Apple’s online store showed that gold 5s will not ship until October; by contrast, the silver and "space gray" models will be shipped in 7 to 10 business days.
WASHINGTON: Either by gross underestimation or strategic design, stores across the United States quickly ran out of the gold-toned iPhone 5s hours after the model's release on Friday, sparking off a frenzy that may well translate into rich pickings in the two markets Apple wants a bite of - China and India. After all, it is no secret that the two of the world's hottest economies are gold crazy.
Apple's original idea was to get a big bite of this Samsung-dominated market with a cheaper version of the iPhone, the 5c, which comes in five colors - white, pink, yellow, blue, and green. Instead, it might as well strike gold with the higher priced 5s, particularly the gold-finish model that was snapped up from stores at a faster rate than other models.
Across the United States and beyond where Apple released 5s and 5c, shoppers - some of them paid stand-ins - lined up in front of stores through the night for first dibs on the new instruments, partly driven there by Apple forsaking online booking. Apple's flagship store in New York City's Fifth avenue reported 1400 people in line on Friday morning. But many of them reportedly melted away when told that the gold 5s - which is more champagne-colored - had sold out.
About a third of the crowd walked away when told the 5s gold was out of stock, according to one west coast retailer. Ashish Gupta, an executive at Applauze, a ticketing and events app, who said he has been to every iPhone launch, told USA Today he surveyed people waiting outside a Palo Alto outlet who were given cards by stores according to the models they are waiting for; Gold topped by a long way, followed by silver-gray.
The popularity of the gold iPhone suggests that consumers are yearning for a new form factor, Gupta said. The gold color makes it clear that the owner has the new iPhone, whereas other models may look too similar to the old iPhone 5.
Apple's online store showed that gold 5s will not ship until October; by contrast, the silver and "space gray" models will be shipped in 7 to 10 business days. The company, which didn't comment officially on customer preference, is reported to have asked its suppliers to step up supplies of its gold model.
So for some weeks at least, flaunting the gold model will be the bling thing among shiny-eyed suckers.
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