Vodafone has announced it has shifted 100,000 units of the Apple iPhone 3G and 3GS since launch in the UK.
The network said it sold 50,000 units of the Apple device in its first day on sale on 14 January, and in eight days has sold another 50,000.
"The demand from both consumer and business customers has been phenomenal. They want an outstanding phone on an outstanding network and we're delivering that," claimed Vodafone UKCEO Guy Laurence.
Hoping to be the best
O2 didn't release figures when it first launched the iPhone, but has been beset by problems with its network since the launch, something which Vodafone (unsurprisingly) claims won't happen with its customers:
"If people are going to deploy smart devices, and specifically the iPhone, it's really important that you have a network you can trust, a network that is reliable," said Vodafone's enterprise director Peter Kelly at a CBR event in London, according to the New Statesman.
"We continue to rollout and strengthen our network - more than one thousand new sites were rolled out in the UK last year, and we continue to invest tens and hundreds of millions of pounds in our network this year."
Your comments (6) Click to add a new comment
amit290
January 23rd 2010
6. Does shifting 100,000 iPhones really mean anything? The sales people at Vodafone are pushing the phone out. 5 of my clients have 'upgraded' to the iPhone on the back of a sales call from Vodafone offering it.
If Vodafone or any other carrier really wanted to shift a phone, they could do no problem. They all have millions of customers. Many wouldnt mind a handset if offered one for free.
What we really need to know is how many new customers they've had as a result of the iPhone being available on Vodafone. How many have moved from O2 to Vodafone etc. Those sort of figures really tell you the full story.
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ginga_nut
January 23rd 2010
5. Inregards to your comment below, I have had the iPhone 3GS 32gb now for one week on Vodafone and compared to the last year with my 3G on o2 its easily 100% better. Calls dont drop at all when moving from 3g to 2g cells as it used to on o2. And the 3G service on Vodafone is much better. Each time I look at my phone when I am working and travelling around, 9 times out of ten its connected to 3G but on my o2 it was more like 3 of out of 10. So yes it is superior. Vodafone have been preping their network for a year to host the iPhone. At least they have really put some effort in to make it work well.
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krislord
January 22nd 2010
4. Vodafone should probably add a few more handsets than 100,000 before claiming their network is so superior :p
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healeydave
January 22nd 2010
3. @tech89, that hasn't really happened with the first 3 generations of iPhone. The demand for older models on the second hand market is still really strong. It seems there are enough people who possibly can't afford the latest, greatest models and are quite happy to use an older model if it means paying a lot less!
Eventually, the first gen phone will be so cheap, they will end up going to emerging countries but think about it, currently the phones in that category are basic Nokia's, Samsungs, LG's etc. When the older model iPhone's falls into that category, the other basic handsets will literally be completely worthless!
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ellscore
January 22nd 2010
2. Every electronics device is a short lived commodity...Silly comment really
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tech89
January 22nd 2010
1. iPhones are a short lived commodity. When the fourth one comes out, everyone will upgrade and we'll hundreds and thousands of redundant first, second and third generation handsets. Bit of a waste?
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