The IPhone has been a popular post topic on The Shelf, and after its launch on Friday early reports show O2 (the network who agreed the rights to sell the IPhone) could have shifted tens of thousands of units already.
With the Pay As You Go Market predicted to decline in 2008 O2 is focusing on signing customers up to contracts, and the IPhone is no exception requiring an 18 month commitment to the network.
With mixed reports on exactly how many IPhones have been sold over the opening weekend, it is hard to judge the popularity of the phone but O2 have stated that sales are in line with targets.
The Carphone warehouse, the only independent retailer to stock the phone, was apparently outsold by three to one by O2 stores.
At £289 with an 18 month contract people could be forgiven on passing on the IPhone, and could have explained the lack of queues outside stores that were a familiar sight when the IPhone was released in the states. But it seems this is not the case and O2 also expect to shift an additional 200,000 units over the Christmas and New Year period alone.
O2 expect ¾ of customers for the IPhone to come from rival networks, and with the majority of initial IPhone purchases being to customers who are new to O2 this defiantly seems possible. O2 currently are the largest UK mobile network with 17.9 million customers, and after beating off stiff competition from T-Mobile and Orange (who sell the IPhone in France and Germany) for the IPhone in the UK market, this figure seems set to only rise.
November 13th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I think when they come down in price, or the wi-fi compatible version comes out in a year or so, then it’ll become an even more attractive phone/device. I don’t like the thought of an 18 month contract though…