Morning:
5°c
O2, the Spanish-owned mobile phones network, today declared that the iPhone 4 launch had been the most successful seen in the UK.
The group, which originally held exclusive UK distribution rights to the first iPhones but now competes with all the other networks, said it had seen twice the level of customers coming into its shops for the fourth version as it saw for the third last year.
And despite widespread tales of the iPhone 4 proving unreliable, O2 chief executive Matthew Key said it had so far had the lowest level of returns of any smartphone. He added: “The big challenge for us now is getting enough stock to meet continued significant demand and we're as frustrated as our customers when it comes to getting our hands on them.”
O2 has sold more than three million iPhones since it was launched in the UK in November 2007 and said it had “far and away” outsold any other kind of smartphone.
It has also had a noticeable effect on the network's revenues as customers increasingly use mobile internet services.
UK operating profits rose 8% to 883 million (£736 million) while parent company Telefonica reported a 9% rise in profits to 3.8 billion.
