Queues as iPhone5 goes on sale

Apple users around the world have been queuing for the release of the iPhone5 - the company's latest smartphone. But the launch has not been without controversy as some users have cited inaccuracies in Apple's new mapping software.

Latest ITV News reports

iPhone 5 sales top five million in three days

An iPhone 5 is displayed in an Apple store in central Sydney shortly after going on sale to the public on Friday
An iPhone 5 is displayed in an Apple store in central Sydney shortly after going on sale to the public on Friday Credit: REUTERS/Tim Wimborne

Apple has sold more than five million iPhone 5 handsets since the new device went on sale on Friday.

The company said that demand for the new smartphone outstripped initial supply, beating the opening weekend for the iPhone 4S last year by one million units.

While most customers who pre-ordered the handset have recieved the new thinner, lighter phones, many are due to be shipped in October, Apple said.

Advertisement

Queuers disappointed by O2 Wimbledon branch iPhone thefts

Customers queue outside the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London, as the new iPhone 5 goes on sale. Credit: PA

An O2 spokesman confirmed that customers who had queued outside the Colliers Wood O2 branch hoping to be among the first to own an iPhone 5 were left disappointed by the theft of the shop's entire shipment.

They were advised to try an alternative O2 outlet.

The spokesman added that Usman Sethi, the employee believed to be responsible, is still at large and the batch of iPhones - worth in excess of £133,000 - is still to be found.

O2 worker wanted for theft of 252 iPhones

Usman Sethi
Usman Sethi was captured on CCTV at the O2 store around the time of the theft Credit: Metropolitan Police

Police have released images of a man wanted in connection with the theft of 252 Apple iPhone 5 smartphones from a shop in south-west London.

Usman Sethi, 23, works as an assistant at the O2 Store in Wimbledon from which the phones were stolen.

He has been captured on CCTV in the store early on Friday morning, hours before the phones were due to go on sale.

The iPhone 5 was launched by Apple on Friday morning and retails for between £529 and £699.

Why are people queuing for the iPhone 5?

Apple fans around the world have been queuing overnight to get their hands on the company's iPhone 5, which was launched on Friday.

But why are customers so keen to upgrade their old iPhones for the new version? Here are some of the new features:

  • Thinner and lighter than previous models
  • Features the newly announced 4G network
  • 4G network offers speeds up to five times faster than 3G
  • With 4G, HD films downloaded in minutes and TV streamed without buffering
  • Costs from £529, with 32GB model selling for £599 and 64GB version costing £699
  • But problems have been reported with new Apple Maps service

Advertisement

Rail worker pokes fun at iPhone 5 map problems

iPhone 5
The message was left at Hackney Wick station and tweeted by @binny_uk Credit: Ben Mathis

A staff member at Hackney Wick rail station in east London has left some tongue-in-cheek transport information for users of Apple's iPhone 5, which was launched on Friday.

Ben Mathis posted the snap of his self-authored rail update on Twitter after many users of the new iPhone reported problems with Apple's map service.

'Mad' atmosphere for UK's first iPhone 5 sale

An IT businessman from Kent who bought the first iPhone 5 in the UK described the experience as "absolutely mad".

Ryan Williams was first in a queue of hundreds who congregated outside Apple's store in Covent Garden waiting for the doors to open at 8am on Friday.

Apple store workers dressed in blue T-shirts formed a passageway and high-fived customers who had been waiting outside the shop for up to a week.

"I didn't expect that kind of entrance, I thought I was just queueing for a phone but it was absolutely mad," said Williams, who auctioned off the phone for a cancer charity.

Load more updates