05 Sep 2007 15:43
The decision in July by Carphone Warehouse to offer a laptop as an incentive to sign up to AOL's broadband service surprised a lot of people, but this week the mobile retailer has gone a step further and decided to give away 200 laptops as part of a nationwide competition.
From Thursday morning, 50 Dell laptops, worth £450 each, will be dropped off at major landmarks in each of Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Southampton. According to Carphone Warehouse, anyone who spots one of the machines should take it to their local store to be registered, but it said there are no hidden charges or costs.
The organisers claim they decided not to include London in the event as they were looking for an even distribution across the country, and the event would have more impact in smaller cities.
As well as a free laptop, winners will be given two years' worth of free Carphone Warehouse broadband. The laptop give-away coincides with a wider promotion the mobile retailer is undertaking, whereby the first 200,000 people subscribing to AOL Broadband via Carphone Warehouse will also receive a Dell laptop.
The Carphone Warehouse laptop deal is a response to a similar scheme launched by Orange and PC World. However winning a "free laptop" could be a mixed blessing. A survey conducted by uSwitch.com in July saw consumers vote Orange and Carphone Warehouse's TalkTalk as the worst UK broadband providers for customer service.
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