mini

Sony's new tablet is really thin. How thin? Thinner than the already-very-svelte iPad Mini.

The 10.1-inch Xperia Tablet Z measures 6.9mm or about 0.27 inches. The uber-thin Mini is 7.2mm and 0.28 inches, by comparison.

Thinness is important in tablets because it translates to very light, easy-to-hold designs. And here Sony delivers too: it weighs in at 485 grams or just over one pound.

That also beats the 10-inch class competition: Apple's iPad 4 is 1.44 pounds.

The 10.1-inch Xperia sports a 1,920x1,200 "Reality Display." That's not quite the pixel density of the iPad 4's Retina display but it's pretty close. The Xperia is about 224 pixels per inch (PPI), while the iPad's 9.7-inch display is 264 PPI.

But, to be fair, both fall short of Google's Nexus 10 with a PPI of 300. … Read more

Intel is betting a chunk of its PC future on so-called convertibles. So far, financial analysts aren't convinced these are designs that will win the day.

Newfangled laptops that perform mechanical acrobatics to convert to tablet mode, like Lenovo's Yoga convertible and Dell's XPS 12, aren't impressive enough yet to revive PC-market doldrums, according to a growing chorus of financial analysts who follow Intel.

On Thursday, Intel CEO Paul Otellini, speaking during an earnings conference call, tried to depict convertible PC designs as the best of both worlds: the laptop and the tablet. In essence, he … Read more

The cellular edition of the iPad Mini debuted in China today, but buyers will have to wait two weeks before it ships.

That delay also applies to the Wi-Fi only version, which has been out for about six weeks. A check of the Apple Store in China finds that all capacities of both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular models are stuck with a two-week ship time.

iPad Mini buyers in the U.K., Japan, and other countries face the same delay, though the wait time in the U.S. is only one week.

Apple has been battling to meet global … Read more

Google's Nexus 7 is gaining market share in Japan and topped Apple's iPad in one survey.

Japanese digital device consumers are some of the savviest in the world. So, a report Thursday showing that the Nexus 7 has bested the iPad in market share is worthy of attention.

Based on a survey of 2,400 consumer electronics stores in Japan, Google's Nexus 7 tablet had 44.4 percent of the market versus the iPad's 40.1 percent, according to Nikkei, Japan's largest business daily. The survey was done by market research firm BCN in December. … Read more

Apple's next-generation iPad Mini will feature a high-resolution Retina Display, says KGI Securites analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In an investors note detailed last night by MacRumors, Kuo projects that the iPad Mini 2 will come with the same Retina Display already offered by its larger counterpart.

The upgrade will be beneficial not only to consumers but to developers who can then design the same high-resolution apps to fit both iPad models. The next version of the 9.7-inch iPad will also lose some weight, get much slimmer, and take on the same thin bezels used on the Mini, according to … Read more

The Wi-Fi and cellular versions of the iPad Mini and the fourth-generation iPad with Retina Display will be available for purchase in China on Friday, Apple announced today.

These iPad models, which are now available in more than 100 countries, will be available through Apple's online store, Apple retail stores, and select authorized resellers, Apple said in a statement. Earlier reports indicated that the cellular versions would be designed to work on China Telecom and China Unicom networks.

The announcement comes less than a week after Apple CEO Tim Cook promised during an interview that an iPad Mini with … Read more

Apple CEO Tim Cook has promised Chinese customers an iPad Mini with cellular by the end of the month.

Speaking to news outlet Tencent (translation), Cook said the iPad Mini with cellular functionality will be coming to China "in late January." He declined to provide an exact release day.

The iPad Mini with Wi-Fi launched in China on December 7. Since then, the device has proven extremely successful, with Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White saying last month that consumers in China and Hong Kong have "an insatiable appetite" for Apple's smaller slate.

"Prior … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Foreo touts its Luna mini as the first facial-cleansing device to combine sonic pulsations with silicone brushes.

Honestly, from the shape of the device, I'd never have guessed it was a gadget for cleaning the face. But according to the manufacturer, it is six times more effective than washing by hand and can help prevent acne and other blemishes.

Here's how it works. Applying the Luna mini to your face sends up to 14,000 sonic pulsations per minute beneath the skin. This is said to effectively unclog dirt, oil, or makeup residue from pores. It apparently … Read more

Apple is working on a low-cost iPhone for emerging markets around the world, a new report claims.

The company is working on an iPhone for China and emerging markets that would launch in the second half of 2013, Digitimes is reporting, citing unnamed sources in Apple's supply chain. Those sources say that the iPhone will have a large display, but will come with a revamped design and be much cheaper than the company's current handset.

That said, one part of the Digitimes rumor doesn't quite add up: the low-cost iPhone will have a larger screen than the … Read more