Vodafone Sells 100,000 iPhones in First Eight Days of UK Sales

[MacRumors]

TechRadar reports that in its first eight days of availability, 100,000 iPhones have been sold in the UK by Vodafone.

"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.

Vodafone previously announced that it shipped 50,000 pre-ordered iPhones at launch last week. An additional 50,000 iPhones have been sold since launch day. Vodafone is the fourth wireless carrier to offer the iPhone in the UK, joining O2 and Orange, as well as Tesco Mobile, which operates in partnership with O2.

Article Link: Vodafone Sells 100,000 iPhones in First Eight Days of UK Sales

 

[vincebio]

would have been 150000 if they had actually done tariff's worth porting over for

 

[happydude]

and that's 100,000 complaints that will come in if iphone 4.0 and the next revision is announced this month.

 

[RichTF]

My O2 contract was up, so I switched to Vodafone on a sim-only 30-day contract, to see what their network was like.

For me, certainly, I'm getting better service -- 3G almost always, and often 4-5 bars.

The main reason I switched is I travel by train a lot, between London and Reading, and Vodafone (for historical reasons) have good coverage along the train lines. I can now browse the web uninterrupted on my way home.

O2 have had a couple of issues handling the increased traffic that came with iPhone exclusivity, but that by itself wasn't bad enough to get me to leave.

(Of course, if O2 had offered 12 month contracts then I wouldn't have had to buy my 3GS on PAYG, I would instead have stayed on another 12 month contract. And O2 would then have had me tied in until August. But no, the greedy telecoms are trying to force 18 month minimum contracts now. Stupid short-term thinking! )

 

[Vandam500]

and that's 100,000 complaints that will come in if iphone 4.0 and the next revision is announced this month.

Complaints? Why would they complain? And you said it right, "announced". Meaning that it is still a good 4-5 months before its actually released

 

[EETFUK]

Complaints? Why would they complain? And you said it right, "announced". Meaning that it is still a good 4-5 months before its actually released

I think they would only complain that a new iPhone is being released in another 5-6 months, and they should have waited to get the new one. They should be able to upgrade to firmware 4.0 though, no complaints about that...

 

[iphones4evry1]

Nokia must be shivering.

Just one more step as iPhone and Apple slowly takeover the world.

--

and that's 100,000 complaints that will come in if iphone 4.0 and the next revision is announced this month.

Apple is not stupid. They probably won't announce new iPhone hardware until March or April, with a June arrival. However, Apple may make those 100,000 people happy by announcing an iPhone 4.0 FIRMWARE update next week.

 

[wolfie37]

My O2 contract was up, so I switched to Vodafone on a sim-only 30-day contract, to see what their network was like.

For me, certainly, I'm getting better service -- 3G almost always, and often 4-5 bars.

The main reason I switched is I travel by train a lot, between London and Reading, and Vodafone (for historical reasons) have good coverage along the train lines. I can now browse the web uninterrupted on my way home.

mmmm but the extra cost of all that data you are downloading is gonna be massively expensive with Vodafone. The unlimited data with O2 is the clincher for me.

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Nokia must be shivering.

Just one more step as iPhone and Apple slowly takeover the world.

Apple is not stupid. They probably won't announce new iPhone hardware until March or April, with a June arrival. However, Apple may make those 100,000 people happy by announcing an iPhone 4.0 FIRMWARE update next week.

You can't take over the world with just a high-end smartphone. Not everyone is rich enough to own it. Apple needs to capitalize on the success of the iPhone and release an iPhone nano.

 

[RichTF]

mmmm but the extra cost of all that data you are downloading is gonna be massively expensive with Vodafone. The unlimited data with O2 is the clincher for me.

Well my £20 includes 500MB / month, which is admittedly a bit stingy. However, I checked my usage stats when I was on O2, and I averaged 300MB / month without even trying to cut down, so should be fine...

 

[Ted13]

Complaints? Why would they complain? And you said it right, "announced". Meaning that it is still a good 4-5 months before its actually released

Apple is never going to announce something 4 month before shipping it *for an already existing product*. The may talk about iPhone OS 4.0, which of course will be available for free for anyone who buys an iPhone 3GS now.

