18 September,2012 07:06 AM IST | | Agencies
Apple has revealed the iPhone 5 is on course to become the biggest selling gadget in the firm's history after it revealed two million pre-orders were placed in just 24 hours on Friday.u00a0Many found the initial batch of pre-orders sold out in just an hour, with Apple admitting it had to push back delivery dates for many users.
Going gaga: Customers line up outside the Apple store on 5th Avenue, New York awaiting the arrival of the new iPhone 5. The phone has become the fastest selling gadget breaking all previous sales records. Pic/AFP
Yesterday, it admitted the phone, revealed last week after months of speculation, sold double the amount of the iPhone 4S, the firm's previous biggest seller in the initial 24-hour period.
"Demand for iPhone 5 exceeds the initial supply and while the majority of pre-orders will be delivered to customers on September 21, many are scheduled to be delivered in October," the firm said.
"iPhone 5 pre-orders have shattered the previous record held by iPhone 4S and the customer response to iPhone 5 has been phenomenal," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
"iPhone 5 is the best iPhone yet, the most beautiful product we've ever made, and we hope customers love it as much as we do."
Fans have already begun queuing for the handset in New York and London, with thousands expected to line the streets to be among the first to own the handset.
When iPhone 5 finally goes on sale later this week, analysts predict lines as long as the record queues seen for the iPhone's debut in 2007.u00a0"It will be a madhouse," said Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
