Orange sells 30,000 iPhones in U.K. on first day

U.K. wireless carrier Orange just started selling the iPhone, and it is trumpeting first-day sales numbers for the device.

(Credit: Apple)

The carrier signed up 30,000 people with a new iPhone contract on Tuesday, its first day selling Apple's smartphone, according to a post on Twitter from a member of Orange's marketing department.

While 30,000 isn't necessarily a lot, compared to the "hundreds of thousands" of iPhones AT&T sold in its first weekend selling the iPhone 3GS in the United States, it's not bad for being the second carrier in a much smaller country, where the iPhone 3GS has been available for four months.

Until Tuesday, wireless provider O2 was the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the United Kingdom. Orange currently has 16 million mobile customers, compared to O2's 22 million. Incidentally, Orange's experience as the second carrier of the device in a country would seem to make a decent case for Apple releasing the iPhone to more than one carrier in many other countries, including the United States.

The numbers were far more impressive than the iPhone's debut on China Unicom's network last week. China's first crack at selling the iPhone was by most accounts disappointing, with 5,000 units sold over the first four-day period.

Of course, China Unicom is dealing with factors Orange is not. Besides having to sell the iPhone without Wi-Fi connectivity, China has to contend with something U.K. and U.S. carriers largely do not: a vast market for iPhone knockoffs, or gray-market phones.

[JabberWockey]

I wonder how long it takes 30,000 people to realize they can't tether or run multiple apps (checking email while listening to Pandora, for example).

[dylerl]

Ahh actually they can tether, it is only AT&T that does not allow it right now. Also who needs to run simultaneous apps, I would rather have my battery life, no reason to. I dont listen to pandora, a bunch of crappy music and I can listen to my ipod while I surf the web on my iPhone thats all I need. Apple will get there soon probably but still the iPhone is king!!

[eltoro2827]

Haha.....he's disapointed with his droid.

Jaberwockey, your phone will never be the awesomeness that the iPhone is.

[totorototoro]

I wonder how long it takes for JabberWockey to realize that O2 and Orange both allow tethering on the iPhone.

[chabig83]

Probably a lot longer than it takes Droid users to figure out that they can't get data while on voice calls , or don't have multitouch.

[bctexas]

I wonder how quickly people will realize they can do ANYTHING with the iPhone by simply jailbreaking it? And it's funny that a country that is just slightly smaller than Oregon can sell 30,000 iPhones in one day when the Droid only sells 100,000 the the WHOLE U.S. in a whole weekend,........that brings out the LOL's! Face it, the iPhone is better, so submit and take the beating it's handing out.

[sickbag]

Don't worry about them Jabber, 99% of all cell users have no use for tethering anyway. Or use Pandora. for the 1% that do, they can jailbreak and use Backgrounder.

What was your point again?

[sickbag]

Don't worry about them Jabber, 99% of all cell users have no use for tethering anyway. Or use Pandora. for the 1% that do, they can jailbreak and use Backgrounder.

What was your point again?

[bctexas]

Wow, a country that is slightly smaller than Oregan can sell 30,000 iPhones in one day, and the Droid (aka. iPhone killer, LOL) can only sell 100,000 phones in an entire weekend and ALL OF THE U.S. combined?! Talk about BEAT DOWN. Oh, and I wonder how long till they figure out they can do anything and more than the Drooid can do by simply jailbreaking it. Face it, the iPhone is handing out a beat down to the Drooooid, so kneel down and take it.

[sickbag]

99% of cell users have no use for tethering. Or use Pandora. Nor sure if too much internet use has skewed your idea of reality.

The other 1% will know how to jailbreak and install Backgrounder.

What was your point again?

[Gold_Storm_Mac]

iphone does tether
http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/tethering.html

[stubbyns]

I'll be switching over to Orange as soon as my O2 contract expires. O2 is crap

[aMUSICsite]

In Brighton (UK) O2 has better coverage than Orange so it depends on your location as to which is better.

What we don't know is how many have switched from O2, therefore not increasing the iPhone user base

[arbrackin]

the iPhone is awesome

[Groucho6]

Just got three shiny new iPhones and love 'em all. As for multiple companies, every major carrier in Canada now carries the iPhone. You Americans will be next -- I hear T-Mobile is going to be carrying it soon and Verizon's CEO is already opining in public how much he'd like to have it.