Quote:
Originally Posted by RockdaMan
If it were all about specs, we wouldn't need reviewers.
Just calculators.
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Obviously, it's not
all about specs, but look at the reviews I posted. He doesn't go into specs
at all. If he did, he'd have to admit that the iPad was lacking in comparison to the Xoom. And he
blatantly misrepresented the cost of the Xoom, without mentioning that the price he quoted was for an
unlocked, 32MB Xoom.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RockdaMan
Attractive is subjective.
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Certainly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RockdaMan
If a phone has flash and the iWhatever doesn't, is it automatically a positive? If in your opinion it is, you don't need a reviewer. Just a spec sheet.
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I think you're a little confused as to what a reviewer does. A reviewer
reviews a device, telling you all about it. The reviewer saying, "Well, I don't care about specs. If you do, go get a spec sheet." is not acceptable when you're writing a
review, because without specs, you're not telling the whole story of a device, to allow people to make informed decisions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RockdaMan
It's like soup. Two chefs make minestrone...one uses 13 ingredients and the other 11...which is better? It's going to the end result, when it all comes together, that determines that. At least for me it is ... variety makes the world go around.
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That's the point. Readers/viewers can't make informed decisions if they don't get the whole story about a device's pluses and minuses, and when you spend half the review saying that one device is exactly like another device (which, by implication, you consider
clearly superior), and then
gloss over any differences (that might tend to make the device you're looking at more acceptable than your favorite device), that's not a fair review.
I can sum it up this way: Pogue spends a great deal of effort saying why Device X isn't as good as an iDevice, without really delving into the competing device sufficiently.