The Apple Beat: Apple's back in the news, but not for new products

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Apple's been a hot topic of late but not because of any new products or services. Sure, the new MacBook Airs have arrived and now offer even better battery life thanks to newer Intel processors. The biggest Apple news this past week was the company's stock surging to over $600 a share, the new addition of Burberry Wunderkind Angela Arhendts as the new Senior VP for Retail, as well as Apple winning the long-contested patent lawsuit against supplier and arch-rival Samsung.

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Microsoft Surface Mini slated for May 20th release

The Microsoft Surface Mini is coming sooner rather than later. Microsoft's smallest Surface device is slated for a May 20 product launch with availability coming soon after. Expected to be an 8-inch tablet running Windows RT 8.1, the focus of this mini is notetaking and we can expect the same type of stylus integration as with the Surface Pro.

The 8-inch Windows tablet market has become an interesting area as a number of devices from Acer, Dell and Lenovo are bring the full Windows 8.1 experience to a smaller form factor and while some offer a stylus, the functionality is rather limited.

The Surface Mini has long been rumoured but was not included in the last Surface refresh that saw the launch of the Surface 2 and the Surface Pro 2. Pricing, feature set and accessories are all expected to be revealed during the event which takes place in New York City on May 20th.

Source:WindowsITPro, Surface Mini render from Tecnopasion

Chromebook invasion continues with two new models from ASUS

ASUS announced two new Chrome OS laptops powered by latest energy-efficient Intel Bay Trail-M processors. Available in two screen sizes — the 11.6-inch C200 model and 13.3-inch C300 — ASUS Chromebooks are designed for outstanding mobility and feature up to 10 hours battery life for all-day use.

The devices will be shipping to Canada in June with the following price points  - Chromebook C200 starting at $299.99 and C300 at a starting price at $329.99. Hit jump for the full release.

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HP aims for SMBs with new Android-powered Slate21 Pro all-in-one

HP just revealed its Android-powered all-in-one (AiO) desktop which is coming to market for $379.99 and boasts a 21.5-inch diagonal Full HD4 IPS touchscreen, Android 4.3 operating system, and access to over one million apps on Google Play. This really is the largest commercially available Android tablet made to fit on a desktop in an office setting/

The new HP Slate21 Pro AiO offers seamless integration with Android-based phones and tablets with autosyncing and Google Cloud Services; as well as, provides access to efficient manageability tools, security enhancements and apps available through the Google Play app store. Here are a list of features designed for SMBs.