Subsidized iPads failing at Orange UK?
updated 05:25 pm EST, Mon January 3, 2011
Launch week saw 1,000 tablets, sources say
Orange UK did much poorer than expected in launching subsidized iPads during the holidays, according to industry sources. The carrier is said to have been expecting tens of thousands of iPad sales, helped by a cheaper £199 base price tag tied to a two-year contract. In reality the company only sold 1,000 or so in the first week, the sources claim.
Responding to the allegation, an Orange spokesperson will only state that sales grew "significantly" week-by-week as Christmas approached. The company may not have had to offer subsidized iPads. A Context study notes that in November, some 80 percent of the iPads sold were 3G models, meaning that Orange may have only needed attractive data plans to pull in customers.
The carrier has extremely limited 3G data plans compared to rival 3. Whereas Orange customers only get 2GB of data by default, 3 users get 15GB for roughly the same price. Orange UK recently merged with the local division of T-Mobile.
