commute or carpool. If you need more screen real estate, go with the 13″ model. I would also recommend adding 2GB of RAM and getting at least 128GB of storage, making the cost a few hundred dollars more than the base model. It will be worth it.

Check out our own Xavier Lanier’s posts about the out of the box experience and the battery life of the newer 2011 MacBook Air. You can also read about his first impressions. Below you can watch his unboxing video.

Back to School Gadget Buying Guide: 18 Fun and Productive Suggestions is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

QuickShot is a camera app that immediately uploads photos taken with the iPad 2 camera to DropBox. You can offload those photos for use in other places faster than syncing the iPad 2 to iTunes. This simple and useful app is this week’s Notebooks.com iPad App of the Week.

QuickShot is a great photo app that uploads to DropBox

Functionality of QuickShot

Open QuickShot and it immediately engages the rear facing camera. In the upper left there is a button to switch to the front facing camera. The front camera is not as good as the rear camera, which isn’t saying much since the iPad 2′s rear camera is not that great either. We haven’t found an app that overcomes that, but as photographers say, the best camera is the one you have with you. If you take your iPad everywhere like we do, then QuickShot and the iPad 2 camera can be quite useful.

At the bottom center are three buttons. The middle button is the shutter release. Tap it and the photo is taken and immediately uploaded to DropBox. DropBox is a freemium backup and syncing service. Install it on all your computers and any files in the special DropBox folder will be synced. There is also a free DropBox iPad app. The iPad app allows users to access their online backups on the go. DropBox is free if all you need is 2GB of storage. More storage costs more.

QuickShot settings box is where you enter DropBox account info

In QuickShot, use the bottom left settings button to store your DropBox account information. You can select which folder in DropBox to use to store the pictures. From the settings screen you can also choose whether to save the photos to the iPad’s Library also called the Camera Roll. QuickShot supports geotagging. Geotagging is used to attach the GPS location data from the built-in GPS of a 3G version of the iPad. Either of these settings can be toggled on or off.

QuickShot Photo Quality settings - pick Photo for best results

There is an option for confirming when the upload succeeds. We turned that off because it slows your shooting down. The last setting is Capture Quality. The options are Photo, which is the highest setting, High, Medium and Low. Those labels are a little confusing, but they explain it in the text below the settings box. Unless you are starved for space or on a really slow data connection, we recommend you choose the Photo quality setting to get the best photos.

QuickShot Camera Roll feature lets you upload camera photos

The third button at the bottom of the screen is used to access the Camera Roll on the iPad. In the upper right corner of the pop-up is a share button. Tap it and then select which photos you wish to upload to DropBox. Hit upload and you have a quick way to upload photos taken while the iPad was out of range of Wi-Fi or a good 3G connection.

Review of QuickShot

Below is our video demonstration of QuickShot:

We love this app and use it over the built-in camera the majority of time. It is fast and simple to use. The resulting pictures are as good as those taken with the built-in camera app. And the $.99 price is a steal. It is great for taking quick snaps of documents while at a meeting. The DropBox feature means you can store the documents for later use. With the DropBox app you can also open the snapshots of the documents and export them to other applications for markup.

QuickShot doesn’t take video, which is one weakness. And we wish that the shutter release button was on the left or right side of the iPad so that a user could tap it with the thumb while holding the iPad in landscape mode. Holding the iPad with two hands is the best way to frame your shots and keep them steady. Holding the iPad 2 with only one hand often results in blurry photos. The shutter button is too far away from the thumbs while holding the iPad 2 in landscape mode.

Pros:

• Quickly uploads photos to DropBox
• Simple
• Uploads Quickly
• Uploads Camera Roll Photos

Cons:

• Camera Shutter button in an awkward place
• Can’t overcome weak iPad 2 camera
• No video capability

iPad 2 App QuickShot Uploads Photos to DropBox Instantly is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Have you ever taken a group picture and later found out one person wasn’t looking? Don’t you wish you could fix this on your computer without being an expert? Well, the good news is that with Windows Live Essentials 2011 you can go “To the Cloud” and use Photo Fuse to fix group photos.

I recently attended an event where I met up with a lot of friends from around the world, this of course means cameras were out capturing the memories. One of the things you worry about is if the photos will come out great when you load them on your PC.

