Apple's iPhone 5 pre-orders now shipping in 2 weeks

(Reuters) - Shipment dates for Apple Inc's new iPhone slipped by a week on the first day of sales on Friday, suggesting strong demand for the slimmer, lighter and faster version of the smartphone.

Within an hour of the start of presales, the www.apple.com store was projecting shipments would take two weeks to fulfill, said Cross Research, an independent research house. 

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Apple started taking pre-orders for the iPhone 5 at midnight Pacific Time (0700 GMT) on Friday, with the first deliveries set for one week's time. 

(Note: If you're still trying to get a phone on Sept. 21, you should try pre-ordering one through your wireless carrier or a major retailer, or — better yet — plan to wait in line on launch day at the Apple store or one of those other iPhone sellers.)

"We believe the fast sell out indicates both high levels of demand and constrained supply," Cross Research said in a note.

"However, given that the company announced an aggressive rollout schedule, we assume management's plan includes a rapid increase in production."

On Thursday, a host of analysts raised their iPhone sales forecasts to reflect the quick consumption of the iPhone 5, with some saying more than 30 million Apple smartphones may be sold this quarter.

Apple shares rose 1.9 percent to a new all-time high of $695.86 on Friday, before easing back a little to $694.33 in heavy early morning trading on the Nasdaq. 

Apple was not immediately available for comment.