Rumor has it the iPad Mini -- a smaller, 7.85-inch version of the iPad tablet  -- is real and nearly ready to ship. It's the type of device the late Steve Jobs never approved of, having once unaffectionately referred to 7-inch tablets as "tweeners," and slides into a trending category of mobile products currently led by Amazon's Kindle Fire, Google's Nexus 7, and Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet (not necessarily in that order).

Apple scored over a billion dollars in damages from Samsung in what can be considered a sweeping victory over patent infringement claims in the U.S. and was quick to gloat. In a statement provided to The New York Times, Apple spokeswoman Katie Cotton said her company was "grateful to the jury" that found Samsung guilty of ripping off the look and feel of iPhone and iPad devices. Samsung also provided a statement, saying the "verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer." Google, meanwhile, was eerily quiet in the aftermath of the trial, until now.

Exactly two weeks from today -- September 6, 2012, if you don't want to consult a calendar -- Amazon will hold a press conference in Santa Monica, California, according to invitations it sent out to members of the press. It's a safe bet Amazon will launch a new wave of Kindle products during that time, and if the e-tailer plans on releasing a full size Kindle Fire tablet, could there be a better time?

Best Buy this week announced that its Board of Directors appointed Hubert Joly, former head of a global hospitality and travel company, as the chain's President and Chief Executive Officer. In addition to inheriting the burdens of a struggling electronics chain, Joly will receive what some consider to be a king's ransom worth up to tens of millions of dollars over the next few years.