20 Jul 2007
Dell has signed a deal with Carphone Warehouse that will see the retailer giving free Inspiron notebooks to its broadband customers to try to secure loyalty.
The promotion requires users to sign up a minimum two-year contract with AOL Broadband, at a cost of £19.99 a month. Customers are then given a voucher which can be exchanged for a base model Inspiron, worth around £500.
In a similar move, Orange has announced it will offer £300 off any laptop at retail chain Curry's. Applicants must agree to pay either £14.99 or £19.99 per month over a two year period.
The total cost for a £19.99 package over 24 months is £479.76.
The Orange offer is already available to the public, while the Carphone Warehouse promotion will launch in September.
The success of both strategies will be determined by customer perceptions of the services provided, says Ovum broadband analyst Jonathan Coham.
'Two years is a lengthy contract term, but to make this low-margin package profitable in the long term, Orange and Carphone Warehouse will need to effectively convert these low-end customers, to loyal, high-spend customers,' said Coham.
Carphone Warehouse acquired AOL UK's ISP business in October 2006, at a cost of £370m.
A few months on it's interesting to read this article and its corresponding comments. The Orange / PC World free laptop offer was indeed very short lived - all over within a few weeks and very little reported anywhere to say where this deal fell over.
However, the AOL / Carphone Warehouse free laptop offer has prevailed, with 50,000 customers registering ahead of the official launch and with 160,000 laptops being ordered from Dell on the initial run. There is indeed a free laptop frenzy sweeping the UK.
The latest free laptop offer comes from the Utility Warehouse - a very nice high-spec Fujitsu Siemens with a 1.7Ghz processor and valued at around £450.
An evaluation of this and other deals is available via www.free-laptop-computers.co.uk
Posted by: FreeLaptopOffers.co.uk 15 Nov 2007
Having been a long-suffering Freeserve, Wanadoo, Orange customer for 7 Years What price loyalty to quote "NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY" Just like the advert being in a position to move on with 30 days notice + 10 days it takes to get the new Orange starter package takes you out of the time limit of the deal. So once again Orange have said let's
kick our existing customers in the teeth irrespective that they pay religiously up front, and go for it. But this time the worm has turned with
broadband to be cancelled along with all the family mobile phones.
Posted by: Peter Chamberlain 15 Aug 2007
We've had orange broadband for about a year - contract now nearly expired thank goodness! And I've found the service to be atrocious. Constant drops in connection - and days without internet access have left me at the end of my tether. The most recent period of which lasted 11 days and ended just this weekend.
So go for it - get a discounted laptop - but don't expect to be able to connect it to the internet!
Posted by: Particia 23 Jul 2007
Have your say on this article
Newsletters
Latest stories from Ecommerce
Latest videos
You may also like
Ecommerce jobs
Will Google’s new privacy policy impact how you use its services?
Garry Sidaway, director of security strategy at Integralis discusses the current threats to enterprises, and how they should protect themselves
Rubbish in... rubbish enterprise. Why proper data management is so important (video, 6 min)
This Forrester report compares the costs and benefits of legacy email and productivity software with Google Apps
Upcoming Events
The implementation of robust, relevant digital strategies is more crucial than ever to the success of insurance businesses
Date: 01 Mar 2012
Time: 09:00am
A showcase of the latest in the information content and management
Date: 20 Mar 2012
Time: 09:00am
Receive the latest jobs direct to your inbox
Are you being paid what you are worth?
