Apple's iPad Mini is creating a frenzy among Chinese tablet buyers, according to Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White.

Checks of retailers in China and Hong Kong show "an insatiable appetite" for the Mini, leading to a supply shortage, White said in an investors note out today. Stores in China are out of stock, while those in Hong Kong are sold out of nearly all flavors of the 7-inch tablet.

The iPad Mini is proving much more popular in China and Hong Kong than its bigger 4th-generation brother, which remains in stock.

"Prior to the China … Read more

Android and iOS devices were apparently popular gifts this Christmas -- more popular than ever before.

Device activations soared from their daily December average of 4 million to 17.4 million on Christmas Day, a 332 percent increase, according to analytics firm Flurry. That's more than double the 6.8 million devices activated on Christmas last year, the previous single-day record holder. And in a first, more tablets were activated on Christmas this year than phones. Apple tablets dominated the category, but the Kindle Fire HD 7-inch made its strongest showing ever.

iPhone and iPad app downloads jumped 87 percent … Read more

What if everything around you had the potential to generate small amounts of energy?

We've seen flexible, even stick-on photovoltaic cells before, but these decal-style solars are compact and fun.

In a recent article in Scientific Reports, Stanford University mechanical engineering assistant professor Xiaolin Zheng and colleagues describe thin-film solar cells that can be peeled and stuck anywhere.

The researchers manufactured them on a reusable silicon and silicon dioxide wafer and then stuck them on paper, plastic, and window glass.

The original cell efficiency of 7.5 percent was maintained, and the manufacturing uses existing processes and materials. That … Read more

The pragmatic and the weak tend to believe that if you can't beat them, you should join them. However, a significant number of the world's humans would just as soon carry on beating them.

Please choose sides, then, on a subject that may divide the artistic community from here to eternity.

The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis is the latest to offer something that might stick in a throat or two: tweet seats.

Yes, this is a specially cordoned-off pen in which digital obsessives whip out their iPhones and tweet: "Oh, look. The fat lady's dead!" … Read more

The number of people using Instagram daily reportedly declined sharply over Christmas, just a week after a flap over the Facebook-owned company's revised terms of service led to widespread user outrage.

As first reported by the New York Post, analytics firm AppData recorded a nearly 25 percent drop in the number of daily active Instagram users in the wake of the controversy. Instagram had 16.4 million daily active users before it announced new plans to introduce advertising into the service; seven days later, that figure had fallen to 12.4 million users by AppData's reckoning.

AppData records … Read more

The latest update to the Gmail app (4.2.1) for Android has provided some welcome new features, like pinch-to-zoom and swipe-to-delete. But another useful feature you might not be aware of is hiding check boxes.

To select multiple e-mail messages in Gmail for Android, you have to tap the tiny check boxes to the left of each message. If you miss the check box and tap the message instead, the message launches and you have to go back to the conversation list and try again. Luckily, there's a Gmail setting that will remove the check boxes entirely, and … Read more

The circus that is the end of the year is one that is filled with family, friends, and, of course, food. While all these hectic gatherings certainly do represent good times, the occasion can be fraught with danger. As the turkey, ham, or roast rests waiting to go under the knife, the inside of the beast is plotting against you. The anticipation of the first slice is tempered by the reality of the released juices -- inevitably rolling straight to your new tablet, phone, or e-reader.

The same juiciness that makes the centerpiece of a meal delicious also makes it … Read more

Developers who ordered an Ouya game console should soon find one in front of their doors.

The folks at Oyua confirmed today that 1,200 developer consoles have been shipped and should reach eager buyers in the next few days.

Created this past year, Ouya is an attempt to bring gaming back to your TV. Designed to hook up to your television, the Ouya console plans to be home to a platform of Android-based games built by interested developers.

The console itself is the brainchild of Julie Uhrman, a video game industry veteran who wanted to lay the groundwork for … Read more

Barnes & Noble's Nook Media unit has pulled in a fresh cash infusion, this time from book publisher Pearson.

The two companies announced today that Pearson will invest $89.5 million in cash in Nook Media, the B&N subsidiary that oversees the Nook e-reader, tablets, and digital store. The transaction will give Pearson a 5 percent stake, valued at approximately $1.789 billion, according to Barnes & Noble.

When the deal is finalized, Barnes & Noble will own just over 78 percent of Nook Media, Microsoft will hold just under 17 percent, and Pearson will have the … Read more