World queuing to buy as Apple rings up yet another winner THE WAIT is almost over. After months of speculation, the iPhone 5 was finally unveiled on Wednesday and immediately became the must-have gadget of the year. Unlike the 4s - which was disappointing and quickly slipped off the bestseller lists, the new slimmer iPhone with its larger screen was said by tech-watchers to have hit the mark. UK stores began taking orders yesterday and say they will have the £599 phone in stock from next Friday. And the first indications are that the hefty price tag does not seem to be putting customers off. Two Apple fans from Leicester were the first to start queuing outside the Regent Street store on Thursday. George Horne, 23, and Richard Wheatcroft, 30, said they: "really wanted to be the first." Carphone Warehouse, which began taking orders yesterday, is predicting the new iPhone 5, the first to use the operating system iOS6, will be the biggest selling handset of the year. And inevitably, with demand so high there are already suggestions customers could face a two to three-week wait for their new phones because demand is likely to outstrip supply. The Apple website warned customers yesterday that people ordering the 32G model might have to wait up to three weeks for their phones to be delivered. Gary Buchan, a director of technology and social media specialists Render Positive said: "The iPhone 5 looks set to hit the consumer's 4G-Spot. There was unbelievable hype beforehand, but the initial impression is that the iPhone 5 has lived up to it. Slowly but surely the iPhone is embedding itself deeper and deeper into the fabric of our lives. Ernest Doku of uSwitch said: "Consumer anticipation around the announcement and subsequent pricing reveal of the iPhone 5 has been unprecedented, and the unveiling of tariffs and price points has finally given customers an idea of how much it will cost to get Apple's latest smartphone into their hands from the 21st of September. Pre-order pricing among the major providers has been largely in line with expectations - a healthy amount of minutes, texts and data, complete with that premium cost often attached to a shiny new piece of Apple hardware. Flagship tariffs from the major retailers offer the iPhone 5 with an upfront cost of between £29 and £99, in addition to a 24-month contract. The higher the amount paid at the outset, the lower the subsequent monthly bills. It is important to bear in mind the full lifetime cost when looking at the value of a package, factoring in the entire contract length, the price of the handset and any out-of-bundle call, text and data charges, especially on a new bit of kit like the iPhone 5. "While the 12-month deals offered by the likes of Vodafone ask for a hefty amount of money for the device in addition to a monthly fee, the shorter length of the contract does mean that you could actually spend less over the life of a contract than a deal pledging a "free" handset. Doing the maths prior to signing up could save you a packet on a package, as well as giving you the freedom to switch to a network much sooner if need be.