Vodafone UK sells 100,000 iPhones
updated 11:55 am EST, Fri January 22, 2010
Carrier far more popular than Orange?
Vodafone's UK division has already sold over 100,000 iPhones, according to officials. The figure comes just over a week since launch, and may be remarkable for several reasons. While the carrier may have sold as many as 50,000 phones on launch day, deliveries were initially hampered by bad weather, which may also have kept some potential buyers indoors.
The results also compare favorably against Orange UK, which despite being only the second official UK iPhone carrier, sold 30,000 phones on launch, and roughly 100,000 throughout the whole month of December. The difference may be attributable to Vodafone's higher data cap, which is rated at 1GB rather than just 750MB. O2 is the only UK carrier to offer truly unlimited data, but has seen corresponding problems in network stability and performance.
Mac Elite
Joined: Oct 2000
Reasons
I think the reasons Vodafone sold more iPhones than Orange are down to three things:
1) The higher data cap (as you mentioned)
2) Better/strong signal coverage
3) Significantly less confusing tariffs. Orange name their tariffs after animals (they've got one called 'racoon') which bear absolutely no resemblance to what they offer.
It could also be because Vodafone advertise more than Orange. I see reminders everywhere that they sell the iPhone now, I don't ever remember seeing one for Orange. I'm actually quite surprised they don't make more of the obvious "apples and oranges" joke.