When taking group photos, this can be a chore especially since you always have someone doing something when you are about to snap. So, either an eye is blinking, a person who was smiling perfectly before started frowning or something out of place just happened.

If you have the free Windows Live Essentials 2011 installed, a cool feature included in Windows Live Photo Gallery allows you to correct such mistakes by simply using similar photos with the perfect attributes. In this article, I will show you how to use it.

Launch Windows Live Photo Gallery and locate the picture you would like to fix

Please note that this requires that both pictures to be almost identical. The way I guarantee this is, whenever I take a group picture, I usually take a couple more pictures in case one or a few don’t turn out perfect or contain attributes I want to make up the photo such as everybody smiling and looking at the camera.

Here is the photo I want to correct, of course, it looks perfect, there is just one problem, someone blinked, see below:

Lucky enough, I had another picture snapped with the right facial gesture:

What I will do is use Photo Fuse in Photo Gallery to merge it with the first Photo.

In Photo Gallery, select the photos you would like to merge (fuse together with the right facial expressions.

Go to the Create tab and click Photo Fuse in the Tools group

Preparing to apply the Photo Fuse effect

Use the mouse and drag and draw a square over the facial expression you would like to correct.

Photo fuse will then display a gallery with available choices with the best facial expression, the more photos you take, the more choices. Select your photo and Photo Fuse will automatically apply it.

If you don’t have Windows Live Photo Gallery installed, you can download it free from Microsoft. 

How to Fix Bad Group Photos with Photo Fuse [Fix a Face] is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

Gadget review site Retrevo.com has been well-known for helping consumers make smarter buying decisions and now they are hoping to carry that experience over into selling consumer electronics. The Retrevo MarketPlace launches today with Cell phone, Camera, Camcorder and MP3 accessories; but should soon expand to include all types of consumer electronics like HDTVs and Notebooks. To stand out, Retrevo is launching with a Do NoT Add to Cart Button, possibly an industry first.

We had a preview of the service last week and spoke with co founder Manish Rathi, to find out what sets Retrevo apart from the competitors like Best Buy or Amazon.com, and to see how Retrevo would remain an authoritative voice on consumer electronics while selling them.

The biggest thing that sets Retrevo apart form the competition is the information and education that the website offers to buyers. It has long been one of our favorite resources for finding out if a gadget is new, at its prime or on the way out. The best part is that Retrevo is able to provide all of this information in a manner that is easy to understand so we can tell our friends and family to visit the site and look around for themselves without holding their hand through the educational process.

These Real Time reviews, which are powered by advanced AI and algorithms allow Retrevo to deliver a snapshot of the product like you see above, which makes it easy to understand who the product is for. Additionally, the Retrevo Guides help steer shoppers towards the right products for their needs, instead of the products that a salesperson specifically likes at Best Buy.

One of the key issues that Retrevo faced when the company decided to open up a marketplace is how to remain objective and to keep providing users with the recommendations that they want and need. The solution was to rely on the algorithms, rather than humans to recommend products and to not sell certain items. As you look over the Retrevo Marketplace, you’ll find something you won’t see at Best Buy or Amazon — a Do Not Add to Cart Button.

Do Not Add to Cart Button at Retrevo

The Do Not Add to Cart Button appears on items that Retrevo wouldn’t recommend you purchase. Retrevo will show you other items that may be offer a better value, but if you do want to purchase the item, you can still find links to other sites, such as Amazon, where the product is sold.

So far the store looks pretty nice, and the prices are competitive. We’ll keep an eye on the Retrevo Marketplace to see how the Do Not Buy strategy pans out over time.

Do Not Buy Button: Retrevo Launches Consumer Electronics Store with a Twist is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The iPad 2 is set to launch on March 2nd with the expectation of instant availability, but that’s not stopping the demand for the current generation iPad. In preparation for the launch of the iPad 2 I posted on Twitter asking if anyone wanted to buy a like new iPad and immediately had half a dozen people asking, “How much?”

It’s not just anecdotal evidence based on my Twitter followers, the completed listings on eBay point to over 7,000 completed iPad auctions in multiple sizes and states of use for just the past two weeks. Granted, not all of these listings sold, but after scrolling through 36 pages of 200 listings each, we did see that the majority of the auctions did complete — often for more than you would pay Apple directly for a refurbished iPad.

