If you’ve been looking for a drawing application for the iPhone or iPod touch or just want a great notes application, you’ve come to the right place. Sketches lets you do just that and a whole lot more. Launch the application and you’ll be greeted with a corkboard with a selection of tutorial sketches “pinned” onto the board.

In addition to just sketching with different ink colors and sizes, you can also draw shapes like callouts, hats, and post-its using multitouch to scale them over a photo or note. It doesn’t stop there either – Sketches allows you to generate text in three different fonts: Helvetica, Marker Felt, and Times New Roman. To drop it on your sketch, just pinch on top of the area you want to place it and voila, scale to how big you want and rotate it in any direction.

One of my favorite features is the ability to bring in a map of your current location, and then draw on top of it, perfect for illustrating a party location to friends and family. You can also bring in photos from your camera roll, or web sites.

Sketches also ties together nicely with email, Twitter, and to your iPhoto library when you sync.

This is one of my favorite apps, and can be used not only for fun photos, but for useful illustrations. Grab Sketches from the App Store for $4.99 today.

In recent years, there has been a tendency for the media to lambaste earbud headphones because they can damage hearing, as they sit further away from the ear canal, causing the user to turn up the volume more. In ear headphones (also called canalphones) are one answer to this, and today we look at a pair, the Altec Lansing BackBeat Pro. Altec Lansing promises “high-definition, ultra-low distortion audio that rivals recording studio reference speakers” and “musician-grade sound” – but how did they stack up after we put them to the test against the other popular models such as the Etymotic Research ER-6i or V-Moda Vibe headphones? Read on to find out.

Using canalphones is very much so a different experience from using just normal earbuds. This is certainly true with the BackBeat Pro. Silicon ear tips help seal the ear from outside noise and push the headphone deeper into the ear canal so you don’t have to blast the volume just to hear the music. Finding the correct eartip from the included sizes for your ears can take a while when you first use the earphones, but once you find the perfect fit, it provides a good amount of sound isolation, making them perfect for travelers.

However, I was disappointed in the quality of the silicon ear tips, which I have found to be easily torn by normal use, as compared to the foam tips in something like the ER-6i earphones from Etymotic Research.

Sound quality on the BackBeat Pro seems to be competent for the realativly cheap price, but isn’t exactly anything to write home about. When listening to acoustic music, soft rock music, or talk programs the quality is fine, in which I have no real complaints about. However, once you put on a song with a lot of bass, such as electronica, hip hop, or heavy rock with double bass drums, these headphones are completely lack luster. The bass feels flat to nonexistent, and ruined the experience completely for me.

Depending on what genre of music you listen to, the BackBeat Pro could work for you, but in the price range of $100, there are better alternatives such as ER-6i’s or the V-Moda Vibe models.

Pros

• Comfortable.
• Fairly affordable.

Cons

• Bad bass response.
• No foam earpieces are included.

While the adoption rate for Bluetooth headsets has been increasing over the years, it is nowhere near the saturation point. Could the Plantronics Voyager Pro be the headset to finally shake the market?
I will be the first person to admit that Bluetooth headsets have never caught on with me. The models I have tried in the past always seemed to be clunky, or hard to use. However, the Plantronics Voyager Pro seems to be the first headset that I can see myself using on a regular basis.

One thing that you instantly notice from the moment you put it on is that it is actually comfortable. This is due in part to the lightweight construction and the surprisingly comfortable silicon ear tip. Unlike some headsets, which you cannot wear for extended periods, this feels like a natural extension of your ear, which you can wear all day. The 6 hours of talk time I received in testing the battery allows you to just charge it at night, and have it ready for action the next day.

Another thing you may notice about this headset is that the layout is elegant, and has few buttons for a device of this type. There are power, volume up/down, and an action button on the device. The way that Plantronics has simplified the device is to make the action button on the arm of the headset do multiple things, depending on what the headset is currently doing. For example, if you want to answer an incoming call, or hang up on one, you simply press this action button. If you want to sync the headset to a device, you press the same button.

While these are great things to have on a headset, you may be wondering about the most important fact of call quality. The plain fact is that it is frankly one of the best quality headsets I have ever used. When talking on the phone, people were not able to pick out that I was using a headset, as compared to the regular iPhone microphone that I normally use. Even in conditions when the wind was blowing, the people who I was talking to had no objections to the call quality. The fact that the Voyager Pro uses two microphones on the boom to help capture your voice better, seems to help enormously with this.

