Fujitsu Siemens offers free laptop upgrades

Is the Fujitsu Siemens offer too good to be true?

Fujitsu Siemens is offering buyers the chance to get a free laptop upgrade every three years, if they purchase a Lifebook between now and April 2009.

The promotion, called Lifebook 4 Life, only applies to UK customers and guarantees them a replacement Lifebook every three years for life, providing they adhere to the terms and conditions of the offer.

A second scheme, the Esprimo Promise, extends the standard warranty for the workhorse Esprimo range of laptops so that if it breaks within three years, Fujitsu Siemens will replace it free of charge as well as refund the purchase price.

While both offers sound too good to be true, there are some conditions: buyers must register their laptop within 21 days of purchase, and the offers are valid only until 21 April 2009.

Customers taking up the Lifebook 4 Life scheme must upgrade their warranty to include three year's cover for an additional cost of £40, and must also return their laptop in good working order to Fujitsu Siemens in order to receive the free replacement.

Jason Howe, product marketing manager for Business Mobile at Fujistu Siemens, said the deal would help build an ongoing relationship with customers that could help it to sell additional services and products.

"I don't think any other vendor has done anything like this before," he said.

Both offers are primarily aimed at small-to-medium customers, according to Howe, although there is no reason why individuals or larger organisations cannot sign up. Lifebook 4 Life is limited to a maximum of ten units per customer, however.

Both promotions will be serviced by Fujitsu Siemens' reseller channel, Howe said.

The ongoing credit crisis could be one reason for Fujitsu Siemens attempting to persuade customers to part with their money now rather than later.

Another reason is that Siemens is selling back its stake in the joint venture to Fujitsu effective from April, and the company may be expecting sales to peter out ahead of this, especially as rumours suggest that the PC and laptop part of the business might be offloaded to another vendor.