While many users we have polled over the past week are excited about the prospect of a new iPad, the inclusion of a camera was the most cited reason for waiting or wanting an upgrade, we also ran into many users who would be more than satisfied with a cheaper original iPad.

Most often these users expressed a desire for a tablet that can surf the web, check email and of course one that comes with a wide array of apps. For now, the iPad App Store is beating the competition, which means a lot of users looking to score a deal on the iPad, even if it’s a generation back.

While many of the early adopters are already waiting with credit cards out to swipe at the local Apple store it appears that the demand for used and first generation iPad’s isn’t going anywhere.

If you want to sell your first generation iPad, the best place to make top dollar remains eBay where users are paying more than $100 over Gazelle for a mint iPad and often pay much more than you would expect for older technology.

iPad Demand Remains Strong on the Eve of iPad 2 Launch is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Apple is preparing to announce the iPad 2 at an event in San Francisco on March 2nd. The new iPad, which many are calling the iPad 2, doesn’t have an official name yet, nor do we have a full list of specifications, but we do have a roundup of the new iPad 2 rumors and an idea of what we will actually see on March 2nd.

Given the long list of iPad 2 specifications and features that are rumored to come next Wednesday we wanted to share the features we most want to see when the iPad 2 is announced, and share how likely we think it is that Apple delivers them.

Cameras Front and Back - Likelihood - 100%: One of features that would get us ready to upgrade in a hurry is the inclusion of front and rear facing cameras. We don’t plan on replacing point and shoot cameras, but the ability to snap images of notes and documents for Evernote and being able to FaceTime or use Skype video calls is so tempting we’re ready to get our credit card out.

Thin and Light iPad 2 - Likelihood 90%: Another thing we are pretty sure will happen and we hope happens is a slight reduction in size and weight. Personally, we really hope for a slightly lighter iPad since we use it in our hands much of the day, but we wouldn’t mind a thinner figure either.

Wireless Syncing and Free Mobile Me - Likelihood 80%: Apple has readied a new Datacenter in North Carolina that is rumored to be preparing for an onslaught of data usage that would occur with the launch of wireless syncing and a free MobileMe service.

Better Sound – Likelihood 80%: Many of the early leaks indicated a larger speaker grill on the iPad and while we don’t expect to see anything like the Beats TouchPad combo, the recent push for higher fidelity iTunes music leads us to believe that the iPad 2 and also the iPhone 5 will have better audio performance.

Faster Processor – Likelihood 75%: So far we haven’t hit too many brick walls in terms of speed, but every now and then there’s an app that feels like it could benefit from a boost in speed. This is rumored to be a new dual-core processor developed by Apple.

Longer Lasting battery - Likelihood 60%: Sure the iPad battery lasts 10 hours, but Apple loves to deliver longer batter life in a small package which is why we are hoping for a thinner lighter iPad 2 that lasts just a bit longer.  The likelihood is low because the iPad already has long battery life and isn’t facing stiff competition.

Medium Size Please – Likelihood 30%: We really want this, but doubt it will happen right now. A smaller iPad would solve the issues we have with weight and make it easier to carry around without the need for a manbag or a ScotteVest. Unfortunately, we don’t see this happening just yet.

More ports and SD card - Likelihood 30%: The only real port on the iPad right now is the Dock Connector, which leaves many users wanting more. We are hoping that Apple will throw in an SD card reader, but even that is doubtful in our opinion. We would also be interested to see a micro USB charging port or Thunderbolt, but won’t hold our breath.

Retina Display Likelihood 20%: While we think a high-res iPad display would be a joy to look at, all signs point to this being cost prohibitive for the time being.

Stylus – Likelihood 0%: Perhaps the highest ranked, but least likely feature for the iPad 2 is a stylus. While we would love to see better support for taking notes with a stylus on the iPad, we don’t see it coming on the iPad 2, even with the recent patent.

Lower Price - Likelihood 0%: We all wish that the things we want were cheaper, but Apple doesn’t typically compete on price and in the case of the iPad, it doesn’t even need to try because every other tablet is coming in at a higher price.

