Received the iPhone 5 via FedEx around noon on Friday, but wanted to use it for a full day out-and-about before writing down some thoughts. So almost two days later – here goes:

Every Apple product release now follows a predictable pattern. Rumors. Announcement. Initial elation / disappointment. Pre-orders. Early reviews. Unboxing. Bitching. Acceptance. Profit. Repeat next year.

Just received FedEx tracking numbers for the iPhone 5 ordered last week Friday. The delivery date of the 21 still holds, although the time now says by 3 PM.

The usual suspects received iPhone 5s several days ago, and a large bunch of reviews appeared tonight. They’re all overwhelmingly positive.

So I woke up around 4 (PST) this morning to pre-order an iPhone 5. Even at that early hour, diminishing stock at Apple was already pushing ship dates out, so I chose to go directly to Verizon.