Woolies is now offering mobile phones online

Rating: Iconic British brand re-emerges for handset sales

Just when you thought a classic British High Street retailer was dead and buried, Woolworths is back and selling goods online. Just in times for the Xmas period. This is fine until you look at the wide range (168) of handsets it is selling amongst other electrical goods. Surely some mistake?

Woolworths was originally known for being the equivalent of today’s Pounds stores. The original motto was ‘nothing over sixpence’ or ‘nix over six’. Which in today’s money would be around £2.11 or $3.60.

Understandably there are no handsets on sale via the Woolworths web site for as little as that. But there are plenty of bargains to be had. Out of the 124 prepaid handsets it is offering, you can get a Samsung E1120 or a LG GB102 for a mere £10.

One assumes these handsets are prepaid because the adverts don’t mention any kind of contract but merely hint that you’ll find yourself on the T-Mobile network.

However, Woolies is also offering SIM free mobile handsets which can be used on any network. At the top of the pile is a Nokia N97 for which the company wants a cool £599. Wow.

While Woolies is putting out mixed messages on the pricing front, GoMo News is worried about after-sales support. With no High Street presence any more, how is it going to cope with frustrated customers who found a mobile handset in their Xmas stocking?

Looking through the list of bargains, GoMo News spotted the RIM Blackberry Pearl 8110 which was selling for a mere £89 – almost half price. This handset is connected to the T-Mobile network.

Better still it reputedly has 12 months free Internet and email access. Yes, but who is going to configure it for email a ndthe Net? Luckily for Woolies, the company won’t have to worry about this because the item is already out of stock.

Nonetheless, if you look at the 17 reviews of the 8110 by customers who have managed to acquire this handset already, few are very positive and most seem to back our assumption that this will prove a support nightmare.

It’s nice to see the Woolworth brand re-appear – let’s hope the online store hasn’t bitten off more than it can chew where mobile phones are concerned.