Photo courtesy of AppleA picture of the new iPhone 5It is Sept. 21, the official release date of the iPhone 5, and the wait is finally over. Even if you were smart enough to pre-order the highly coveted new phone, expect delays, say most cell phone carriers.
Remember that silly number they gave you when you ordered your phone? Did you misplace it or happen not to check up on it after you were told that the your new iPhone would arrive on Friday? If that's the case, you might be out of luck. More and more customers have tracked their phone only to receive the unwelcome news stating that a mass delay has been put on most pre-orders.
Verizon customers have received notice that many of their pre-orders will not be shipped until Sept. 26, with some shipped even as late as Sept. 28. AT&T customers may have received an even shorter end of the stick. Certain customers have reported that they placed orders at 2:00 a.m.- the earliest time possible on Sept. 14- and still received messages that there will be a 2- or 3-week delay.
At the same time, other customers who placed orders later on in the day discovered that they would receive the phone on the actual release date, Sept. 21. Certain wireless stores ended pre-orders for the iPhone earlier this week, stating that the stock of phones had been completely sold out.
Customers going through the Apple store have been notified that there will be a 3- to 4-week delay on all shipments for online orders of the iPhone 5, although stock will still be available in Apple stores on Friday, Sept. 21.
Going to an Apple store on Friday, however, isn't a promising option either. Fans have been lining up as early as Wednesday night according to some reports.
"I've spent Tuesday night and last night here and I'm planning on spending tonight here as well," Marine Sgt. Iggy McDonald of Arlinton, Virginia told USA Today.
The initial stock of iPhones sold out within the first hour of pre-orders, according to reports. Two million phones were sold on the first day of pre-orders and it is expected that as of Friday, the new iPhone 5 could become the best-selling mobile device of all time.
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