That’s our iPad 2 wishlist, what would you like to see announced as a feature of the iPad 2 next week? Would you agree with our picks and ratings?

iPad 2: The Rumors We Want to Come True is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Photojojo iPhone Telephoto Lens is an add-on telephoto lens for the iPhone. While the iPhone camera may be great for a phone camera, its lens is too wide for grabbing close ups from a distance. With the iPhone Telephoto Lens, for $35, buyers get an 8x (500mm) telephoto zoom lens, a matte black case for the iPhone with a lens attachment to screw on the lens over the back camera, and a tabletop tripod that collapses. The lens has manual focus only. The mini-tripod is a ball socket tripod and will likely be necessary to get really crisp shots at that range.

Below is a sample photo taken without the lens attachment (right) and with it (left).

Owners of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS can take advantage of this unique accessory. We think it might be a novel idea, but  you would likely do better to save your money and get a dedicated digital camera with a very high zoom. But at $35 this is tempting.

Photojojo Brings Telephoto Lens to iPhone is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Just like how Google Street View will allow you to explore local neighborhoods, Google’s new Art Project will transport you into your favorite art museums and allow you to see magnificent works of art and the interior of some of the world’s best museums.

Currently, Art Project supports the following museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA in New York, The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Tate Britain & The National Gallery in London, Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

For Art Project, rather than using Google’s Street View cars to record and stitch 360-degree views together, Google had designed a trolley that went around the 17 museums to record and capture images. Over 1,000 high resolution images are captured and each museum got to select 1 monumental art piece to be photographed in high resolution photographs. That resulted in 17 images that were captured with 7 billion pixels per piece where art lovers can go down to explore small brush stroke details.

Inside the museum, you can pan around and view additional information about your favorite art piece. An information panel will give more information about the work of art, the piece, and also any related YouTube videos according to Google’s official blog.

There’s also an interactive feature where you can create your museum collection by saving your favorite pieces. You can be your very own gallery curator of fine arts from 17 of the best museums in the world, create a goo.gl URL and share it with friends and family.

To get started with Art Project, you can visit googleartproject.com

Google Art Project Brings Museums, Art to Your Laptop is a post by Chuong Nguyen from Notebooks.com.

Will the iPad 2 camera only be 1 MP? That is what 9 to 5 Mac is suggesting based on the latest SDK from Apple which hints to that effect. The newest iPod Touch only has a .7MP camera on the back which was able to shoot in 720p video. While that’s good enough for HD video, image capture with that low a resolution will not be high quality. The idea must be that Apple intends users to use this more for video than a high quality photo shooting, like the iPhone 4, which has a great camera on the back.

9 to 5 Mac speculates that the low resolution is due to the tapered casing of the iPad. Anything larger might not fit along the edges. The above image is entitle K94, which they say is the internal code name for the iPad 2, according to their sources.

We think it might be a cost cutting measure since Apple is likely under pressure to keep the iPad’s price close to the current model, which starts at $500 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only. Does anyone really want to shoot a lot pictures with something as big and bulky as an iPad? It’s a great form factor for tablet use, but not photography.

iPad 2 Might Only Have a 1MP Camera is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Engadget is reporting that an inside source that has a history of being very accurate shared with them some information about the next generations of the iPad, iPhone and Apple TV. According to this source the next iPad and iPhone will have Qualcomm chipsets featuring CDMA, GSM and UMTS capabilities meaning they will work with both Verizon and AT&T.

Other news said the new iPad will have a 10″ screen similar to the retina display in the iPhone 4, meaning a much higher resolution. Unsurprisingly, it will sport a front and rear facing camera. But what is really interesting is the source claims it will come with an SD card slot. You will notice the slot on the corner of the numerous iPad 2 cases which have been showing up since late 2010 and is shown in the video below.

The next iPhone 5 will be a “completely redesigned handset” and is now being tested at the Apple campus in Cupertino. It will run Apple’s new A5 chip, which is a multi-core chip giving them both faster performance. The biggest surprise and disappointment for Verizon customers, if this rumor is true, is that the new iPhone will not support the faster wireless broadband LTE technology that Verizon is touting as it’s 4G solution.

According to the source, the new version of the Apple TV will also sport the fast new A5 processor, allowing it to play back full 1080p video smoothly. There was no information on whether it will support apps.

Images via Engadget

iPad 2, iPhone 5 and Apple TV Rumors Point Towards New Processors from Qualcomm is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.