It perhaps is unsurprising that Apple's iPhone 5 smartphone saw record pre-orders when users could order on Sept. 14. The software giant claimed it is "blown away" by the demand, seemingly outpacing 2011's iPhone 4S.

"Preorders for iPhone 5 have been incredible. We've been completely blown away by consumer response," Apple spokesperson Nat Karris said to AllThingsD. Consumers now see a two-three week wait for the device, unveiled Wednesday. It took 22 hours for iPhone 4S' to sell out and 20 hours for the iPhone 4. It took the iPhone 5 an hour.

TechCrunch reported the pre-orders sold out 20 times faster than 2010's iPhone 4 and last year's iPhone 4S. Then the phones outpaced the predecessors, so it impressive Apple is increasing demand. That is for a product many critics gave a lukewarm reception due to its iterative improvements.

Also unsurprisingly, Apple's website threw out error messages as millions of users probably logged online. Carrier Web sites saw similar messages.

Of course the phone is not available to buy until next Friday, Sept. 21. While online pre-orders set unprecedented demand, queues outside Apple Stores will probably emerge. Or users may be able to reserve the phone and pick it up during Friday, as it could with previous iPhones, to avoid demand. AllThingsD reported Apple could reveal early sales numbers next week if previous trends or an indication.

The iPhone 5 uses a 4-inch display, runs iOS 6, and brings new camera features like Panorama. Rumors during the months pre-launch leaked basically everything about the device, from the new design to the reveal date. The lukewarm reception from some critics was because Apple simply added a fifth row of icons due to the larger screen, rather than refreshing iOS completely. Some websites likened Apple's iterative changes to iOS to Microsoft's complacency with Windows Mobile, causing the company to fall behind competitors and reboot its mobile platform with Windows Phone. Will able just continue to iterate?

iPhone 5 launches Sept. 21; iOS 6 launches on the same date.