2degrees says its network has the same iPhone 5-friendly speed-boost as Vodafone's

UPDATE Sept 28:  2degrees has today released iPhone 5-compatible Nano-SIM cards instore and online - for $10 new or free if you're swapping.

Customers who buy bring an iPhone 5 to 2degrees will qualify for a rebate of up to $1050 if they take a two-year contract, and a free $19 data top up if they go pre-pay (see its full rebate schedule here.)

Plus, in a suprise move, the company has told NBR it now has Dual Carrier HSPA+ on 10% of its network - and will have on 50% of its network by the end of next year - but was not immediately able to provide a coverage map. A spokeswoman said CD HSPA+ was live in parts of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Vodafone NZ has been pushing its advantage with DC  HSPA+ - a technology that turbocharges 3G to a theoretical maximum download speed of 42Mbit/s (a speed that CEO Russell Stanners has noted is marketed as 4G by some carriers in the US, although it is not the LTE tecnology usually associated with the term). Vodafone has HSPA+ in parts of Auckland and Wellington today, with an aggressive expansion timetable for next year.

The new iPad, the iPhone 5 and a top-end Vodafone data stick are the only mobile devices that support DC HSPA+ so far - something Vodafone has figured will give it an Apple advantage.

UPDATE Sept 27: Telecom and Vodafone have announced launches tonight for the iPhone 5, which will go onsale as the clock ticks past midnight.

The question, though, is will there just be a handful of limits, as with recent iPhone and iPad launches?

With the iPhone 4S and latest iPad, many retailers got only 15 or 30 units on "launch" day, then could only take names from customers who were willing to wait an unknown number of days or weeks until serious amounts of stock arrived.

Telecom's website is listing all models as sold out for pre-orders. Vodafone - which had been listing a sellout earlier this week, now has fresh stock. [UPDATE: Telecom says it will have new online stock at midnight, with a two to three week ship time.]

In Australia, Apple's webstore is giving a three to four week ship time on all models - giving a strong indication of the wait people can expect if they miss out on an iPhone 5 at retail tomorrow.

Anyhow, if you're up for a midnight jaunt, here's the Telecom and Vodafone situation:

Telecom
Midnight launches at the following stores:

• 167 Victoria Street, Auckland
• 42-52 Willis St, Wellington
• Riccarton Mall store, Christchurch

The iPhone 5 will only be sold with a 24-month contract at launch. There is no timing on pre-pay or 12-month plans.

Telecom promises Jonah Lomu, "food, entertainment, music, massages and games."

A list of other Telecom retailers that will sell the phone normal business hours Friday is here.

Vodafone
Midnight launches will be held at stores in:

• Lambton Quay, Wellington
• Westfield Mall, Riccarton, Christchurch
• George St, Dunedin
• Vodafone HQ on the Viaduct Auckland, starting 8pm. Actress Kimberly Crossman will be on hand. There will be a quiz, but no massages.

Each store will have five (yes, five) iPhone 5s for outright sale. After that it will be 24-month contract sales only.

There will also be 20 iPhones for sale at the launch party on the Viaduct. [UPDATE: Vodafone tweeted there will no be an unlimited number of outright handset sales at its midnight launches.]

A list of other Vodafone stores and partners that will carry the iPhone 5 Friday is here.

Apple
Has yet to open for orders on its NZ online store.

Other outlets
Apple has yet to put a link to NZ retailers on its website, but Vodafone (which partners with Yooobee) says Yoobee's flaship store in Newmarket, Auckland will have stock - as will four JB Hi-Fi stores in main centres (listed here).

iPhone 5 first-weekend sales top 5m – Telecom, Vodafone NZ cleaned out

Tues Sept 25: Apple said today it sold more than five million of its new iPhone 5 over the handset's first three days on sale.

That compares to four million for its predecessor, the iPhone 4S, over its first three days in October 2011.

Apple also said 100 million devices had been upgraded to iOS 6, the latest version of the company's software that runs its iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Users have been apparently undaunted by widespread complaints about outdated or just plain surreal information in Apple Maps, a key component of the new software.

The company's shares [NAS:AAPL], which had run up from $US660.59 to a new all-time high above $US705 in the past month as hype builds for the new iPhone, had faded 2% to in late trading.to $US683.98

Sold out, shipping delays
Some analysts had been expecting up to 8 million first-weekend sales, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

But it seems five million was the ceiling on sales before the new iPhone sold out.

“While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date," CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.

The initial Apple online store ship time of two days ballooned to a fortnight. The Australian Apple store is now listing a three- to four-week shipping time for the 16GB iPhone 5.

Vodafone NZ, Telecom hit
Vodafone NZ, which opened pre-orders on September 21, has a message on its website saying it is out of stock on all models. Pre-orders have been halted. The carrier says it expects more stock this week.

Telecom says it out of stock of  the 32GB and 64GB models but is still takiing pre-orders for the 16GB.

A faux NZ retail launch Friday?
If constraints on supply with past models are anything to go by, the iPhone 5's Friday, September 28, New Zealand debut will be something of a faux launch, with only a token amount of local stock on hand to fuel a few hours' worth of sales before the wait begins for the real launch.

Little additional evidence is required that Apple favours its own online store over third-party bricks-and-mortar retailers (previous iPhone and iPad launches have seen major NZ stores issued with as few as 40 units) but a Wall Street Journal report again alleges partners have been supplied with few handsets.

Price warning
Last Friday, September 21, the iPhone was launched in a number of countries including the US, Australia, France, Germany and Japan.

This Friday it will be launched in 22 more countries, including New Zealand.

This morning, Apple Australia-New Zealand reiterated that the iPhone 5 launch is accompanied by price drops for the iPhone 4S, which will sell for $899 (16GB only), and the iPhone 4, which will sell for $599 (8GB only) from Friday.

Harvey Norman has been highlighted for pushing the iPhone 4S at its old price of $1049.

Meanwhile, on Trade Me, a couple of iPhone 5s have appeared. One punter seems to be pushing his luck, with a Buy Now price of $1688 for the 16GB model. As NBR types, there are no takers.