iPhone 5 Hits Shelves to Praise & Criticism

It's party time for iPhone fans.

Lines of people created amazing scenes Friday as the new iPhone 5 finally went on sale across America and the rest of the world.

INSIDE EDITION was inside Apple's flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City and the store was packed with folks who want to be among the first to own an iPhone 5.

Hundreds of fans slept on the sidewalk for days, waiting for the big moment.

In New York, special police teams were on hand so that people could register their brand-new phones' serial numbers. The move is an effort by NYPD to combat rampant theft of the red-hot devices.

Recent thefts include some thieves helping themselves to a bunch of phones at an Apple store in Arizona. And a team of thieves actually rammed a car through the front window of an Apple store near Los Angeles and grabbed anything they could.

The people INSIDE EDITION’s Diane McInerney spoke to were thrilled to get their hands on the  iPhone 5.

One customer told INSIDE EDITION, "I am in love."

Another said, "It is the best phone on the market right now. So, it doesn't make any sense to not get it."

But not everyone is wild about the new phone's operating system.

Apple has replaced Google Maps with its own map service and it's taking heat.

On the surface it looks great, with easily readable turn directions and 3D images of some cities. But if you look closer, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York looks like a concertina in the new Apple operating system.

Well regarded digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong told McInerney he expects Apple will issue a software fix to address the problems.

“This is their first effort at doing a map. There's going to be some hiccups," said Armstrong.

Armstrong had nothing but big praise for the phone. He said, "Overall, I am immediately astonished. It is the Super Bowl team that just keeps winning and winning and winning. I think the coolest feature on the phone is the larger screen. Four inch screen size, really beautiful view, you will be able to see things in HD. Beautiful resolution on the screen."

And at least for some people, the iPhone 5 is five-star.