iPhone 5 shipping times slip to two weeks in just one hour

Pent up demand has seen shipping times for the new iPhone 5 slipping to two weeks in the US, the UK and Australia after just around one hour of pre-orders. Even with pre-orders limited to only two devices per customer, the only way customers now stand a chance of getting an iPhone 5 any sooner is to brave the inevitable queues forming at Apple stores and select resellers on September 21.

While it is not known exactly how many iPhone 5s Apple had in its inventory ahead of the pre-orders, some analysts estimates suggest that Apple may sell as many as 10 million units for the first weekend. "There is no question iPhone 5 will be the largest consumer electronics launch in history," said Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. "Given the hardware redesign it will likely crush previous iPhone launch sales," he added.

Only seven countries were inline for the first week of pre-orders including the Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The next round of countries on the list for a September 28 launch include Austria, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain and Switzerland. By the end of the year, Apple says it will have the iPhone 5 available for sale in 100 countries and on 240 carriers.

As a point of comparison, Samsung recently claimed that it had sold 20 million units of the Galaxy S III in 100 days, having reached the 10 million sold milestone after 50 days. Europeans made up the bulk of the Galaxy S III sales, with 6 million purchases, while the U.S. accounted for 4 million of the 20 million sold. At this early juncture, it appears that Apple will reach the 20 million sold milestone sooner, assuming that it has the capacity to meet demand.

By Electronista Staff

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iPhone, Apple, iPhone 5