According to ABI Research global Q2 2014 Chromebook shipments are up by 67% Q-o-Q, and are set to double in size on a Y-o-Y basis as the low-cost Google-powered laptops start finding a place within the overall PC market.

“Consumers are hungry for a product that is cost effective but also provides the versatility and functionality of a laptop,” the analyst says. “The growth of the Chromebook market demonstrates a niche that is gaining traction among consumers.”

Chromebooks first entered the market in late 2013, a time of declining notebook and rising tablet sales. However H1 2014 saw a shift in consumer preferences with a revival of the notebook market-- and while Chromebooks might simply be a fad (like notebooks before them) format might also be part of a longer term trend.

“Chromebooks may have more of a place in the market than originally anticipated, especially as more vendors jump on board and sales continue to grow," ABI continues.

Toshiba launches the Satellite Radius 11-- a Windows laptop with an 11.6-inch touchscreen and a 360-degree hinge allowing one to push the screen until it is back-to-back with the keyboard, turning it into a tablet.

Described as "ultra mobile, super light," the notebook features either Intel Celeron or Pentium processors, as well as up to 4GB RAM, 32GB SSD or 500GB HDD, 1366x768 resolution display and Intel HD graphics. Connectivity comes through x2 USB and x1 HDMI ports, whie the keyboard is a frameless tile type complete with "large touchpad."

In a totally unheralded snippet not flagged in Apple’s iPad launch presentations or press releases, Apple has slipped in a new approach to cellular connectivity in the iPad Air 2, with the Apple SIM. This gives users the flexibility to choose from a variety of data providers directly from the iPad, rather than having to source each SIM from the carriers.

This snippet is hidden away on Apple’s website in the wireless section for the iPad Air 2. This is almost certainly deliberate, as the company would prefer a softly softly approach, rather than appear to directly challenge the carriers for control of the customer.

Little more than a month after the iPhone 6 and Watch launch Apple takes to the Auditorium at its Cupertino, California HQ to reveal the iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 3, the iMac with Retina Display and a new Mac Mini.

Of course, the event was also an excuse for the company to pat itself on the back. CEO Tim Cook opened the launch event by telling how the  iPhone 6 and 6 Plus set a new record for most orders taken on its 30 days in the market, as well as announcing Watch ships from early 2015, Apple Pay starts operating from next week and OS X Yosemite is available now.

In actual new devices, Apple first unveiled the iPad Air 2-- an even thinner (6.1mm) update on the first iPad Air featuring a touchscreen with an anti-reflective coating, a tablet first according to the company. It is powered by a 2nd generation 64-bit A8X processor promising a 12x performance boost over the original iPad, 16, 64 or 128GB of storage and, as expected, includes a TouchID sensor.

The camera also sees improvements with an 8MP iSight sensor, f/24 aperture and an Apple-designed image signal processor. Meanwhile the front-facing camera promises improved face detection, "burst" selfies and f/2.2 aperture.

Google announces the next generation of Nexus devices, the Nexus 6 smartphone, the Nexus 9 tablet and the Nexus Player STB, via the medium of unassuming blogpost. It also reveals what the "L" in Android L stands for-- Lollipop.

Google describes Android Lollipop, the 5th iteration of the OS, as the most ambitious Android release yet, with over 5000 new APIs for developers, a UI design philosophy consistent across all devices ("Material Design") and and battery saver feature, among others.

But back to the actual Lollipop-powered devices. The first is the Nexus 6, a 6-inch (bigger than either iPhone 6 Plus or Galaxy Note 4) smartphone developed by Google's Motorola. It features a contoured aluminum frame, a 5.96-inch 2560 x 1440 resolution display, 32 or 64GB internal storage dual-front facing stereo speakers and 13MP rear-facing camera.

Powering all is a Snapdragon 805 processor, while the 3220 mAh battery includes a Turbo Charger allowing one to charge up to 6 hours of phone use in only 15 minutes.

Lenovo announces an update on its Yoga lineup of convertible tablets and notebooks-- the Yoga Tablet 2, the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro and the Yoga 3 Pro, with models featuring multiple screen sizes.

An update on the 2013 Yoga Tablet, the Yoga Tablet 2 comes in 8- or 10-inch models running on either Android or Windows. Lenovo says the kickstand is improved with a mode dubbed "hang" allowing users to, well, hang the tablet to display content.

The kickstand still handles the 3 modes from the original model, namely "hold," "tilt" and "stand."

Hardware-wise the Yoga Tablet 2 carries an Intel Atom processor, dual front speakers with Dolby Audio and Wolfson Hifi technology, 8 MP rear-facing camera and connectivity via wifi and micro USB port.

In a showing of life after Sony the independent Vaio unveils a prototype device aimed at a niche within its home Japan-- a premium 12.3-inch convertible notebook/tablet designed with creative professionals in mind.

Described by the company as the "monster tablet," the hybrid device features a 2560x1704 (3:2) touchscreen, stylus input and a wireless keyboard, as well as an Intel Haswell quad-core CPU with Iris graphics. It also has a price tag that all but ignores the entry-level market.

“By creating a tablet environment that is as powerful as a desktop, we want to free up creators from the desk when at work,” Vaio says.

According to Vaio aiming at high-paying niche markets worked well for Panasonic, whose high-end business computing device lineup proved profitable, a rarity within the current state of the Japanese PC industry.

Tesco launches a successor to its low-cost Hudl tablet-- the Hudl 2, a "bigger, better, [and] faster" device promising a bigger display and hardware improvements within the original's colourful stylings.

The Hudl 2 features an 8.3-inch 1920 x 1200 display, up from 7-inch in the first Hud, together with a quad-core 1.83GHz Intel Atom processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB built-in storage (expandable to 32GB via microSD). Audio comes via "Dolby optimized" speakers, and Tesco claims the battery powers up to 8 hours of use.

The OS of choice is Android 4.4.2 (KitKat).