Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL): Hong Kong stores run out of iPhone5s

People in Hong Kong and cannot get enough of Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone 5, the latest version of the smartphone that went on sale on September 21.

According to Apple Insider, which is keeping track of the sales of the device, stores in HK are not able to keep up with the overwhelming demand for the phone.

The iPhone 5 will soon launch in mainland China in December, as part of the phased rollout of the mobile device, and the expectations are that it could face a similar situation there. 

AppleInsider quoted Topeka Capital Markets' Brian White, who is currently touring HK. White said that all the stores he had visited in Hong Kong had run out of the stocks of iPhone 5 and according to him the city had `iPhone 5 fever."

"At Apple's retail store, the iPhone 5 can be ordered online and a lottery process determines who is eligible for pickup at the store the next day," he wrote. "Based on our conversations, you might have a better shot at winning the lottery than getting the iPhone 5 the next day."

Ape has tied up with carrier China Unicom to launch its newest smartphones in the country. The company also reported that it was out of stock of iPhone 4S at some of its stores, as it prepared for the launch of the iPhone 5.

Apple's iPhones has been a hit in China, where the iPhone 4S has about 15 percent of the market share in smartphones.

As yet the iPhone and iPad maker has only had tie-ups with China Unicom and China Telecom. However and country' and world's largest carrier in China Mobile and a deal between the two companies has been rumoured for years but has not yet been sealed.