Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Dell Inc. are testing an electronics repair and installation service in the Dallas area.

Wal-Mart is calling it a small pilot, but the companies may be trying to create their own Geek Squad, a successful service offered by Best Buy Inc.

Branded as Solutions Stations, the counters are being installed in Wal-Mart Supercenters on Redbud Boulevard in McKinney; on U.S. Highway 287 in Arlington and FM423 in Frisco.

A dozen more area stores will be added to the test soon, said Melissa O'Brien, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman in Bentonville, Ark.

The stations will be staffed by Dell employees. Some of the repair and installation services, such as computer networking and HDTV wall mounting, will be performed in customers' homes.

The new service will charge $29 to install memory in a PC in the store and $99 at home. To install a wall-mounted TV, connect cables and integrate three video components, it is charging $289.

The test will help Wal-Mart understand what customers need and expect in home installation and technology services within a specific market, Ms. O'Brien said.

Dell wants to know whether Wal-Mart customers value PC set-up and television installation or are more of a do-it-yourself crowd, said Bob Kaufman, a Dell spokesman. Results will be evaluated at the end of the test, he said, but no date was disclosed. Dell has sold in-home services through its catalog and online store for a few years.

The two companies hatched the idea for a test in stores a couple months ago, he said.

Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, started selling its desktops and laptops through Wal-Mart in June 2007 and since then, Costco and Best Buy have also been stocking the brand. Dell's products are now available at 13,000 stores worldwide through about a dozen retail companies.

A few years ago, Wal-Mart began expanding its consumer electronics departments to include more product categories and brands as it remodeled departments to accommodate big-screen TVs. Mr. Kaufman wouldn't say how well Dell products are doing on Wal-Mart's shelves.

While last year wasn't a great year for consumer electronics retail because of bankruptcies, store closings and the housing slump, the industry still posted a 10 percent sales increase, according to Twice magazine, which ranks the top 100 consumer electronics retailers.

Last year, Best Buy was still No. 1 with $28 billion in consumer electronics merchandise sales, Wal-Mart was No. 2 with $17.1 billion and Circuit City was No. 3 with $10.6 billion. Wal-Mart surpassed Circuit City in 2003.

Best Buy declined to comment on the prospect of having another competitor in the lucrative service business. Best Buy doesn't report Geek Squad results separately, but industry analysts consider the high-profile service, known for its black and white Volkswagens and techs in white shirts and ties, as a competitive edge and a profit center.

Best Buy acquired Geek Squad in 2003, and now the service is available in Best Buy stores and in seven stand-alone stores, including one in Farmers Branch

Will Solutions Stations' employees be driving cute little cars?

Mr. Kaufman's not telling just yet.