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Experts line up to help confused customers with high-tech gadgets
Elizabeth Judge
A new helpline aimed at guiding consumers struggling to get to grips with the digital age is to be unveiled today. The Gadget Helpline will provide 70 experts to answer questions on anything from MP3 players and mobile phones to DVD players and satellite navigation devices.
The helpline taps into the bewilderment felt by many Britons - especially the over-30's - over the mass of high-tech gadgets and services.
The man behind the service is Crispin Thomas, a former Ernst & Young regional entrepreneur of the year, who is co-owner with his brother, Geremy, of Talk Me Through It, a company that already offers a gadget support service on a business-to-business basis. The move to offer a service direct to customers is part of a bid to broaden the company's reach.
Woolworths has signed up to offer the service, which has also received interest from insurance companies that want to incorporate the offering into household policies.
Mr Thomas said that while many consumers felt obliged or pressurised into owning the latest digital camera or widescreen television, many were confused or frustrated by the manual that comes with their equipment, or simply did not have time to read it.
All manufacturers are making our lives more complicated by producing more complex goods. Eventually, everyone comes round to getting HD-TV and a digital camera and so on, but these devices are certainly not the easiest to fathom out.
Many devices, Mr Thomas said, had become further complicated as manufacturers seek to gain a competitive edge over their rivals by cramming in more features.
The Gadget Helpline is the latest in a series of services offering to explain modern-day technology.
Carphone Warehouse, the mobile phone manufacturer, recently launched a "GeekSquad" help service, through which experts will visit homes to help to solve customers' computer problems. However, the cost - £99.99 for a home visit - could deter some consumers.
The Gadget Helpline charges £2.99 a month, with a minimum of six months contract. Calls cost 5p a minute. At present Talk Me Through It's service is business-to-business only. The move to offer a service direct to customers, rather than via business clients, is part of a bid to broaden the company's reach. The Talk Me Through It business already numbers several consumer electronics retailers among its clients, including Vodafone and Sony Ericsson.
Gadget Helpline launched.
09.09.2007:
Articles released in The Times and the Wiltshire Times, detailing the launch and purpose of Gadget Helpline.
03.12.2007:
Gadget Helpline TV commercial, aired on channel 4.
