Orange shifts 30,000 iPhones

An Orange Wednesday app reached the top of the App Store Entertainment chart

Mobile operator Orange claims to have set a new first-day sales record by shifting more than 30,000 iPhones yesterday.

"Orange are delighted to reveal, that as of 4pm yesterday, it had sold more than 30,000 iPhones across the UK – smashing what we believe is the previously published first-day sales record for a handset in the UK," said a spokesman, apparently confirming a statement made by Orange marketing manager Conor Maples on his Twitter page.

The firm also bragged that its first app for the iPhone, an Orange Wednesdays cinema ticket offer, had gone to number one in the Entertainment category on the App Store.

Rival operator O2 would not confirmed how many iPhones it shipped on the first day of sales, which was just over two years ago. However, in a blog post the firm did say that it has been its fastest-selling handset ever, and had given it some one million new customers.

Update: a call from O2's PR team tells us that the firm shifted " considerably more" units than Orange's 30,000 on its first day of release.

However, the firm could not give any further numbers, for financial reporting reasons.