The iPhone 5 release date has finally arrived. Thousands of Apple fans from around the world who spent hours and even days waiting in line, finally purchased the iPhone 5 today as Apple stores opened and began selling the much anticipated product.

Customers were greeted with cheers from enthusiastic Apple store employees and left the store holding up their iPhone 5 in victory.

At least a few Apple fans, purchased more than one of the new iPhone 5.

"It feels great," John Croom, 47, who was first in line at the 14th St. store in New York City told the NY Daily News. "I'm anxious to get home plug it into the computer hook it up and play with it," he said.

"It's so amazing, so lightweight. The screen is crystal clear. It's really a major upgrade," John Perez from New York City, who lined up at the Apple Store in Grand Central, told the NY Post on Friday.

"I've been doing it since Day One," Kelson Horton, 39 from Atlanta told CNN today about getting in line to be the first to purchase the product. "It's the experience more than anything. It just happens to be the hottest phone on the market."

The iPhone 5 went on sale at Apple stores today in the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Analysts expect Apple to sell up to 10 million iPhone 5 models this month, according to Reuters. The iPhone 5 release could boost the U.S. economy by $3.2 billion, according to JP Morgan analysts.

The iPhone 5 has a 4-inch display screen at a resolution of 1136 by 640, its 18% thinner than the iphone 4S and 20% lighter and comes with 4G LTE.

It sells starting at $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32 GB and $399 for 64GB.

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Iphone 5