Apple Nets Over 2 Million iPhone 5 Pre-Orders within 24 Hours

Apple just announced it took more than 2 million pre-orders within 24 hours for its new iPhone 5, including orders placed with its carrier partners. It is the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day. AT&T today issued a statement to have received the highest number of pre-orders in the history of the company – surpassing all pre-sale records from the past five years by a wide margin. AT&T received highest number of preorders for the iPhone 5, both for first day preorders and for the whole weekend, signaling a pent-up demand for the new model.

“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.”

A day after the announcement, the new iPhone 5 was made available for pre-order on-line through the Apple, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint sites. It was only after 24 hours, major on-line outlets had already moved their estimated shipping dates back, indicating a large volume of orders or a limited supply of iPhones ready to ship this Friday, September 21. It is not the first time for Apple products to sell out the first day. Orders for the iPhone 4S also surpassed 1 million in the first 24 hours, beating Apple’s previous one-day record of 600,000 sales for the iPhone 4.

The iPhone 5 will be available in both color (Black, White) schemes at all Apple retail stores in the USstarting at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, September 21. The black version will have a black anodized aluminum back while the white version will have a raw aluminum back. The iPhone 5 will cost $199, $299, and $399 respectively for the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models with a 2 year contract. Select Best Buy, Target, Walmart stores and Apple Authorized Resellers will also be retailing the iPhone 5.

Apple has already set an aggressive rollout: on 21 September the phone will go on sale in nine key markets, including the US, Canada, UK, Japan and Hong Kong. The iPhone 5 will become available in 22 more countries next month and in 100 countries by the end of the year.

Apple shares rose to $699.33 this morning, before easing back a little to $696.65 in heavy early morning trading on the Nasdaq.