What SOS said: When I land on a website and the first thing it does is demand my name and email address, my next click is my "back" button.
That's my opinion as a user. Were I just a user, the whole discussion would stop here, because you've lost me and you'll never get me back.
The rest of this is going to be mostly my opinions as a website designer and consultant. Fair warning: I am not going to be polite. I don't get paid for being polite. I get paid for telling the truth. If you just want warm fuzzies, I'd strongly recommend scrolling down to the next post.
The home page fails XHTML vaildation. It fails Section 508. It gives my speed checker spasms because it's over 2 meg in size -- which would be about a 7 minute load time for people on dialup (they buy ebooks too). I don't know if it fails CSS validation as well, because it seems to have broken the CSS validator.
Then there's this:
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The release of the Apple iPad has definitely made a great impact(1) on the eBook reader market. One of the major impact(2) that is already being felt is Amazon's attempt to stay relevant. As of late May(3) Amazon will be releasing a unique(4) software update which will include a better way to organize your books and documents, PDF pan and zoom, password protection, ,(5) more fonts & improved clarity, Facebook & Twitter posts(6) and popular highlights.
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- An asteroid hit it? Use strong words, not weak PHB-speak.
- First, should be plural; second, should be some other word. Try "effects". Also, lose the passive voice.
- It's now June.
- I'm not sure what word you wanted here, but "unique" isn't it. "New"? "Advanced"?
- Something's missing.
- What about them? Feeds of them? Then say so.
That huge graphic wow-gee-whiz header, which provides very little useful content, has one tiny clickable hotspot down in the corner -- the link with the arrow. This will lead to a lot of users clicking in frustration on things like the feature lists, which appear to be links but aren't.
The "top 4" seem to be just 3 -- two are just different flavors of Kindles. I assume those were selected because they pay the highest affiliate fees, but when you look at a moderately unbiased source -- the number of people reading the various device forums here on MobileRead -- the breakdown as of this moment is as follows:
- Kindle - 69
- Apple - 32
- Nook - 14
- Sony - 90
Those are aggregate numbers -- that is, the Kindle board is all Kindle users of whatever flavor, the Apple board covers any and all products from Apple, etc. Sony isn't always the top -- it trades places with the Kindle -- but the relative rankings have been fairly consistent over the times I've checked in the past few weeks.
So -- this time, speaking from a customer perspective again -- when I see an "unbiased" site which leaves the #1 device, by my numbers, out of its "top 4", and includes a clear also-ran, I start to seriously question its credibility and its agenda.
Back to the technical matters. The comparison page has major layout problems. Did you not actually look at it? It informs me, among other things, that the internal memory of a Kindle 2 is 6", its battery lifetime is 13, and its estimated price is 1 year.
I'm trying the "what's your ereader" thing (which, btw, I thought might go to a poll) now.
Okay, I've found a problem already:
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Q.2) What is your main eBook reading material?
Only novels
Novels, magazines, and newspapers
Novels, magazines, newspapers, technical manuals, and text books
Only technical manuals and text books
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I read novels, technical manuals, reference books, history and other non-fiction, but neither magazines nor newspapers. There is no option provided for people who read BOOKS but not PERIODICALS on that list (or the opposite, for that matter). So which option am I supposed to pick?
I'll pick novels, even though that's far from the truth, and continue....
The storage space estimates in question 3 are grossly off. I have 2,350 books the my Sony PRS-505 in front of me -- 673 in its 256 MB internal memory and 1677 occupying less than half of a 2 GB SD card.
The budget question is too fine-grained and has no option for "I haven't decided." People are more flexible than you're giving them credit for.
It informs me that I should buy a nook. Why, I'm not sure. I don't want a touch screen. It never asked about one of my major criteria -- battery life. And when I went to read the nook info, I saw this:
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Make sure you have the “early adaptor” characteristic in you...
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I think you mean "adopter". It's a different word entirely, even if it looks a bit the same. In addition, that's one painfully awkward sentence.
The review of the nook is wordy and essentially just a rehash of things I can find anywhere on line.
But what about the dozens of other ebook readers out there?
You've built a site to compare 3 brands of ebook readers, and promote all three of them. That's kind of like building a site to promote 3 brands of cars, and forgetting about the dozens of other ones out there.
Much of the writing is awkward, and I'm sure if I read through all of the text I'd find more errors like the ones I've already listed. Hiring a proofreader would be a good investment; as it is, it's not ready for the public.
I still haven't figured out why you demanded my name and email address. Given no valid reason for it on a ebook-promotion website, the only reason I can assume (and no, any protests to the contrary will hold no water with most visitors) that you want to sell it to spammers.
My verdict:
All hat, no cattle.