TECH SAVVY: Katrina Sergi was one of the lucky few to get her hands on a new iPhone 5 before it sold out on Friday. Picture: Tanya Pattison
LOCAL tech-heads have been swept up in iPhone 5 fever with phone stores selling out of the handset within an hour of it hitting the shelves.
The iPhone 5 went on sale on Friday and locals were lining up on the street to get their hands on the latest piece of technology.
Katrina Sergi made sure she was one of the first 10 to get the device in Griffith last week, lining up at the Optus store half an hour before it opened.
"I thought I'd give it a shot, I didn't get up really early but the opportunity as there and I was lucky to get it," Ms Sergi said.
Optus store owner Peter Bonaventura said while Ms Sergi wasn't the most eager customer, she was one of the lucky few to get the phone.
"The first person to line up was there at 5.45am she was very keen to be number one," he said.
"We sold out of the phones within about an hour of opening people have been waiting for this handset to come out for some time."
Due to the overwhelming demand, Mr Bonaventura said they were only given a limited number of phones and were still waiting to be restocked.
“The hype has been more intense than for the 4S,” he said.
“We don’t know when the next drop will come through but deliveries will be improving as time goes on and we’re eagerly awaiting the next shipment.”
Ms Sergi said while she didn’t always need to own the latest technology, she had been waiting for the iPhone 5 and also bought an iPad when she picked up her new handset.
Griffith Fone Zone business manager Debbie Honeychurch said her store also sold out within an hour of opening on Friday and had taken a huge amount of pre-orders for the phone.
