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Unless you've been hunkered in a cave for the past few weeks, you've probably heard about that new iPad mini thing. Many of you will also be aware it goes on sale this very day -- well, the WiFi-only version anyway, starting at $329 for the 16GB variant. Apple's taking its first steps into an uncharted territory, launching a 7.9-inch slate that might tempt customers who weren't keen on the 9.7-inch offering we're all familiar with. It's coming a little late to smaller-tablet game, but if history tells us anything, it's that people go crazy for Apple products. That being said, many may have already invested in tablets of a similar size when the iPad mini just wasn't an option, so might be less inclined to grab one now. Whether it'll have the staggering uptake of Apple products that preceded it remains to be seen, but we'd love to hear your thoughts on it, including if you plan to buy one or not, in the poll and comments below.

Predicting the future of Twitter's trending topics is, as of right now, an impossibility. But two folks at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology may have cracked the code with an algorithm they're saying predicts -- with 95 percent accuracy -- the topics that will trend in the next hour and a half. The prediction has even been calculated as high as four to five hours ahead of time with the same level of accuracy. Not too bad!

Of course, beyond impressing friends with the predictions, the algorithm has direct implications for the likes of Twitter itself -- being able to sell ads against trending topics could benefit the social media company enormously in its ongoing quest to monetize. At any rate, it's distinctly less dangerous sounding than the last idea we heard involving Twitter and predictions. The algorithm will be presented next week at MIT's Interdisciplinary Workshop on Information and Decision in Social Networks, should you wish to dig into the nitty gritty of the math behind the madness.

Among the truckload of devices that Apple unpacked at its press event a few days ago was a gadget that we had heard rumblings about for a long time. The iPad mini graces the cover of our weekly and we put it through the full review treatment to see how it stacks up with other slates that sport a smaller stature. If Cupertino's latest doesn't grab your eye, we also take a good, long look at Windows 8, ASUS's PadFone 2 and HTC's 8X before offering in-depth analysis. Weekly Stat recaps earnings season, Eyes-On visually fondles a pair of Slingboxes, and video producer Freddie Wong visits the Q&A. The usual download repositories are just below, so mosey on to yours and snag a copy.

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As Sony's second stab at the US mobile market, the Xperia TL arrives with a major corporate synergistic push: a 007 movie franchise tie-in. But an awkward distinction as the official Bond phone and a smattering of pre-loaded "Skyfall" multimedia content alone won't drive consumer adoption; the specs and pricing will. Following in the footsteps of the company's first stateside flagship, the Ion, this AT&T 4G LTE exclusive is priced aggressively at $99 on two-year contract, packing a 4.6-inch HD Reality display (1,280 x 720) powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine, a dual-core Snapdragon S4 clocked at 1.5GHz, 16GB of storage (expandable up to 32GB via microSD), 1GB RAM, NFC, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, as well as an integrated 1,850mAh battery.

With Ice Cream Sandwich running the show and a planned upgrade to Jelly Bean in the works, it has all the makings of a current-gen high-end offering. So will the Xperia TL help Sony build much-needed buzz for its mobile division here in the states? Can a sub-$100 price tag effectively lure consumers away from the bigger, faster and flashier Android phones AT&T has to offer? Or is this mainly one for Sony loyalists? Find out after the break as we put the TL through its paces.

Sony Xperia TL review

Doxie has added another portable scanner to its heart-logo'd lineup, the Doxie One, which can digitize documents and images to an included SD-card with nary a computer in sight. Doxie says that'll let you travel light with the "paper-towel roll sized" device to scan and automatically generate Abbyy OCR-read PDFs, then sync up later with a Mac, PC, iPhone or iPad. From there, you can use the included app on a Mac or iDevice to transfer the scans to Dropbox, Evernote or iMessage. The device eschews the WiFi option of its recent Doxie Go sibling, but carries a lesser $149 sticker -- check the PR for the full dope.

JBL's SoundFly lineup is one of the rarer breeds of wireless speaker we've come across: it's much like an earlier AirPort Express made solely for audio, designed to be as unintrusive as possible while it kicks out the jams. Those who find that stealthy sound appealing will be glad to hear that the more advanced of the two SoundFly speakers, the SoundFly Air, is now shipping. The 20W box will play audio streamed from any AirPlay-capable device on the same WiFi network while it sits demurely on a wall outlet. JBL is counting on a few tricks to set itself apart from the rest of the similarly Apple-oriented pack, such as linking up to four of the speakers for whole-home audio and offering an iOS app to tailor the output to the room. About the only reservation is a $199 shipping price for something that isn't as portable or universal as a Jawbone Jambox, but that may be the price to pay for a speaker that can offer longer range and syncing while it very nearly blends into the furniture.