I also found the audio quality from the caller to be as clear as using the regular phone speaker.

One unique feature of this headset that I really enjoy is the ability to sync to multiple Bluetooth devices at once. I had the headset synced to both my iPhone and MacBook, allowing me to receive phone calls, and VOIP calls from Skype on my MacBook. This could also be useful if you use a cell phone for work and a personal one, as you could use this headset to consolidate them. Syncing was a breeze, and both my iPhone and MacBook detected the headset, and connected to it without a problem at all.

Find the Plantronics Voyager Pro at Amazon.com for $99.99 with free shipping.

Pros

• Comfortable fit
• Great call quality
• Ability to sync to multiple devices

Cons

• Dated design

Today we’re taking a look at the La Crosse Technology WD-3209U Weather Center. This unique device utilizes both locally collected weather information as well as internet data to provide a quick look at current and future weather predictions. See how the Weather Direct station stacks up after the jump.At ConnectReviews, we try to review a bit of everything in the technology world; software, hardware, cool looking gadgets. However, until now, we haven’t reviewed anything in the relatively popular field of weather stations. Think about it. Most houses these days have some sort of weather center letting you know exactly how warm it is outside on those hot summer days. For this reason, we felt it was about time to take a look at what’s available at the cutting edge of weather devices.

We picked out the WD-3209U from La Crosse Technology as it shows what current weather centers do. Instead of solely collecting data using local sensors, the station utilizes a connection to the internet to download and update the current weather, as well as forecasts for the next three days.

Now, off the bat, the station doesn’t support a WiFi connection to obtain this information. It comes with a small adapter that connects to an ethernet line and transmits this signal to the weather center within a 330 foot radius. Transmitting from a basement to a second story was a breeze, so I’ll believe their claims for wireless range.

Setup is relatively painless providing that you read the setup instruction manual word for word. You have to register your device online prior to usage to setup city data, etc. Therefore, there’s a good deal of button pressing that is required between the wireless adapter and the clock itself. However, 15 minutes later, I was in business with my newly setup weather center.

The clock presents a large amount of information, but typically, the most important number to see is the current temperature. Sadly, the only time that is visible is when it’s scrolling on the bottom of the clock (which doesn’t occur nearly enough). I would’ve liked to see that instead of the barometric pressure or wind speeds.

However, all in all, the clock does display a good deal of information about current and projected weather. My only complaint lies in how the information is displayed. I don’t want to watch a scrolling line of text at the bottom of the clock for five minutes trying to figure out how warm it is outside right now. In addition, the layout of other pieces of information seems like it could’ve been done better. For example, a large bar in the middle of the clock displays information such as chance of precipitation in very large text (it can also show pressure, wind speeds, gusts, etc.). This information is simply not crucial and show be made smaller or somehow more compact.

In addition to displaying information on the clock itself, you can setup mobile alerts to your phone or email for certain weather situations. For example, if you own a convertible and like parking it outside with its top down, you can setup an alert to warn you when there’s greater than a 50% chance of rain within the next 24 hours so you can go and park your beloved automobile in the nearest garage. This seems somewhat useful, but I couldn’t find a practical application for it in my daily life.

Ultimately, if you are not a fan of The Weather Channel, don’t like getting your weather information off the internet, and are a weather enthusiast, I would certainly recommend the WD-3209U weather center from La Crosse Technology for you. However, the steep price tag of $149.99  ($99 on Amazon.com) is likely to deter many potential buyers. The WD-3209U could make a great gift for a more tech savvy weather enthusiast, gardener, or outdoorsman. Just remember that at the end of the day, it still does virtually the same job as any major weather website, but costs a lot more.

Pros

• Plenty of good information displayed
• Backlit screen can be useful
• SMS/Email alerts for certain weather conditions

Cons

• Expensive ($149.99)
• Information poorly arranged on the screen
• Sometimes difficult to switch settings

A lot of cheaper monitors these days don’t bother checking their power consumption, and are somewhat inefficient in power management, until today. Dell has managed to focus highly on “greener” monitors, and have released their G2210 and G2410 monitors. They took out all the steps in providing one of the greenest monitors available, packaged to help reduce the carbon footprint and made with materials that are environmentally friendly. Today we’ll be taking a look at the G2210.

