Dixons launches mega PC magazine

PC WORLD, the computer Branch of Dixons group, UK biggest high street retailer has launched its own computer magazine called PC World Magazine. The first issue was made available last week with a print run of one million. In comparison, that's roughly equivalent to what Personal Computer World, the only magazine I pay for, sells in twelve months.

It costs £2 if you want to buy it and will be free for customers buying over £25 of kit. The magazine not only covers bits and pieces of information technology but encompasses the "wealth of digital lifestyle products" as put forward by the Brand Manager of PC World, Steve Woodward.

The 132 page magazine will be produced by Future Plus, the specialist publishing agency of Future Publishing which publishes PC Plus and PC Format. No figures have been released about the deal but one cannot rule out that sometime in the future, the magazine will be produced in house.

Now that brings us to another shift that many have observed. The computer magazine sector is slowly shrinking and dying away. I am speaking of generalist computer magazines. Remember UK's PC Magazine, France's Generation PC or US Byte?

The internet is the main culprit here, as you don't have to pay to get the latest news and reviews plus there is no question where to find the freshest information. The net wins hands up.

To rub salt on the wound, with the demise of Granville group, owner of the Tiny computer brands, UK computer magazines have lost one of their biggest customers. .

Now that PC World has started its own magazine, it can only be a matter of time that someone somewhere emulates them. Not only will they shift their own mass of money elsewhere but if ABC figures are good, expect manufacturers like Asus, Gigabyte and others to jump on board the PC World Magazine - and the publishing world will watch very attentively. µ