iPhone 5 pre-orders top two million in first 24 hours

Cupertino (California) -  The pre-orders for Apple's iPhone 5 have crossed two million in just 24 hours, the company said Monday.

"Pre-orders of iPhone 5 topped two million in just 24 hours, more than double the previous record of one million held by iPhone 4S," the company said in a statemet.

"Demand for iPhone 5 exceeds the initial supply and while the majority of pre-orders will be delivered to customers on Sep 21, many are scheduled to be delivered in October," it added.

iPhone 5 is the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever and features a new 4-inch retina display, an Apple-designed A6 chip and ultrafast wireless technology.

“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.

Apple started taking orders for the iPhone 5 at midnight Pacific time Sep 14.

The smartphone comes with iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new user features including an all new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and a new flyover view; Facebook integration for contacts and calendar, with the ability to post directly from notification center.

The device will be available at 356 Apple retail stores in the US, Sep 21. It comes in either white and silver or black and slate, and has been priced at $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the 64GB model.

iPhone 5 will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries Sep 28, including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, the company said.