The G2210, as the model number implies, is a 22-inch monitor with a 1680×1050 native resolution in a 16:10 aspect ratio. The design of the display is simple, with a thin black matte bezel, and a rectangular stand. However, the only ergonomic controls available to the user are tilt adjustments ‚Äì no height or pivot adjustments are available.

On the back are the DVI and VGA inputs, no USB ports or DisplayPort connections are available, but would’ve been a nice touch. For those looking for the nitty-gritty technology behind the display, it uses the TN or twisted-neumatic technology, usually found in lower-end displays, and not the higher-end IPS or in-plant switching technology.

Three energy modes are preset into the on-screen display: Standard, Energy Smart, and Energy Smart Plus. The energy mode display shows an energy gauge in the corner showing how much (or how little) energy you’re saving. Energy Smart Plus activates a feature called dynamic dimming, which dims the backlight when the screen shows a bright image. Energy Smart uses the built-in ambient light sensor to adjust the brightness according to the available light in the room. Standard lets the user control brightness, like most monitors already in use today.

The on-screen display is also one of the nicest OSD’s we’ve used, it’s simple and straight forward, not too confusing to the end user.

In our display tests, we found that text was crisp and easy-to-read, but color in photos was somewhat dull and washed out. Given the low wallet-friendly price however, the Dell G2210 is an excellent choice for both businesses and consumers on a budget.

Find the Dell G2210 22″ monitor for $167 (as of June 23rd) at the Dell Small & Medium Business Store.

Pros

• Eco- and wallet- friendly.
• Built-in energy modes.
• Simple on-screen display.

Cons

• Dull and washed out images.

Edited 6/25 at 8:42pm Pacific: Corrected grammatical errors.

Alarm clocks aren’t something that we tackle on a daily basis for review. However, the aXbo Sleep Phase Alarm Clock provides a unique solution to waking up which drew our interest. Instead of consistently waking you up at the same time, the aXbo monitors sleep patterns and wakes you only when you’re in the lightest stage of sleep. See how it stacks up after the break.First things first, let’s look at the good things the aXbo has going for itself. The unique approach to waking up really does work if you use it on a consistent basis. Waking up in lighter stages of sleep makes you feel less tired, even if you are only getting a few hours of sleep a night.

In addition, the attractive industrial design of the aXbo allows it to fit in in any decor. Everything feels well crafted and seems to have a very high standard of quality. The aXbo has the capacity to set two different alarms, for two different people, for two different times all while monitoring the sleep stages of both. The included wrist bands for the motion sensors are sized in “Large” and “Medium” for a typical couple.

As the aXbo tracks sleep stages, it logs them in its storage. Using a provided USB cable and software downloadable from their website, you can track your sleep stages and see when you fall into different stages throughout the night.

However, that is where the good ends and the less attractive aspect of the clock comes into play. The clock is priced at a lofty $349. In my opinion, this price tag is extremely hard to justify as the clock is relatively basic outside of its sleep phase monitoring aspect.

The poor controls on the device don’t help its case. It’s a struggle at times to deal with two buttons and a click-wheel as the sole source of navigation. Also, the screen is only backlit upon button activity, so if your room is remotely dark, you will need to press a button to be able to see the time. This is frustrating if you wake up early in the morning and do not know what time it is.

Finally, my biggest issue with the clock was that there is a 30 minute window in which it will wake you up. If you set your clock for 7 AM, it will wake you up between 6:30 and 7. While this is clearly to accommodate for a window in your sleep stages, you will be woken half an hour early on occasion which is frustrating in the least.

Ultimately, the aXbo is a very unique alarm clock with a very specific market: those who want to spend a large amount of money on something that will wake them up. Personally, I suggest a typical alarm clock. The results of the aXbo weren’t stunning enough to justify its purchase in my opinion.

Pros

• Can track sleep stages
• Sounds alarm only when opportune
• Attractive design

Cons

• Expensive
• Difficult controls
• Clock not consistently backlit

Updated 6/17/09: Corrected price information to more accurately reflect pricing in the United States.

The Blackberry Curve smartphone has been a staple in the industry for a long time starting with the original 8300 back in 2007. RIM is back at it again with the sleek new Curve 8900 smartphone. How does it compare to the 8300 series and will it become the new champion of the Blackberry?The 8900 takes the curved design of the 8300 series and polishes it up to match the styling of the Storm and Bold smartphones, taking the sleek black finish and combining it with smooth metal bezels. One thing that struck me first was the display. Text was crystal clear compared to my now outdated titanium Blackberry 8310. Images are sharp and vibrant, no longer is there the problem of getting dust under the screen since it’s now flush with the rest of the phone.

