Midwich signs Elonex deal
Distribution agreement made for Media Center market
Midwich has kicked off its entry into the Media Center PC marketplace by announcing a distribution deal with system builder Elonex.
The distributor has said the deal marks the creation of a new Home Entertainment division within Midwich that will marry IT and audiovisual (AV) offerings aimed at the home. Midwich will take on Elonex's new Artisan LX Media Center PC, which will launch at the end of February, as well as the company's all-in-one Lumina and eXentia Gold models.
The Lumina is a 32in LCD that houses a high-spec Media PC in its chassis, while the eXentia is a 17in LCD version. The Artisan LX resembles a DVD player and is designed to connect to a TV or LCD panel. All three systems run Microsoft's Media Center Edition (MCE) 2005.
John Turner, business manager at Midwich, said: "We already do PCs and AV, but they have been quite separate. Moving into Media Center PCs is a marriage in the middle. We see it as a natural step for us because we do a lot of business and consumer sales of notebooks and are strong in the AV market.
"The Media Center PC is an ideal piece of kit, while the MCE 2005 operating system is much slicker than previous versions and the implementations are much better.
"We looked at other Media Center PC products; the Elonex systems were the best we could find. Media PCs are getting a higher profile now and they offer good margin opportunities for our partners. We would expect to shift a few thousand units this year."
Marc Engall, sales manager EMEA at Elonex, said: "Until now we have been known for going direct to market and are traditionally strong in the business PC market, particularly in the public sector.
"Now we have moved into the Media PC space we do not have enough salespeople to address this new market fully, which is why we have sought partners in Micro Peripherals and Midwich.
"With Midwich and Micro P we are looking to reach smaller resellers and retailers that sell to the public, as well as AV specialists. The UK market is ready for Media Center PCs."
Midwich will not be selling other Elonex IT equipment. However, it has revealed it is in talks with other companies developing Media Center offerings.