Interest in Apple's iPhone 5 is so high that Well Fargo analyst Maynard Um expects the just announced smartphone will top iPhone 4S sales records for the first three days of availability. Mr. Um's report to investors follows iPhone 5 pre-orders from the Apple website slipping out to two weeks after only an hour.
"We believe Apple and its partners have improved their respective launches each year, with a relatively smoother experience this year, in our opinion," Mr Um said. "Despite availability at operator sites, we still believe Apple will exceed its launch units over the first three days of the iPhone 4S given our estimation of demand."
Apple unveiled the iPhone 5 on Wednesday during a media event in San Francisco with the promise that pre-order sales would start Friday morning. The company opened up pre-orders at 12:01AM pacific time, and within about an hour customers were complaining on Twitter that the website changed from showing a September 21 delivery date to a two week shipping delay.
The iPhone 5 includes larger Retina Display than the iPhone 4S at 4-inches instead of 3.5-inches, support for high speed LTE wireless data connections, a faster processor and longer battery life, Apple's new Lightning dock connector, and more.
While Apple's online store is showing a two week shipping delay, iPhone 5 partners AT&T, Verizon and Sprint are still showing September 21 delivery dates. That won't likely last for long as all three carriers run through their pre-sale order allotments.
Customers that want to get their hands on the iPhone 5 can still show up at Apple retail stores, along with cell service partner stores, on September 21 and wait in line. Those shoppers, however, can expect to wait in long lines if this morning pre-order sales are any indication.
Apple's stock is currently trading at US$689.87, up 6.89 (1.01%).