As with the Curve series before it, the 8900 brings the familiar QWERTY keyboard back and it still has the same great feel that Blackberry users are accustomed to. Thankfully RIM managed to slim down the Curve quite a bit, making it even more compact and comfortable in your hands. We also liked the fact that the Curve 8900 had an updated user interface that matches hand-in-hand with the external design of the phone.

On the back of the phone is a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus, flash, and image stabilization. Images taken in dark situations turned out grainy, but those taken in a well-lit room were decent. There is some lag when taking a photo however, so keep those hands steady to get optimal shots. The camera is a welcomed improvement over the 2.0 megapixel camera in the 8300 it replaces.

The phone does have built-in GPS and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g with UMA support, so you’ll be able to hop onto a hotspot at Starbucks and surf the web at increased speeds. Speaking of speed, the Curve 8900 isn’t a 3G phone, so you’re stuck with the slower EDGE network which isn’t too bad if you’re not a huge mobile web fan. There are maps available on the Blackberry either using the Blackberry Maps application or Google Maps Mobile, but if you’re looking for the true GPS experience, you’ll want to take a look at the TeleNav software.

And all on top of this is the BlackBerry messaging that every Blackberry smartphone is known for, emailing capabilites and all. If I wasn’t upgrading to an iPhone 3G S, the Blackberry Curve 8900 would be my phone of choice.

In our performance tests, we were able to get around 8 hours of talk time on a single charge. Call quality was good, but there was some noticeable background noise. The speakerphone quality was decent and loud as well.

We reviewed the T-Mobile version of the Blackberry Curve 8900, but an unlocked version is also available from Amazon.com for $460 bucks.

Pros

• New slim and sleek design.
• Revised user interface.
• Wi-Fi and GPS built-in.
• Great 3.2 MP camera.

Cons

• No 3G support.

Today was an exciting step for Apple, nothing revolutionary but more evolutionary. Apple took the award-winning iPhone 3G and took it to the next level, and also offered a preview of the next version of Mac OS X, Snow Leopard. The MacBook lineup also got a slight update. Want to find out more? Read the entire rundown after the break.

MacBook Pros

Phil took the stage and took the opportunity to start off the show with something small. The 13-inch MacBook now supports up to 8GB of RAM, and brings back the FireWire 800 port to the smaller system. The 13-inch is also called a MacBook Pro now, since it features the new unibody enclosure. The white plastic 13-inch MacBook however, still contains the MacBook name. Built-in to all MacBook Pros is an SD card slot, replacing the ExpressCard 34 slot on the 15- and 17-inch models. The three different sizes start at $1199, $1699, and $2499 respectively. These notebooks are available today at the Apple Store.

Snow Leopard

The next version of Mac OS X, Snow Leopard was previewed by the Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Bertrand Serlet. He joked about Windows 7 and Windows Vista, something he also did in 2007, ranting about it’s DLLs, the Registry, and of course, the infamous User Access Control, which he says became more complicated in 7. Snow Leopard doesn’t contain too many new features, but more new underlying technologies.

Finally the Finder has been rewritten in Cocoa, making it much snappier and as far as I can tell from the demos, Snow Leopard is a must-have for all Intel Macs. Exposé is onw built-in to to the Dock, and a completely new QuickTime Player was written specifically for Snow Leopard. One of my favorite new enhancements is faster Time Machine backups, something that has been bugging me since day one with 10.5. Leopard users, grab it this September for $29.

iPhone

Last but not least, the iPhone got to steal the stage for part of the presentation. Scott Forstall, SVP of iPhone Software was brought up onto stage to show features we previously saw in iPhone OS 3.0 at the event in March earlier this year. He then brought up app developers to showcase their new applications utilizing APIs built into the new operating system. One of the best moments was when Scott came out in a labcoat to participate in a science experiment for one of the applications from a company called Pasco. In the demo, the company wanted to showcase how the application could track an increase in air pressure on a balloon. Turns out in didn’t work – “That’s the last time I’m dressing up for an experiment,” Forstall said. iPhone OS 3.0 is free for iPhone customers, and $9.95 for iPod touch users, and will be available on June 17th.

