It's become an all-too-familiar part of the Apple iDevice launch pantomime, as predictable as pre-launch rumour frenzies, half-revealed official specs and of course the swooning adulation when the world finally gets to lay eyes on whatever it is that's being launched.
I'm talking about shipping delays. The iPhone 5 was officially made available to pre-order at midnight, and yet just a handful of hours later Apple's shipping estimate for the UK is already out to two weeks.
And that's just from the hardcore gadget fans who were willing to pull out their credit cards in the middle of the night and splurge some cash on Apple's new baby. We wouldn't be surprised if that two-week delay had gone out to 3-4 weeks by the end of the day.
That doesn't mean you won't be able to get one when it officially goes on sale next Friday, of course. All the networks will be carrying the iPhone 5, or if you're really adamant about getting one SIM-free on launch day you could do the overnight camping thing outside your local Apple Store.
Apple is an expert for stage-managing its product launches through scarcity marketing, so we really don't know at this point whether demand is higher than expected, or Apple is trying to create extra demand by suggesting there aren't enough iPhone 5s to go around so you'd better reserve yours now.
Either way, despite grumblings about the lack of NFC and the higher price tag (£529 for the cheapest model) compared with the iPhone 4S, there's nothing to suggest this isn't going to be another barnstorming smartphone success for Apple.
