Vodafone sells more UK iPhones in a day than the Nexus One sold worldwide in a week

Remember those surprisingly low first week sales figures for the Nexus One? They’re about to look even smaller…

Vodafone UK launched the iPhone today. While you might think that being the fourth network in the UK to begin selling Apple’s iconic handset might mean that demand would be low, that’s not the case. The network has told Mobile Industry Review that preorders hit an astounding 50,000 units before launch.

Yes, the fourth network to start selling the iPhone in the tiny country that is the UK beat Google’s first-week sales by two-and-a-half times in one day.

Of course, it’s worth remembering that Google has a number of factors against it right now. The Nexus One is only available at a discounted price on T-Mobile USA or full price unlocked. Add to that the facts that Google will only ship the phone to four countries and that many people will be put off buying a phone direct from a website without seeing it and it’s clear the Nexus One hardly had a ‘normal’ launch.

If Google had built up demand with a pre-order period for the Nexus One the gap may have been small. Still, we’re sure there will be champagne corks popping at Vodafone’s UK HQ today.