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R. Ragu

Clueless about what lies ahead.

Reviewing new products can be fun. It can also drive you round the bend, depending on the company that has sent the product.

Some think their job is over once they send the product. It is up to the reviewer to find out if there is anything new in it. Most manuals that come with the products (if at all they are readable) are useless. They just provide information about the basic functionalities of the product. Some have a basic manual, but come with an ‘e-manual’ installed in the product. But it is up to you to ‘discover’ it.

Again, the ‘e-manual’ just provides a little more detail. Mostly, it is a way to save money by not using paper.

So what does the reviewer do? He has to hunt for information (where else) on the Web. Most of the time, the company’s Web site has hardly anything informative. What happens is that if the reviewer is not careful, he may miss some really nice features in the product.

Sometime ago I got a ‘green’ desktop PC for review. I was clueless about what was really ‘green’ about it. I got an e-mail with a Powerpoint attachment that had just a few lines about some power-saving features. I am still wondering what to review in the PC.

But not all companies are lackadaisical. There are exceptions. Apple always sends a ‘Reviewer’s Guide’ through the PR agency, which walks the reviewer through the product — feature by feature. Sometimes, the PR people also explain all the features and encourage the reviewer to ask questions. They ensure the reviewer doesn’t miss any feature. No wonder, Apple’s iPhone and iPods are becoming increasingly popular. But, as I said, it is an exception.

No doubt, buyers quickly get disenchanted with the products they buy, either because the required information is missing or whatever is there, is insufficient.

R. Dinakaran

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