Fujitsu Siemens Computers extends four year PC warranty campaign for SMEs

- Free 'refresh4you' upgrade to four years on-site warranty extended until September 2003
- 500 companies signed up in first three months

Fujitsu Siemens Computers, one of the UK's fastest-growing suppliers of IT products and solutions to the SME market, has extended its refresh4you four year on-site warranty upgrade programme through to September 2003. This follows the company's major success in the SME PC market with more than 500 companies having already registered to receive an additional year's warranty in the campaign's three month run. Fujitsu Siemens Computers will extend the campaign to enable SMEs to register for an extra year's free on-site warranty for SCENIC desktop PCs by registering on the refresh4you website at www.fujitsu-siemens.co.uk/rl/refresh4you/.
 
This announcement follows the launch of the refresh4you campaign in April 2003. The campaign was driven by the results of a market research study among the UK SME sector that showed that extended warranties is the primary issue impacting PC procurement and ownership in this market, ahead of improved performance and reduced price. In 1999 Fujitsu Siemens Computers was the first PC manufacturer to offer a three year on-site warranty as standard on all its desktop business PCs. The launch of the PC industry's first four year warranty programme continues the company's strong record of service innovation.
 
"Extending the run of our refresh4you campaign is a clear signal from our customer base about the value of extended warranties, and highlights the campaign's success this year," said Ian Snadden, Director of Channel & SME Sales for Fujitsu Siemens Computers. "On average, each of our customers registering for refresh4you had three new PCs eligible for an extended warranty. For these companies having a PC fall out of its warranty period can be a costly exercise, exposing them to the risk of high repair costs. Older machines also take longer to perform standard tasks and earlier operating systems are more open to virus attacks. SMEs are looking for warranty periods to match their expectations of product lifecycles, so with the refresh4you campaign we are committed to delivering the most value for customers looking for PC upgrades."
 
PCs bought in 1999 typically featured Intel Pentium III processors running at 500 MHz, had 64 MB of RAM, 4 GB disk drives, 15" monitors and ran Windows 95. This compares to today's standard business PCs, which typically cost up to 35 per cent less, and feature dramatically improved performance with a typical specification of 2.4 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processors, 256 or512 MB of main memory, 40-80 GB hard drives, TFT screens and sound, graphics and network connectivity integrated on the motherboard.
 
The programme is available for SCENIC P300 and N300 PCs purchased by 30 September 2003. To register for the refresh4you warranty upgrade programme, customers must visit www.fujitsu-siemens.co.uk/refresh4you and fill in their warranty details within 90 days of buying an eligible product. Only SCENIC PCs sold as part of the value4you programme qualify for this offer. These range from the entry-level SCENIC P300 featuring an Intel Celeron 1.8 GHz processor from just £335 ex VAT, to top-of-the-range SCENIC N300 and P300 systems featuring Intel Pentium 4 2.6 GHz processors from just £563 ex VAT.
 
About Fujitsu Siemens Computers: Fujitsu Siemens Computers is the leading European computer company, supporting customers' growing demands for Business Critical and Mobility solutions. The company draws on the strengths and innovation of its parent companies - Fujitsu Limited and Siemens AG - who have a joint R&D spend equivalent to €9 billion per year. Fujitsu Siemens Computers provides its customers with one of the industry's most comprehensive IT product ranges - from PDAs through to the data centre - giving them the choices they need to make real IT infrastructure savings. The company offers Solaris-based PRIMEPOWER UNIX servers for the data centre, best-in-class PRIMERGY Intel-based systems, and a full range of enterprise storage solutions. Fujitsu Siemens Computers is also one of the leading providers of professional PCs, workstations and secure mobile computing products - including PDAs, notebooks and Tablet PCs - to business customers, and is Europe's leading supplier of PCs for home users and small offices.
 
For further information, please visit: www.fujitsu-siemens.com.
 
UK Press Office
Marisa Reynolds / Emeshe Coop
Fujitsu Siemens Computers
Tel: 01344 475811
E-mail: ukpressoffice@fujitsu-siemens.com