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Apple time is now world time

Carrier call centres schtum until 12:01 AM Cupertino time

When Apple says orders for the iPhone five will open on September 14th, that's exactly what the Curpertino-centric company means.

We know this because El Reg's antipodean eyrie has chatted to the call centres of local carriers, and has been told they won't take any calls about the new handset until 17:01 Sydney time. That's a minute past midnight in Cupertino and 07:01 GMT for UK readers.

Apple's animated .GIF telling the world iPhone sales will start on September 14th, Apple time

Local carriers swear they've not a single word to say on pricing of the new phone, so locked-down is the sales process.

Apple, for what it is worth, seems to be girding the loins of its web store in preparation for a flock of foaming fanbois, displaying the politically-correct polylingual animated GIF depicted below to announce they'll have to wait until the anointed moment.

While it is nice to see an animated GIF beyond 4Chan, this one almost certainly portends complaints of website crashes and general disgruntlement.

Whether Apple applies Cupertino time to the rest of the world for the commencement of handset sales remains to be seen. Apple Australia's site promises the chance to "Buy iPhone 5 at your favourite Apple Retail Store beginning at 8:00 am on 21 September."

Your correspondent has a parenting-related reason to get to a local Apple store when the phones go on sale, so we'll drop in to see what transpires. ®

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