While Apple's still rewriting its online apology, the printed versions, detailing that Samsung's tablets did not infringe on Cupertino's iPad designs, have finally started to appear. Spotted on page five of The Guardian today, it doesn't look much like the Apple advertising we're used to -- we actually glossed over the admission when we first picked up the paper. Oh, and good luck typing up those links.

It's always bittersweet when we see great vehicles on their way to becoming museum pieces, after all, they represent something pretty special. Space Shuttle Atlantis landed in Florida back in July, where it's been locked inside the vehicle assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center -- which is where we got a chance to look inside. Now it's making its final journey, a 10-mile cruise along the road to the visitor center, where it'll hopefully inspire generations for many years to come. If you'd like to watch the operation as it takes place, then head on past the break to watch the livestream.

Google has added functionality to the web version of its Translate service, now making it even easier for us to use and understand foreign tongues. Instead of a single result, you'll be presented with a list of the most common translations, ordered and labeled by how frequently each one is used. What's more, synonyms are also displayed next to the assortment of results, but this particular feature only works when translating into English, although more languages are expected to be supported soon. We've had a quick play around with it, and suggest you head over to the Google Translate page and try out the new elements for yourself. Now, if only the website translator could make those Japanese pages a little easier to read.

Most video walls would be just a tad too large for the average living room, but the Tokyo University of Technology might have a clever technique to make them travel-sized. Its new Pinch interface joins mobile devices (currently iOS hardware) into a single display simply by making the namesake gesture between at least two gadgets: WiFi keeps them in sync and recognizes the relative size and orientation. While we probably wouldn't resort to a wall of iPads in place of a large TV, there's clear practical uses like extra-large creative apps, communication and very local multiplayer games. The best news may be that the university isn't keeping the technology to itself. It wants developers to borrow Pinch for their own apps, which could lead to a legion of smartphones and tablets getting extra-cozy.

Nikon might be treading water in Q2 2013 (its fiscal year is time-shifted) with a slight gain to $203 million from Q1, but in the current imaging market climate, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Revenue fell $200 million to $3 billion for the period, which Nikon chalked up to a "sluggish" economy and poor performance in its business, chip and science divisions, along with a rapidly shrinking compact camera market (smartphones, anyone?). Fortunately, the company fared better in the interchangeable lens game, singling out the Nikon 1 mirrorless brand as a "solid performer" as well as its popular DSLR line. Nikon predicts more of the same for the rest of the year, with interchangeable lens camera sales growing while other divisions waffle, resulting in a $750 million profit for the year -- a mirror-image of 2012.

[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]

Coder extraordinaire Hexxeh earned much of his reputation from porting Chromium OS to just about everything, some of his targets more audacious than others. It's about time he come full circle and port a Google platform to another Google platform, and he just recently did that with a very early Chromium OS conversion for the normally Android-based Nexus 7. Details are scarce other than that WiFi and touch input are working, although that's really all that's needed for something so web-centric, isn't it? We'll cut Hexxeh some slack when he says he's in no rush to produce a more easily installed build for Jane and Joe Modder -- when he mentions spending hours hacking the OS into the tablet just for fun, he probably deserves some leeway.

[Thanks, yo2boy]

Until very recently, Microsoft wasn't known for making hardware. Sure, it put out the occasional Zune, but most of the tech running Redmond's desktop and mobile operating systems traditionally comes from its partners -- the Surface being the exception, of course. According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft might consider making that exception a rule: some of the firm's part suppliers say that the company is experimenting with a smartphone design of its very own. Folks familiar with the matter say the device in question is between four and five inches, putting it in a sweet-spot that's larger than the iPhone 5, but not quite as daunting as a Samsung Galaxy Note II. Don't get too excited, however, sources aren't sure the if the device will go into mass production, and Microsoft is expectantly tight-lipped about the rumor. Still, we wouldn't scoff at a smartphone with a build quality to match the Surface -- though it might rub some of Redmond's hardware partners the wrong way.

Competition is heating up in the high-end digital cinema market, and Red is responding with a slew of massive price cuts. According to CEO Jim Jannard, this "attitude adjustment" is simply a benefit of scaling up production, yielding a decrease in component and assembly costs, and an enormous reduction in assembly time -- the first Epic took 12 hours to build, while current models require just 13 minutes. As a result, the Epic-M has dropped to $24,000 (from $39,500), the Epic-X is now $19,000 (formerly $34,500), the Scarlet is $7,950 (from $9,700) and the EOL'd One MX is priced at $4,000 (once $25,000). The Dragon sensor upgrade will not be included with any new Epic models, and will remain priced at $6,000. Red customers who took the plunge on cameras with former pricing within the last month (on or after October 1st) will receive a discount off future accessory purchases of $4,000 for Epic and $1,000 for Scarlet. With this latest round of discounts, Red cameras are by no means inexpensive, but they're certainly more affordable. If you were already planning to pick one up, Christmas just came a couple months early.

