[Hands0n]

.... obvious location really .... Bluewater in Kent. Europe's largest shopping mall at the last count. I'm astonished that they didn't get in there much earlier, such as at launch date (03/03/03). But hey! they're there now. Opening Saturday 19th November, if Invicta radio is correct. Loads of competitions to win 3 stuff such as handsets and contracts. I can't get there as I'm working Sat but hope to put in an appearance some time on Sunday to have a looksee.

They will be competing with O2, Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange who are all there (well, they were the last time I visited which was a while back). Other resellers there are The Link, CPW and P4U. So no shortage of mobile phone choice at Bluewater.

[Hands0n]

Well, that was as dull as ditch water! What a poor showing at 3's new shopfront at Bluewater. I was not impressed one little bit.

The shopfront is Black with the 3 logo eked out in white. I walked past it the first time, thinking it was a temporary hoarding!

In store things did not get much better. There is more selection on the 3 website, for starters. The staff all wear black outfits to match the shopfront logo, one could be forgiven for thinking one had walked into the local Co Op Undertakers. I was in and out in probably less than 3 minutes - not by any coincidence :) In contrast, I was in the Vodafone store for more than 10 mins having a look and a furtive feel around the various equipments on display.

The 3 store's handset selection was that which seems to be most current on 3, which is not a lot really given that they are limited to 3G handsets only.

Contract handsets consisted of; SE K608i, Nokia N70, LG U8360, U880 and U8380.

PAYG handsets consisted of; Motorola C975, NEC e338, LG U8330.

There was a wall rack with some accesories such as Speakers, BT headets and phone cases.

Outside, in the main mall area, was a 3 competition stand, something about winning a jungle trip or suchlike! Inside the stand were two staff running the compo. Outside the stand was a very bored and uninterested 3 staff member dressed in jungle gear, complete with Pith helmet, texting someone on her phone (it was a SE K608i). I suppose she was there for some other purpose, but if so she wasn't doing it.

This is the second day of their opening at Bluewater, so I guess they need a little while to ramp up the operation. I suppose that there is not much else that I should have expected really, but for the life of me I did!

[KingMatt2511]

Well, thats a shame really. Just as I personally were seeing a change for the better in 3, they try to attract new customers by opening a new shop, and mess it up. Bad to hear that, but thanks for the review Hands0n. Saves me going down there and being dissapointed.

[3GScottishUser]

Interesting review. It must be really quite difficult to make half a dozen handsets look attractive in such a high profile location. A bit like M & S only having 6 shirts to chhose from.

Customers are not daft and generally see through product duplication and display materials and will probably look elesewhere to get an idea of what is really available on the market. The only way 3's direct outlet will be able to compete will be on price and that as we know is'nt a good way of attracting the sort of customers who they need to buy content and additional services.

Perhaps the arrival of the Nokia 6280, Motorola V3x and ZTE products will make the store less barren by the end of this year but it sounds as if it has a long way to go to be comparable with any of the other networks stores and the multiples in terms of customer choice.