Demonstrating the pent up demand for the iPhone among customers of other UK networks who didn't want to swap to O2 during its exclusivity period, Vodafone has revealed that it sold 100,000 iPhones on contract during its launch week.

Around 50,000 were sold on the launch day: January 15th.

In comparison, Orange sold around 30,000 iPhones when it launched the iPhone during November 2009. At the time, that was thought to be a UK phone launch record.

Still, the situation demonstrates how much further Apple - and operators - can push the iPhone brand, especially if Apple continues to support the now entry level iPhone 3G while continuing to push out more advanced versions.

Next up, Vodafone will release iPhone via Pay As You Go. As well as Vodafone, O2 and Orange, it's also available in the UK through supermarket Tesco.

Small wonder then that Apple announced it had sold 8.7 million iPhones during its Q1 fiscal quarter; double the amount a year ago.