Phil then built up the excitement, and introduced the iPhone 3G S. The “S” in the name stands for speed, and supports the new 7.2 Mbps HSDPA network that carriers will be rolling out soon. The new iPhone 3G S looks the same on the outside but now contains a new 3 megapixel camera with autofocus and video recording capabilities and a compass. Voice Control is a new feature that allows you to place calls and play songs through the power of your own voice. Plus, all of the features of the 3.0 software are included (Copy / Paste, Tethering, etc). The 3G S will be available on June 19th in 16GB and 32GB capacities for $199 and $299 respectively.

Update: It will cost $399 (16GB) and $499 (32GB) for existing AT&T and iPhone 3G customers plus the normal $18 upgrade fee to upgrade to the iPhone 3G S. On the other hand, it costs $175 to cancel your current iPhone 3G line.

Safari 4

Safari 4 has been available as a public beta for quite a while, and now is finally going gamma, er… non-beta. The new release is up to 8 times faster at executing JavaScript, and 4 times faster than the latest version of Firefox in both iBench and SunSpider benchmarking tools.

If you’ve used the Safari 4 Beta, it includes the same great Cover Flow-style History panel, as well as the Top Sites display which tracks all of the websites you visit and compiles the most visited ones in a grid-like fashion. You can also do a search within your history, not only within the URL and metadata, but within the page as well. This is great because when I remember a web page mentally, I always remember what it looked like and I can now scan the pages I’ve visited quickly and easily.

Not a whole lot of new stuff, but this moves Apple towards becoming an even bigger player in the smartphone market, and building up their Mac market share.

Our live blog from earlier today is also available as a replay with pictures from the keynote address.

Updated 10:04PM PST Added iPhone 3G S upgrade and Safari 4 release information.

We’ll be live at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2009, where Apple is rumored to announce the next generation iPhone, and preview the next version of Mac OS X, Snow Leopard. Could we see a Steve Jobs cameo? Come back on Monday and find out.The live blog will begin at 9:30am Pacific time on June 8th.

Click Here for a Popout Version

Main photo by Flickr user Sooyong Wang

A lot has happened in the rumor mill since we last posted our predictions last Monday. Here’s an update on what’s gone down since then including the latest iPhone rumors and news about Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Less than two days to go until Phil Schiller takes the stage on Monday.

The Moscone West convention center is now covered in app icons, hinting to an iPhone-heavy conference. As far as I can see from photos posted on Flickr by Adam Jackson, there is only one “Mac” banner promoting the next version of OS X called Snow Leopard on the ground level of the center.

iPhone

Two significant rumors have noted that new iPhone models have been seen in certain cell phone and retail store inventory systems. Tweakers.net is reporting that T-Mobile in Germany is listing five new models, in both 16 and 32GB capacities. AppleInsider is also reporting that iPhone distributor Carphone Warehouse is showing four new iPhone models, dubbed V3, in the same 16 and 32GB capacities.

Rumors have been pointing to a new iPhone at WWDC 2009 for a long period of time, so you can almost put money that Apple will be unveiling the new line on Monday.

Naming conventions for the new iPhone have varied over time, examples include: iPhone V3, iPhone Video, and simply just iPhone.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard

We haven’t seen any breakthrough features for the next version of the OS X operating system yet, but we’re hoping Apple will unveil some new unreleased features at WWDC. Previously, developer builds of 10.5 did not have the same features that builds internally at Apple did, and uncovered features such as Stacks and the new Finder at WWDC in 2008.

Apple stated last year that they would focus on performance and 64-bit compatibility, thereby supporting up to 16TB of memory.

“We have delivered more than a thousand new features to OS X in just seven years and Snow Leopard lays the foundation for thousands more,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “In our continued effort to deliver the best user experience, we hit the pause button on new features to focus on perfecting the world’s most advanced operating system.”

Final Cut Studio Updates

This year’s NAB Show in Las Vegas came and went without a single update from Apple on Final Cut Studio. We’re hoping that the new versions of Final Cut and Motion will tie into the new technologies of Snow Leopard, adding performance boosts in rendering and editing large video files. AppleInsider has more on the updates.

Steve Jobs

While it would be true that we’re going out on a limb here, a Steve Jobs appearance at WWDC would be surprising to say the least. The Wall Street Journal has an article that states Jobs is on schedule to return to Apple later this month. They are also reporting that Apple is readying a media event to coexist with his return.