 

[Abu Tech]

I was tempted by getting a 30 day sim only tarrif from Vodafone to use with my (O2 Officially Unlocked) iPhone 3G, however O2 have persuaded me to stay with the new iPhone Simplicity Tarrif. Exactly the same has the 02 £35 tarrif but for £20 (including Visual Voicemail) - This will be further reduced to £14 with my 30% friends and family discount.

Reception wise I have not had a problem with O2 but now and again I have experienced dropped calls but this hasn't happened for a while now. This will hopefully tide me over until the iPhone 4G launches and I can assess if that is the phone for me or if the competition have something better on offer.

I have no doubt Vodafone have better coverage than O2 and their 3G network is of greater capacity but their rates simply do not tempt me at all.

 

[TastyOther]

mmmm but the extra cost of all that data you are downloading is gonna be massively expensive with Vodafone. The unlimited data with O2 is the clincher for me.

Vodafone aren't charging anything differently for data. You get 1GB Fair Use and are not charged if you exceed it, though if you exceed it regularly, they may discuss a different tariff.

O2 also do "fair use", and they did previously charge if you exceeded their "fair use" limit. Their customer service is also appalling.

Vodafone's package allows you to have a £40/month contract with a 32GB 3GS for £75 for the handset. With unlimited texts, 1GB fair use data, and a fairly hefty number of minutes. I don't know where people are getting the idea that Vodafone's tariffs are expensive.

FWIW, Vodafone and Three are the only networks that the BBC supports iPlayer use via 3G on as well.

Vodafone's current failing is lack of visual voicemail. As they have implemented this in Australia, I expect it will come to the UK in due course.

 

[RichTF]

FWIW, Vodafone and Three are the only networks that the BBC supports iPlayer use via 3G on as well.

OMG, didn't realise that! Thanks loads for that bit of info, I can now catch up on Radio1 on my way home from work, great stuff!

Even happier I switched now.

 

[aristotle]

You can't take over the world with just a high-end smartphone. Not everyone is rich enough to own it. Apple needs to capitalize on the success of the iPhone and release an iPhone nano.

Uh... yeah. The point of running a business is supposed to be maximum "profit" in dollars, not sales. Apple has found the secret sauce where they don't have to sell the most phones to have the most profits in phones. I don't think Apple is interested exchanging marketshare for lower profits. Nokia and LG can fight over the scraps of the low end phone market.

I'd rather be in Apple's position rather than Nokia's spot. They have nowhere to go but down while Apple can slowly grow their marketshare without sacrificing their margins.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

You can't take over the world with just a high-end smartphone. Not everyone is rich enough to own it. Apple needs to capitalize on the success of the iPhone and release an iPhone nano.

Look how well that worked out for Blackberry with the Pearl/flip phone.

 

[karimtaha]

Apple is never going to announce something 4 month before shipping it *for an already existing product*. The may talk about iPhone OS 4.0, which of course will be available for free for anyone who buys an iPhone 3GS now.

I should have my 3gs delivered tommorow, knowing they have an anouncement this week i still decided to get the 3gs.

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Look how well that worked out for Blackberry with the Pearl/flip phone.

The Pearl and Flip failed because they were poorly designed and had a terrible UI. It was aimed at lower-end users but ridiculously difficult to use effectively. This is again a place where Apple can reinvigorate the market (just like they did with the iPhone where there were only a few serious competitors before). I'm not saying Apple needs to release a $100 piece of rubbish, but something to take the iPhone 3G's (not 3Gs's) place without looking like a piece of filler to hold a price point.

 

[reverie]

Uh... yeah. The point of running a business is supposed to be maximum "profit" in dollars, not sales. Apple has found the secret sauce where they don't have to sell the most phones to have the most profits in phones. I don't think Apple is interested exchanging marketshare for lower profits. Nokia and LG can fight over the scraps of the low end phone market.

You're conflating revenue and profit. A $10 product can be more profitable than a $100 product, and an iPod shuffle can have the same margin as an iPod touch without either taking away sales from the other.

