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Kobo launches what it claims is "the only premium eReader on the market" at the London Book Fair-- the Aura HD, an eReader with a 6.9-inch 1440x1080 (265ppi) resolution display.

Such resolution makes it superior to the Kindle Paperwhite's 212ppi 6-inch offering. The AuraHD is also supposedly the fastest at turning pages, thanks to a Freescale processor, and carries 4GB of internal storage.

The launch comes at an unusual time, seeing how eReader sales are waning even as eBook sales grow steadily. According to IDC the device category will begin a "gradual and permanent decline" from 2015 before it is wholly replaced by tablets.

However Kobo owner Rakuten has high hopes for the device-- the company plans to extend its deals with brick-and-mortar retailers, and should launch an app store on Summer 2013.

The Aura HD will be available from May 2013.

Go Kobo Aura HD

Is Minority Report-style gesture-based control key to a brighter future for the PC market? HP certainly hopes so as it teams up with 3D motion control developer Leap Motion.

The partnership sees HP bundling the Leap controller (and Airspace, the Leap Motion app store) with a selection of upcoming PC models before embedding the technology in yet announced future consumer products.

“Leap Motion’s groundbreaking 3D motion control combined with HP technology and amazing developer apps will create incredible user experiences,” HP says.

HP is not the first company to sign a deal with Leap-- Asus has a similar partnership with the startup.

University of Illinois researchers create tiny lithium-ion batteries able to out-power even the most powerful capacitators-- batteries few millimetres in size able to recharge mobile devices "in the blink of an eye."

The key to the batteries' power is a redesigned cathode and anode structure. While standard li-on batteries consist of a solid lithium salt cathode and a graphite cathode, the University of Illinois battery uses a nickel-tin anode and manganese oxide cathode with a 3-dimensional internal microstructure.

The result is porous electrodes with a massive surface area allowing for more chemical reactions to take place, which results in a massive boost to power output and charging.

The first battery using the technology is a button-sized number the researchers claim combines the power output of supercapacitators and the energy storage of fuel cells.

Microsoft is planning an answer to the smaller, lower-cost tablets from the likes of Google and Amazon-- according to the Wall Street Journal the company has a smaller (7-8-inch) Surface tablet lineup in the works.

Such a move would come to no surprise, seeing recently Microsoft relaxed Windows 8/RT tablet requirements by dropping minimum resolutions from 1366x768 to 1024x768.

"This doesn't imply that we're encouraging partners to regularly use a lower screen resolution," the March Windows Certification Newsletter says. "In fact, we see customers embracing the higher resolution screens that make a great Windows experience... partners exploring designs for certain markets could find greater design flexibility helpful."

The WSJ also reports Microsoft will drop Windows and Office software prices in order to "spur lower-cost touchscreen devices enabled by its Windows software."

However a question remains-- will customers want a smaller, cheaper Windows 8 tablet? So far it is clear the Surface failed to disrupt tablets, while Windows 8 only managed to negatively affect the PC market (at least according to IDC). But don't expect Microsoft to give up on its "devices and services" dream so easily, at least for the near future.

Go Microsoft Plans 7-inch Tablet (WSJ.com)

Go Microsoft Relaxes Win8 Tablet Requirements