Live Coverage

Just as a reminder, we’ll be live in attendance at the WWDC keynote on Monday, and providing live coverage right here on ConnectReviews. Sign up for an email reminder below, or bookmark this page.

We reviewed the Amazon Kindle back in January of last year, and now Amazon is back with the Kindle 2. With an improved display (although not larger), sleek new design, and a new navigation joystick, plus text-to-speech, does the Amazon Kindle 2 win our praise? Read on after the break for more details and our final opinion.

While there aren’t as many improvements as people had hoped for, the new design is a welcome enhancement. The new display now has 16 shades of grey instead of four and makes text appear crisper and clearer. Page turns are also 20% faster than the original Kindle display. Check out the video below showing you a 360-degree spin of the new Kindle 2 design.

Gone is the SD expansion slot, replaced with 2GB of on-board memory. This isn’t a huge deal, since it’s enough to store over 1,500 books. In terms of software features, not much has changed besides tweaking location of certain functions such as search, which has now been relocated to a search bar at the bottom of your screen. One new feature, the only major one at least, is the addition of text-to-speech.

Any newspaper, magazine, book, or blog can be read out loud and pages turn automatically when being read, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy your favorite book. We’re still wondering why Amazon hasn’t built in a backlight or a reading light, because reading the Kindle is virtually impossible in dim lighting. The battery isn’t user-replaceable either, which shouldn’t be a problem, but eventually it will need to be replaced. The process costs $80 to send the device to Amazon, and the process doesn’t replace the battery, but replaces the entire Kindle.

If you’re an avid reader, by all means, go out and get a Kindle. Buy it today from Amazon.com for $360 with free shipping. Still a hefty price, but well worth it for bookworms. We’ll be taking a look at the Kindle DX soon too.

Pros

• Enhanced design.
• New crisper and clearer display.
• Text-to speech functionality.

Cons

• No backlight.
• Still somewhat expensive.

Earlier this year at Macworld 2009, we only got one of our predictions correct in an underwhelming keynote by Phil Schiller. Let’s hope that Jobs’ traditional sidekick will bring Apple fanboys an exciting keynote this time ’round. We’ll be live blogging the WWDC 2009 keynote address on June 8th at 10am Pacific time, but before that all begins, here are our (hopefully true) predictions for this year’s developers conference.

1. 3rd Generation iPhone – This one is pretty much true at this point, at least we hope. The rumor mill is going crazy, and will continue to do so right up until Phil hits the stage. The 3rd generation iPhone is rumored to have a compass, video recording capabilities, and a 3.2 megapixel camera. In addition, the new phone will support AT&T’s new 7.2 mbps 3G network for faster download speeds. Also, expect to see the 16GB capacity to drop down in price to $199 replacing the 8GB model and a new 32GB capacity being introduced. The phone will be announced, but not available for another month due to FCC approval.

2. Mac OS X Snow Leopard – Bertrand Serlet gave a peek at Snow Leopard at last year’s WWDC, and since Leopard came out over two years ago, release is imminent. While 10.6 won’t have too many new features, instead focusing on performance and underlying code, it will host a significant upgrade in speed for Intel users.

3. iPhone 3.0 Software Update – The latest version of Apple’s iPhone OS will be released for both the iPhone and iPod touch, letting existing users utilize the latest and greatest features such as MMS and Copy & Paste. Version 3.0 will come preloaded on the new iPhone when it ships in July.

4. 3G MacBook Air – Apple’s thinnest notebook would be perfect with built-in 3G wireless capability, connecting to the AT&T 3G network and allowing for a true wireless mobile experience. The only downside of this would be signing a two-year contract.

5. Mediapad – Since not too many rumors have been floating around relating to a larger-screen Mediapad, this one doesn’t have much chance of turning out to be true. The supposed device would feature a larger 6-10″ screen, and run a larger-scale version of the new 3.0 software for watching media and browsing the web.

5. Steve Jobs Surprise Appearance – Jobs has been recently spotted at the Apple campus, so his return from medical leave must be approaching and could be seen on stage with Schiller. I wouldn’t get your hopes up though.

Don’t forget we will be in attendance at the WWDC 2009 keynote, and live blogging it in it’s entirety. Join us on June 8th at 10am Pacific time. Sign up for an email reminder below.

Main photo by Flickr user Aaron Tait.

