Apple’s new iPad mini is now available at Walmart stores around the country. Pricing remains the same as the direct price: $329 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model, $429 for the 32GB, and $529 for 64GB of internal flash storage.

Walmart.com also has many of the new iPad mini models available, though like the retail stores, only Wi-Fi models are being sold at present.  Some configurations are sold-out online, but you can also use the online tool to find out whether your local location has the model you want in stock.

After trying several portable iPhone speaker systems over the years, I pretty much gave up finding one ideal for my needs. I still tested portable speakers now and again, of course – for professional reasons – but all left me wanting. The best I’ve found was the Altec Lansing iMT702, and it was released over three years ago. Since then it’s been disappointment after disappointment.

So when word came that iHome, one of my favorite iOS speaker companies, was releasing a sleek new portable speaker, the iD55, I was encouraged. Surely this reasonably priced system would perform better than its current, lousy competitors. iHome had never really let me down before.

No such luck.

While well designed and constructed, its poor performance and lack of obvious conveniences left me, once again, looking for a wall outlet.

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Give three thoughtful users Apple’s iPhone 5 and each could easily come away with a different reaction. One sees a leap forward: an iPhone with a larger screen, LTE connectivity, and an attention to detail unmatched in consumer tech. Another spies a stale, lagging attempt to catch up to innovative competitors: a phone without a single industry-shifting pivot, no obvious next-gen features, and a last-decade OS.

Each is a defensible reaction to the iPhone 5, because both are true to an extent.  Therefore, it is the third, middle-ground view that rings most true for me:

This is the best iPhone yet, with long overdue additions, tweaks and advances certain to be welcomed by long-time users. But there’s disappointment, too, because Apple has once again played it safe.

Just a week out of the gate, the iPhone 5 is already a huge success, and will continue to be for the next twelve months – both in terms of sales and general user satisfaction. But Apple should be on notice; resting on your laurels can only take you so far for so long.

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Bad things happen to good gadgets, so it always comes as good news when you find out something is relatively easy to repair. And that’s exactly what iFixIt has said about the iPhone 5 following it’s latest teardown.

According to the site’s gurus, iPhone 5 is easier to repair than the 4 or 4S, particularly the screen which is easy to remove and/or replace as it’s the entry point into the smartphone’s guts.  In fact, iFixIt says the newest iPhone’s screen is “easier than ever” to replace.

To replace the touchscreen, all you need is a 5-Point Pentalobe Screwdriver and a suction cup to pull the screen from its housing.  Then you’ll need to remove the tiny Philips screws holding the display connector to the logic board and a spudger to decouple the connector.  Take a look at this iPhone repair kit to get all the goodies you’ll need to get inside your iPhone.

Once replacement screens are available from third-party suppliers, it looks like replacing a broken, cracked or otherwise faulty screen will be as simple as an unscrew, pry and snap.

So, the wait hasn’t exactly been long, but the iPhone 5 is now available for purchase in the United States. Those who were fortunate enough to pre-order in the first hour or so of availability last Friday morning should see their phones arrive sometime today; later pre-orderers will have to wait a few days or weeks.  If you order now may have to wait up to a month.

If you didn’t pre-order and want a chance at nabbing an iPhone 5 today, you can try your luck at Apple, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint retail stores, or check out third-party retailers like WalMart or Best Buy.

Let the games begin…