Pre-orders for the iPhone 5 went live at midnight and, true to form, they went like hotcakes. You may remember that it took 22 hours for the iPhone 4S and about 20 hours for the iPhone 4 to sell out of its pre-order, launch-day stock.

The iPhone 5 took just about 60 minutes. Yep. One hour after pre-orders went live, Apple.com adjusted shipping expectations from one to two weeks due to the overwhelming demand.

Demand for the phone caused problems on Apple’s website and several of the wireless carriers’ sites, as many users were met with error messages when they attempted to pre-order the new iPhone. There’s always plenty of hubbub around Apple product launches, though the pre-order launch of the iPhone 4S came and went without problems on Apple.com or carrier sites. It wouldn’t be surprising if this turns out to be an indication of what’s to come.

All summer we were subjected to seemingly endless speculation and rumors regarding every last detail of the new, new iPhone. But, when it was finally unveiled this week, the reviews — which, while still characterized by the usual fanboi excitement — seemed more lukewarm than in years past. Even compared to the recent iPad/Mac event.

As is so often the case with Apple, the new phone looks great, with the bigger screen and improved speed ranking as my personal favorites. Yet, that being said, I haven’t yet seen the kind of mind-melting innovation and improvement that would justify pre-orders 20 times faster than the 4 and 4S.

Nonetheless, people are still ready to buy it in what will no doubt be massive numbers.