Carphone stores put faith in miniature laptops

THE CARPHONE Warehouse has begun selling the Asus EeePC, the latest in a new line of "netbooks" that are designed for basic tasks such as word processing and web browsing, in a small laptop format.

Aimed at business travellers, students and those who need an ultra-portable notebook without the large price tag, the Asus EeePC is designed to be thrown in a bag and taken on the move.

The device comes with Windows XP, a seven-inch screen, a small keyboard and 4GB flash memory hard drive. Extras such as a CD or DVD drive have been eliminated, but the EeePC includes Wi-Fi and an integrated webcam.

The Asus device is expected to become popular with PC users, here, with the computer maker appointing Sharptext as its official distribution partner in the Irish market.

The new product is part of the Carphone Warehouse's strategy to start selling a range of laptops.

The company is hoping to replicate its success with mobile phones in the laptop market, subsidising the devices and selling them with mobile broadband bundles.

"This is us putting our toe in the water in terms of laptops in general," says Tara Blake, spokeswoman for Carphone Warehouse.

The company will offer a number of laptops in store and expand the range to about 30 on its website, including brands such as Fujitsu Siemens, Toshiba and HP.

The Carphone Warehouse has already sold the majority of the 1,000 EeePC units it initially stocked, offering it with mobile broadband from 3 Ireland. The unit is priced at €329 with a broadband bundle - it is also available without the broadband deal, priced at €349.

The EeePC could have a rival in the coming weeks, with Carphone Warehouse already planning to sell its own WebBook from August 1st.

Made by Elonex specifically for the Carphone Warehouse, the WebBook will come with a 10-inch screen and an 8GB hard drive.

The wider Carphone Warehouse group is moving into laptop sales. "Sweden was the first, then Belgium and France. We're at the later end of it," Blake says.

The UK branches began stocking laptops last month and initial sales have been good.

However, Irish customers won't see any of the "free" laptops as advertised by the company's British business, which are funded by bigger subsidies than are available in the Irish market.

The expansion from selling mobiles may signal bigger things to come for the firm, which recently agreed to form a joint venture with electronics retailer Best Buy to sell consumer electronics in the fast-growing European market in a £1.1 million (€1.4 million) deal.

"We've gone from mobiles to mobile broadband to laptops," Blake adds. "Over the next year or so we'll wait and see what happens with Best Buy.

"We will be opening Best Buy stores here; how that will work in terms of what we sell and what they sell, it still hasn't been defined yet."

The first Best Buy store in the UK is due to open its doors in 2009.