Retailers in Bahrain are expecting demand to grow in the coming days for the new iPhone 5, despite charging almost double the amount for the device than it is fetching in the US.

The latest model of the phone, which has been flying off the shelves in America, has been priced at a minimum of BD445 ($1,183.51) in Bahrain.

It is already available in at least two shops less than a week after its launch.

The smartphone is being sold in Geant Hypermarket for BD445 and Romance Phone in the Gosi Complex, Hoora, for BD449, while in the US the 16GB unlocked phone costs around $650 (about BD245).

It was released in the US on September 21 and has already sold more than five million units to date.

However, retailers yesterday reported a slow response in Bahrain - but added the phone had only been in the market for a day.

"We just started selling the iPhone. I can't say anything about the morning sales, but this afternoon no phones have been sold as yet," said a Geant representative yesterday.

"It is still very new and I am sure it will pick up. It is being sold for BD445."

LuLu Hypermarket is taking orders for the new iPhone and advertising it at BD449 for the 16GB version.

Romance Phones was among the first of the smaller outlets to get its hands on the new iPhone and had sold one yesterday.

"We have it in the shop," said Romance Phone saleswoman Charly Eliot. "It arrived at about 8pm on Sunday and we have only sold one so far.”

"It is slimmer than the earlier iPhone models and feels much lighter.”

"At the moment we only have the 16GB version but we will be getting the others soon,” she said. – TradeArabia News Service