The much anticipated iPhone made its release in Ireland later last week to a dismal crowd. Looking at its past performance, it would seem that the release of the iPhone would be to a larger reception, with iPhone owners waiting overnight to buy the iPhone in some countries. Even with Apple landing exclusive locked contracts with a single provider in each country, people still managed to get their hands on unlocked iPhones to use in their country on their own provider.

The iPhone was made available exclusively to O2 in Ireland and was released with literally no hype at all. This may not have had anything to do with a lack of interest, but rather because unlocked iPhones have been available in Ireland for sometime now. And on top of that, add on the 399 EURO price tag for the 8 GB model and 499 EURO for the 16 GB model. Its high price was the biggest deterrent for most customers.

Though the initial reception was not what was expected, O2 has announced that it is extremely pleased with the initial sales figures. O2 announced that customer traffic in retail outlets on the day the iPhone was released was almost two times as much an a regular weekday. Similarly, traffic through retail stores was higher than normal for a bank holiday weekend. But until the initial sales figures are released, there is still some doubt on how the iPhone will do in the Irish market.