Google has opened its first physical retail store in London. 

The store, named Chromezone, is a store within a store at Currys and PC World in Tottenham Court Rd. It is a trial store of Google which sells Chromebook laptops.

“People will be able to go in and have a play with the devices. We want to see whether people understand what this device is all about and monitor their reaction when they try it out,” said Arvind Desikan, head of consumer marketing for Google in the UK and Ireland

Chromebook laptops use Google’s own operating system with functionality that depends mostly on internet connection. The OS which was formerly available online was transformed by the search giant into Chromebooks.

“Specially trained Chromebook experts will be on hand to offer guidance and advice to shoppers”, the company said.

“We’ve put a great deal of thought into the design of this Chromezone,” said Desikan.

Mark Slater, category director at Dixons Retail, said initial customer response to the launch of Samsung’s Chromebook had been excellent and the company is expecting a lot of customer interest now it is in-store.

The opening was less hyped compared to Apple’s massive London flagship store opening in 2004. However, Google says it wants to experiment with the format and before opening further shops in the future.

GB