Good news for those who were first to pre-order the iPhone 5 on Friday’s early morning launch: iPhone 5 units have begun shipping from China and some customers have even received notice that their orders are now on the way.
Instead of waiting in line for hours upon hours at an Apple retail location, the lucky pre-orderers can watch their iPhone 5 come in from Asia while tracking it on the FedEx or UPS website. Some customers have reported the tracking information on the iPhones, with the scheduled delivery set for Friday, September 21. Some orders are even set to arrive at their destination before the 21st, but won’t be released until the official day.
For those that didn’t pre-order the iPhone 5 but are still hoping to get one on September 21, I wish you the best of luck. Some reports are indicating that people have already begun lining up outside of some Apple Stores. Most of those waiting are already drawing media attention by promoting something or other. One guy is in line to generate publicity for his social networking software application, Vibe. According to CNET, he paid $900 to a college student for the number 1 spot at the iPad 2 launch.
Apple just announced that it sold two million pre-orders in the first 24 hours, which is a new record. If these numbers are any indication, there will be quite a lineup on September 21, and people are going to want to start early.
Source: The Next Web, Mac Rumors, Apple Insider, and CNET
