Small on size, big on awesome

For Apple fans desperate to be the first to get their hands on the company’s newest product, the iPad mini, there is only one place to be tomorrow – New Zealand. With Apple setting the launch date for iPad mini sales at 8 a.m. local time on Nov. 2, buyers in the small island nation have a significant time zone advantage. While New Zealand is not the first country in the world to wake up (that distinction going to Tokelau, Samoa, and the Line Islands), it is my homeland, the easternmost nation with an Apple retailer, and the first country in the world to sell the iPad mini. The iPad mini will go on sale across the country 20 hours before it does in Apple’s hometown San Francisco. In other iPad mini news, tomorrow's launch of the iPad mini will apparently mark the first time an iOS device carries stereo speakers. It appears that Apple's move to the smaller Lightning dock connector has left enough space for an additional speaker along the bottom edge of the device, although the company has for some reason elected not to make a similar addition to the larger-model iPad. So if you're looking to gift a tablet this holiday season, I suggest putting an iPad mini in the relevant stocking (or if Christmas is not your thing, whatever receptacle Hanukkah or Kwanzaa presents are put in). But for now, click here for a Tetris game built into a pumpkin. I'm sure it'll be better than Gangnam Style.