The day has come…. O2 no longer has exclusivity on the iPhone.

As you have probably read in the news, Orange launched the iPhone on Tuesday this week and what a record day it was. By 4pm on November 10th, Orange announced that they had sold more than 300,000 handsets. Orange stores sold more iPhones than at Carphone and Phones 4U. (the company who leaked out the launch date). Staff at Phones4U were motivated and still are to upsell the iPhone. They receive £7 commission for selling an iPhone 3G S on a £45 tariff or above and £5 for the 3G version for tariffs £40 and above.

People have been flocking to the Orange iPhone, following on from all the advertising including Orange’s £4millon campaign “You’re covered” which started last week. They are promoting how widespread the Orange 3G’s network is. Orange last month won “WHAT mobile” award for Best network coverage so they have certainly been spending a lot of time and money into improving their service. That was one of the areas that was letting them down.

Unfortunately for those who were waiting for a cheaper contract will be disappointed. Orange have avoided a price war with Apple and the tariffs are roughly the same as with O2. Customers can pick up the latest version of the phone which is the iPhone 3GS for free when they sign up for a contract for £45 a month over 24 months. If you are feeling rich and you don’t want to be tied in, you can always get the iPhone on pay as you go from £343.

http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/News/361070/orange_outruns_indies_for_iphone.html