On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

The No.2 PC maker moves farther from its direct-to-consumer sales model with a new agreement to sell its PCs through DSGi's European network of store brands including Currys.digital, Currys, Electro World, Elkjop, PC City and PC World.

The DSGi-Dell agreement covers 1300 stores in 12 European markets: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the U.K.

Beginning this January, consumers will find a full portfolio of Dell products at DSGi's stores -- from high-end gaming systems, to notebooks and desktops.

 The announcement follows similar partnerships between Dell and Carrefour (France, Spain and Belgium) and M.Video (Russia), as well as Best Buy, Staples and Wal-Mart (USA).

Go DELL & DSGi

Service providers are rapidly increasing their deployments of residential gateways for connected home applications, says a new report by Parks Associates. The number of households worldwide with service provider-deployed residential gateway solutions could grow to more than 71m by Q4 2012.

 “Service providers worldwide are scrambling to add value to broadband, communications, and other services,” says Kurt Scherf, Parks Associates’ Vice President and Principal Analyst.

The strategy for residential gateway and other CPE deployments starts with value-added features such as multiroom DVR and streaming multimedia applications, enhanced communications features, and home monitoring. Go Networks in the Home

JVC and Funai Electric enter a wide-ranging business alliance in video equipment.

Not a stock and cash deal like last year’s JVC/Kenwood merger deal, this is an operating alliance where the two companies look for cost-savings in both development and production.

Funai will entrust production of LCD televisions to JVC’s factory for the Americas (in Mexico.) Funai Electric will also give the development of LCD televisions to be sold primarily in Europe to JVC by June 2008.

JVC will let Funai’s European factory in Poland produce its LCD televisions by the first half of 2008.

The two companies will jointly develop LCD televisions to be sold by JVC primarily in Europe and Americas. Funai will launch the production of these by second half of 2008.

The two will seek a joint purchasing strategy and share distribution infrastructure. They will also cooperate in production, after-sales service and environmental protection.

For more info, go JVC & Funai Deal