It’s official. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s online store started taking orders for the iPhone 5S and 5C overnight. As is tradition, the company took its Apple Store site down to add the new iPhones to the store. The site went down by 8:30 p.m. Pacific.
As of 7:20 a.m. Eastern, it looks like all models of the iPhone 5S which are taken through the online Apple Store will ship in October. The site says all colors of the iPhone 5C will ship in one to three business days.
iPhone lines very long, as usual
Of course one of the things analysts use to gauge initial reception of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s new products is the length of the lines in markets around the world. Below is a pictorial trip around the globe, covering the very long lines in numerous countries.
Those waiting in line to buy the iPhone 5S or 5C in person will have to wait until 8 a.m. local time for the stores to open, in most cases.
iPhone 5S available in limited quantities, especially gold
As expected, the iPhone 5S is available only in limited quantities. The fact that the ship date is later than that of the iPhone 5C on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s own website does suggest that this is the case, unless the iPhone 5C is just that much less popular than the flagship handset. The Verge reports that the gold iPhone 5S models are in especially short supply. The site also reports that as of earlier this morning, the other two iPhone 5S models were still shipping in one to three business days, while the gold model was the first to slip into an October shipping window.
In fact, it only took about 30 minutes of the gold iPhone 5S being available on the online Apple Store for it to slip into next month’s shipping window.
SIM-free iPhone 5S not available in some areas
Those wanting to buy the new SIM-free iPhones may be having some trouble with that in some parts of the world. CNET reported this morning that in London, stores were “not allowed” to sell either of the iPhone models SIM-free for two weeks. The site said a number of phone shops and networks confirmed the initial report it heard from one source.
This means that Apple fans in London (and maybe other parts of the world) will have to wait for a while before they can buy an unlocked iPhone 5S or 5C. This doesn’t appear to be the case in the U.S., at least for the online Apple Store. There’s no word yet if U.S. carrier stores are doing the same as stores in London. Of course both phones were available in London at last check with a lengthy contract.
The lines outside Apple Stores around the globe:
