Google opens a Chrome Zone shop

ONLINE SEARCH GIANT Google has opened its first retail store called the ‘Chrome Zone' on Tottenham Court Road in London.

The store, which is open now, is inside PC World rather than being a stand-alone shop. At the moment the Chrome Zone focuses on the Chromebook laptop that runs Google's Chrome operating system (OS).

Arvind Desikan, head of consumer marketing at Google UK said, "It is our first foray into physical retail. This is a new channel for us and it's still very, very early days. It's something Google is going to play with and see where it leads."

Expert shop assistants are on hand to show users how to get to grips with the cloud-based laptop, which starts at £349. The Chromebook is also known as the Samsung Series 5 laptop.

The store opened on Friday almost unnoticed. As far as we know the shop doesn't promote any devices that run the firm's Android OS, but with so many it would be a bit overcrowded.

A second Google store is set to open on 7 October at the Lakeside shopping centre in Essex with more to appear around the world over the next few months, according to the Evening Standard. µ