Mobile broadband cards are becoming smaller and less bulky over the past couple of years, and have also been adding features as well such as GPS. Like previous cards we’ve reviewed, many of them are also doubling as microSD card readers, which are ubiquitous in cell phones and smartphones around the world. The latest Sierra Wireless 598U mobile broadband card from Sprint is one of them, and we’re taking a look at it today.

The Sprint 598U is one of the latest Sierra Wireless cards, and plugs into any USB port on your notebook (or desktop for that matter), giving you instant access to the Sprint EVDO Rev. A network. Inside the box, you’ll also find a laptop clip and a 20-inch USB extension cable. One of our favorite features in most of the newer cards is the no-CD install – the drivers are built-in on the modem allowing for easy installation without first having to find it.

I tested the 598U with my MacBook Pro notebook in the Sacramento metro area and we found speeds to be fairly fast and quick enough to stream online videos, even in HD.

In the design of the 598U, Sierra Wireless and Sprint went one step further, making the Sprint logo light up when the device is plugged in and connected. We thought this feature was unnecessary however, and thought there should be an option to turn it off. Nothing a piece of black tape shouldn’t fix though.

The Sprint 598U is a great choice for the road warrior that needs to be connected anywhere they go. Find it at Sprint.com for $29.99 afer instant savings and a mail-in rebate with a 2-year contract.

Pros

• No CD required for install.
• Smaller, compact design.
• Supports EVDO Rev A speeds.

Cons

• Can’t turn off Sprint logo light.

Most USB flash drives these days are long and rectangular, usually designs that don’t catch the eyes of computer users, maybe except for the Teddy Bear flash drive we reviewed last month. However, LaCie is trying to change that with their latest line of flash drives, one of them being the iamaKey. As the name implies, the LaCie iamaKey is shaped like a typical key you find on your keychain.

Coming in at both 4GB and 8GB capacities, the iamaKey isn’t the largest flash drive available, but the first one I’ve found that won’t get lost in the laundry. You won’t have to worry about getting the gold contacts on the USB connector wet either, since the gold SIP connector is water- and scratch-resistant. After about two weeks of use on my keychain in my pocket, the iamaKey has yet to be damaged from normal wear-and-tear.

LaCie claims fast transfer rates up to 30 MB/s read and 10 MB/s write. In our simple file transfer tests, speeds were a little slower than other flash drives we had available, but not too bad. One slight problem we found about having the drive on a keychain was that the flash drive was pulled down by the weight of our keys, somewhat bending down on the drive. It could be a cause for concern if it was damaging the port itself, but both held up fine during the time we tested it.

Grab the 4GB version for just under $24 or the 8GB for just under $34 from Amazon.com today. A hefty cost for such small capacities, but worth it in my book.

Pros

• Somewhat fast file transfer speeds.
• Unique design.
• Connector is water- and scratch-resistant.

Cons

• Expensive.

Offering all the bass that comes with a subwoofer without the wasted space on your floor, the expressionist BASS speakers from Altec Lansing prove to be an interesting concept. Instead of a traditional subwoofer, the speakers have a four inch subwoofer located in their bases.

First things first, the size of the speakers is simply awkward. Standing ten inches high, the speakers simply take up too much room on the desktop itself. The bottom of the speaker is similarly large as they have to accommodate the subwoofers. I suppose this is just a small sacrifice to be made for the extra foot room you gain.

Another drawback I found with these speakers is in the controls. You have a typical power button, then volume up and down buttons. There’s no control of the subwoofers, which can become a problem as I mention later. Also, instead of buttons, I prefer a volume dial. It simply makes controlling volume more elegant and exact.

However, the most important part of any speaker system is the sound quality. As I just mentioned, the lack of an onboard bass control proves frustrating at times for one simple reason. When a subwoofer is on the floor, it’s muffled more by its surroundings. However, when you have two subwoofers right in front of you, the bass can overwhelm the treble.

That being said, a few small equalizer changes later, I was up and running. Overall, the sound quality is relatively good. Treble notes are well projected providing that you somehow turn down the bass. It’s not the clearest sound quality I’ve ever heard, but it’s by no means bad.

If you’re in the market for space-saving, built-in-subwoofer speakers for around $130, the expressionist BASS might very well be the option you’re looking for. However, if you are willing to spend a bit more, there are more promising speakers of the same space saving design (Audioengine A2, etc.).

Pros

• Stylish design
• Relatively good sound quality
• MP3 Input

Cons

• Poor volume controls
• Overpowering bass
• Very large size