[Thanks, Mike]

It wasn't long ago that Google Wallet delved into the online payment sphere, but as of today, the Mountain View juggernaut has extended its checkout service to mobile websites. According to Google, 97 percent of mobile shoppers abandon their carts, which is primarily due to the litany of information that needs to be manually entered. Now, when you stumble upon a mobile website that supports Google Wallet checkouts, you'll merely need to click the buy button, enter your login credentials and then complete the order. The immediate downside is the paltry number of outlets that support the service: 1-800-Flowers, Rockport and Five Guys. Then again, we suppose you could have a pretty nice evening with flowers, new shoes and a couple of burgers.

Android devices already counted for a lion's share of phones shipped during Q2, and now fresh IDC figures show Google's OS claiming the top spot with a hefty 75 percent marketshare in the third quarter. In total, 136 million Android handsets were shipped during the time frame, a new record in a single quarter. Even with the help of new hardware, iOS lagged behind in second place with a 14.9 percent stake of handsets. Both Blackberry and Symbian clung to their respective 3rd and 4th place spots, making up 6.6 percent of total shipments. Windows-based phones (both WP7 and Windows Mobile) fell to 2 percent, keeping Microsoft in fifth place just above smartphones running Linux. However, with Windows Phone 8 devices making their debut, we wouldn't be surprised to see Redmond's numbers get a boost when IDC's next report rolls around.

If you spend more money on gaming than you do groceries each month, allow us to give you another reason to stock up on cases of ramen noodles: Mad Catz' Tritton Pro+ True 5.1 Surround Sound Headset is now shipping. Priced at $200, the Tritton Pro+ is compatible with the PS3, Xbox 360 and PCs. Sporting a flexible lightweight design, this triple threat rocks individual subwoofers in each earcup and "true Dolby Digital 5.1 surround" through eight separate drivers (four per earcup). In addition to its potentially deafening output, the Pro+ features an in-line remote and Selectable Voice Monitoring, which gives users the option to hear their own voice through the headset's speakers -- in case you wanna play multiplayer with the other people in your head. Also, you might wanna see a doctor.

William Shatner and technology go way back, but it's taken him until today to get his own smartphone app. Then again, he is a man known to take long pauses. Dubbed Shatoetry, the new app (iPhone-only, for the moment) lets you string together a variety of pre-recorded words -- each with three different versions -- and have the resulting "Shatism" read aloud by Shatner himself. You're then able to send the message to your friends through all the usual means, or even take advantage of a co-op mode that lets you collaborate on a phrase. Of course, spoken word Shatner on-demand doesn't come free -- the app will set you back $2.99.

Harnessing the awesome power of the Sun isn't just dependent on the efficiency of solar cells, but also on making them affordable. Current techniques aren't exactly cheap, but researchers from Stanford University think they've made a bit of a breakthrough by producing a relatively inexpensive photovoltaic cell using nothing but carbon. We're sure other scientists might disagree with the 'world's first' claim, but those at Stanford think it's a matter of language, and that these other pretenders are "referring to just the active layer in the middle, not the electrodes." The team selected a trio of carbon types to use in their cell: a mixture of nanotubes and buckyballs make up the light-absorbing layer, while graphene is being utilized for the electrodes.

The carbon amalgam can be applied from solution using simple methods, meaning the flexible cells could be used to coat surfaces, although you won't be seeing it smeared over anything too soon. The prototype only touts a "laboratory efficiency of less than 1 percent," so it can't compete with traditional solar cells just yet. Also, it only absorbs a sliver of the light spectrum, but the researchers are looking to other forms of the wonder element which could increase that range. They are hoping that improving the structure of the cells will help to boost their efficiency, too. They might never generate the most energy, but the all-carbon cells can remain stable under extreme conditions, meaning they could find their calling in harsh environments where brawn is a little more important than status, or looks.

What kind of movement does a theft entail? Apple's in the process of figuring that out, today filing a patent application for a, "acceleration-based theft detection system for portable electronic devices." Apple pickers: you've just been put on watch. According to the patent filing, said device would activate an alarm of some form after determining, "whether a theft condition is present." It'll apparently figure that out based on the accelerometer built into many of Apple's mobile devices -- the same thing that figures out which way you're holding your phone. Beyond just the hardware, said theft protection system would work in concert with software to determine if the movement matches a pre-determined "profile characteristic of theft."

Of course, Apple's not the only one worried about mobile device theft, as Google already patented just such a device pertaining to its Project Glass concept. But the you'd have to be pretty brazen to steal the glasses off of someone's face without "accidentally" socking them in the eye.