A wave of tech-geek psychosis blanketed the earth early Friday morning, as all the iPhone fanatics of the world lined up to infiltrate Apple retail outlets in a desperate attempt to finally get their hands on the new iPhone 5.

Many of these fiends had been waiting in line since as early as Monday, camping out on the sidewalk just to get a chance to drop a couple hundred bucks on what some believe is the hottest smartphone on the market.

And while thousands of Americans blew off their jobs and families Friday morning to stand, wait, wait some more in the hopes of snatching up a new handset, Apple followers in Tokyo, London, Paris, and Munich and Sydney, Australia, were already walking out of the store with their new iPhone 5 in tow.

The new model hit 2 million pre-orders within the first 24 hours following Apple's announcement of it on September 12. Industry experts believe it could sell in upwards of 10 million units by Monday.

Those people who procrastinated their pre-order could be waiting as long as three weeks or more before receiving it.

Since its debut nearly six years ago, the iPhone has sold more than 244 million units worldwide.

[CNN]

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