Weekend Wrap-up: Snapchat Turns Down $3 Billion; iPad mini with Retina Goes on Sale

It’s Sunday, so a fresh edition of the Weekend Wrap-up is in order. Ready to catch up on the biggest tech stories from the past week? Dive in.

Snapchat Turns Down $3 Billion from Facebook

A lot of companies would love to be acquired by Facebook. Right now, Snapchat isn’t one of them. The messaging start-up reportedly turned down a $3 billion cash offer from the world’s largest social network, believing that a new round of investing would actually value the company at $4 billion. We’ve seen a lot of startups get burned when passing up acquisition offers to try and get a better deal later, but only time will tell if Snapchat winds up in that camp or if the company is able to sell for a higher price later.

Apple’s iPad mini is Finally On Sale

Have you been holding out for the smaller version of Apple’s newest iPad? If so, you’re in luck. The iPad mini with Retina went on sale this past week, three weeks after being announced by Apple at its October event. Reviews coming in for the Retina-enhanced version of the iPad mini have been mostly positive so far, though there has been some talk of a burn-in issue related to Retina iPad minis that use Sharp displays. We’ll keep you up to speed on that story and report on any new developments.

Microsoft’s Board Will Meet to Trim CEO List

On November 18 (tomorrow), Microsoft’s Board of Directors will meet up to take a look at the list of potential replacements for outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer, and trim that list down a bit. Who is on that list is anybody’s guess, though the tech blogosphere has certainly floated around its own theories as to who could be considered for the job and who might eventually get it. While we don’t know who will come after Ballmer to lead Microsoft’s transformation, it became clear to all — even Ballmer himself — that such a change was necessary. Perhaps we’ll have some insight after the meeting.

Coin Can Morph into Eight of Your Credit Cards

If you carry a lot of cards around in your wallet — think credit cards, store cards, etc. — Coin has a product for you. The device is also called a Coin, and it allows you to carry around one card with information for up to eight of your cards inside. It works just like a normal credit, debit or store card, with a magnetic strip that you swipe. The difference is that you can press a button to change between your cards. It’ll certainly lighten your wallet a little bit. The big question is, will consumers be willing to pay $100 when they start shipping next summer?