Response to the news that the UK's third-largest operator, Orange, had signed a deal to supply the iPhone the moment O2's exclusivity expired was huge, with an estimated 250,000 people registering on the website.

The Orange iPhone launched across the country yesterday, and according to the company launch day sales of approximately 30,000 iPhones are believed to be the highest ever recorded for a handset in the UK.

Interest was high enough to shut down the Orange website when pre-orders went live, though tariffs comparable to O2, coupled with a 750MB cap its data provision, led many industry analysts to expect a tepid reception. Apparently, this wasn't the case.

Orange UK has sold more than 30k iPhones, smashing what we believe is the previously published first day sales records for a phone in the UK" says Orange spokesman Conor Maples.