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Customers buying a Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook will be offered a free upgrade three years after their original purchase, and every subsequent three years for the rest of their life - as long as they purchase an extended three-year warranty.

"Fujitsu Siemens Computer customers are entitled to a replacement Lifebook every three years for the purchaser's lifetime, at no cost," claims the terms and conditions of the scheme, which cunningly excludes customers from passing the contract on to their offspring in a will.

Customers will have to hope that the UK manages to avoid high levels of inflation, though; the value of each new notebook cannot exceed the value of the previous one, adjusted 10% for inflation.

A Fujitsu Siemens spokesperson assured PC Pro today that the scheme is a profitable venture, once the sale of future warranties and upgrades is taken into account. Only Fujitsu Siemens modifications are allowed, so upgrading with cheap third-party RAM is out of the question.

Of course, the company is also banking on a certain number of customers failing

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to take advantage of the deal once their three years are up. If customers fail to register their notebook within 21 days of purchase, they lose out, and if the initial sales receipt is lost then they will not be able to claim a replacement notebook. If at any point a customer fails to take an upgrade, then they will also be ineligible for any future laptops.

The company says it is still working on establishing the price of the three year warranty.

The company is also launching another interesting scheme with its Esprimo range, offering a complete refund of the original sales price if the customer needs to send the notebook back to Fujitsu Siemens for any repairs.

This offer is far from comprehensive, though, as it excludes case cracks, small numbers of dead pixels, broken keys, smashed screens, software issues, virus infections or failed batteries that are older than one year.

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