Orange shifts 30,000 iPhones in 5 days

French mobile operator Orange said Wednesday that it has sold 30,000 Apple iPhones in the five days since the device launched November 29.

At least 15,000 of those devices sold were also accompanied by a new subscription, according to Louis-Pierre Wenes, executive director in charge of operations for Orange France.

Wenes did not say how many of the remaining 15,000 sales were upgrades to existing Orange subscriptions or how many were unlocked devices. Orange is required by French law to sell a version of the iPhone that can be used on rival networks.

Prior to its launch, Orange revealed that it had 63,000 interested parties registered to receive information about the iPhone launch.

The French iPhone is selling for Eur399 with a two year service agreement and rate plans ranging between Eur49 per month and Eur119 per month. The device can be acquired for used on any non iPhone specific Orange plan for Eur549 and for an additional Eur100, Orange said it will sell the device unlocked and without a contract.

Alternatively, Orange subscribers can get the device unlocked after six months, without charge.

Unlocked devices on eBay France seem to be selling for just under the Eur600 mark, suggesting that there’s not much of a grey market.

Earlier this week, a German court confirmed T-Mobile’s right to sell the iPhone locked to its own network.

Shortly after the device launched in Germany, Vodafone won a temporary injunction forcing the Deutsche Telekom owned cellco to offer a version of the device that would work on rival networks. For a brief period, T-Mobile sold an unlocked version of the iPhone for Eur999.