Apple starts at the top because it allows them to bring maximum innovation and build brand recognitinion, which in turn will help them to distinguish their (sometimes less exciting) mid- and low-end products in the coming years and make good profits at every price point. That's what happened with the iPod, and that's what they will do with the iPhone. Why wouldn't they?

Remember, the Mac is in an extremely unusual market situation (surviving in the midst of a hostile monopoly) and it's there because of mistakes that were made while Steve was gone, not because Apple chose to be a niche company. The Mac business model is not how Apple acts in a free market like music players or phones.

The iPhone today costs $500 to $700 without subsidies. I have no doubt that Apple will, cost reductions permitting, go to $400, $300 and eventually $200 in order to bring 2, 4, 10 times more customers into the family (which will in turn help the Mac as well). And they will have to release a 2x4 inch smartphone (with a 3 inch screen), because the current iPhone is just too big for a lot of people, no matter how useful it might be, and Palm has shown that it's doable. Hence, iPhone nano.

 

[sapporobaby]

I think they would only complain that a new iPhone is being released in another 5-6 months, and they should have waited to get the new one. They should be able to upgrade to firmware 4.0 though, no complaints about that...

What are you talking about? Do you own an iPhone? When the 3Gs came out, people who had the 3G version were able to upgrade for free. Apple has stated that they will support free upgrades for 2 years.

Think before you type dude.

 

[wolfie37]

Vodafone aren't charging anything differently for data. You get 1GB Fair Use and are not charged if you exceed it, though if you exceed it regularly, they may discuss a different tariff.

O2 also do "fair use", and they did previously charge if you exceeded their "fair use" limit. Their customer service is also appalling.

Vodafone's package allows you to have a £40/month contract with a 32GB 3GS for £75 for the handset. With unlimited texts, 1GB fair use data, and a fairly hefty number of minutes. I don't know where people are getting the idea that Vodafone's tariffs are expensive.

Wrong O2 have a true unlimited data policy on the iPhone and have had so since day 1, they made that very clear and have never charged on iPhone contracts for going over a data limit. If I switched from O2 to Vodafone I would be paying a lot more due to the data charges. It's also interesting to note that in early speed tests O2 has outperformed both Vodafone and Orange on their respective 3G networks.

As for O2 customer service, I have always found them to be very good and better than most customer services I have had the misfortune to have to access.

 

[*LTD*]

Quite impressive.

 

[wolfie37]

FWIW, Vodafone and Three are the only networks that the BBC supports iPlayer use via 3G on as well.

Not quite correct either, O2 do support BBC iPlayer on 3G. However according to the BBC iPlayer is not available on Apple devices due to the Apple DRM, I don't know how DRM affects it but that's the official reason given by BBC. The strange thing is that you can access the iPlayer web page through Safari and watch the programmes there on your iPhone(though wi-fi is needed).

 

[ToroidalZeus]

The Pearl and Flip failed because they were poorly designed and had a terrible UI. It was aimed at lower-end users but ridiculously difficult to use effectively.

Which is exactly what a iPhone nano would be like. The iPhone's relatively large touchscreen is what makes the iPhone magic happen.

I'm not saying Apple needs to release a $100 piece of rubbish

In America a iPhone 3G is already 100 dollars with a 2yr contract.

The iPhone today costs $500 to $700 without subsidies. I have no doubt that Apple will, cost reductions permitting, go to $400, $300 and eventually $200 in order to bring 2, 4, 10 times more customers into the family

The iPhone costs Apple less then 200 dollars to make. The price without subsidies is because Apple has driven a hard bargain and made all the carriers pay them a ridiculous amount of money per phone. Cost reductions permitting nothing, Apple can already reduce the subsidy it gets, if it wants the iPhone price lowered.

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Which is exactly what a iPhone nano would be like. The iPhone's relatively large touchscreen is what makes the iPhone magic happen.

In America a iPhone 3G is already 100 dollars with a 2yr contract.

Firstly, that's why Apple needs to step in and show a new UI that makes smaller touchscreens work. No-one has done it well yet so this would be the kick in the behind the market needs.

Secondly, wasn't it obvious I was talking about unsubsidised?