Vodafone Sold 100,000 iPhone During First Week

Despite getting the Apple's self-proclaimed Jesus phone two years after O2, Vodafone has managed to sell a staggering 100,000 phone in the first week of sale, which includes pre-orders.

Vodafone was the fourth network, after O2, Tesco Mobile and Orange to get hold of the smartphone but UK's largest mobile phone network has shown that Apple's device still has a powerful appeal.

50,000 iPhones were pre-ordered by the time Vodafone launched the product on its network with 50,000 others in the following week. Vodafone is likely to see even brisker sales once it manages to get the iPhone on PAYG.

It is also likely that Vodafone will start taping into the business market as a sexier alternative to RIM's Blackberry, something that Peter Kelly, enterprise director at Vodafone confirmed to V3.co.uk.

Vodafone's UK, CEO Guy Laurence, declared in a statement that "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."

Pocket-lint notes judiciously that by the time the first Vodafone iPhone contracts end in January 2012, the iPhone 3G will be a three-and-a-half year old antiquity, with at least one more new model coming up in June 2010.

As for Vodafone itself, it will be selling the Nexus one fairly soon and we expect it to reach the UK almost at the same time as the iPhone 4G. That will be a rather interesting face-off.