Review Feedback

[Jason Dunn]

We've had our review team active for a couple of months now, and as near as I can tell, we've become one of the more prolific Pocket PC review sites, publishing three or four reviews a week, and more if you include the columns. I've been pleased with the quality of the reviews I've seen, but I'd like to know what you think. How are we doing with the reviews? What can we improve? Is there a certain type of information that we're consistently missing in our reviews? Are there certain types of products you'd like to see reviewed?<br /><br />Honest, but polite, feedback is welcome! :way to go:

[lurch]

I have enjoyed that the reviews cover items that I, a modest buyer (that is, I don't go buy the first thing, even if I need it or not), would buy.

I enjoy reviews over items like in-car holders, cameras, and useful software!

And if you're looking for advice for the future, I'd say just keep it on that track (for me personally anyway). I don't need to read about what some software that solves one very obscure purpose does...
and you've been great at not doing that! :)
Thanks!

[rlobrecht]

I think everyone is doing great. I don't usually even notice when its one of the new guys, their work is of such high quality.

Keep it coming.

[lurch]

Oh also, I'd like to see some reviews of Pocket PCs themselves, not necessarily just accessories or software, etc..

[Fattizzi]

I think the whole site is great. One thing I would like to see is a direct link to all the reviews, seperated in categories.

I know I like to go back to reviews and read them a few months later or compare something new to something old.

[bdegroodt]

Good jobs all the way around.

Maybe a "Rate this review" selection at the end of the document where we can rate the review on a scale of 1-5 or a scale of "I was going to buy this product, but now I won't" to "I wasn't going to buy this product, but now I will"

[Tom W.M.]

Maybe a "Rate this review" selection at the end of the document where we can rate the review on a scale of 1-5 or a scale of "I was going to buy this product, but now I won't" to "I wasn't going to buy this product, but now I will"
I like that idea... but I have a feeling that everybody would just give all of the reviews 5 stars all of the time! :D

[Jason Dunn]

Oh also, I'd like to see some reviews of Pocket PCs themselves, not necessarily just accessories or software, etc..

Good suggestion, and I think you'll see that in the next...while. :D

[bdegroodt]

Maybe a "Rate this review" selection at the end of the document where we can rate the review on a scale of 1-5 or a scale of "I was going to buy this product, but now I won't" to "I wasn't going to buy this product, but now I will"
I like that idea... but I have a feeling that everybody would just give all of the reviews 5 stars all of the time! :D

Maybe. Maybe not. I've seen a couple of reviews that I wouldn't rate as 5, but I'm sure not going to name names here. :D

[PeterLake]

The reviews are excellant. If you're soliciting suggestions, however, I suggest:

1. A consistent icon on the home page when the posting is a review of a product. For example, I had no idea that the CF camera article today (IA Style CompactFlash Camera: Only for the Patient?) was a review until I looked at the reviews page to provide feedback. I thought it was just another hardware announcement.

2. Categorization of reviews on the review page (graphics software, utilities, etc.).

3. An overall rating (0 to 5 stars) that can be seen on the review page.

4. Posting the reviewer's conclusion/synopsis on the home page.

5. Providing a link to your affiliate in the review if they sell the product so if we like the product, you can get compensated. (I doubt that the financial incentive will be so great that PocketPCThoughts will turn into a puff peice for hw/sw sellers.)

[Brad Adrian]

Maybe a "Rate this review" selection at the end of the document where we can rate the review on a scale of 1-5 or a scale of "I was going to buy this product, but now I won't" to "I wasn't going to buy this product, but now I will"
Even though we often like the products we are reviewing, the reviews aren't always glowing and positive, and aren't always meant to convince people to buy the product. Maybe a better scale would be one in which one means "This review did not help me at all with my decision about whether or not to buy this product" and five means "This review definitely helped me with my decision..."

[Gamma Ray]

Jason, I would say you guys are tops. I have one point that may not even be relevent depending on your view of what your site provides.

Your site is a PPC "news and views" site with chat capability for people to comment on what your editors post. Although other sites have the same structure there is no question that you are the leader in this area. The problem is that this structure works against your READERS' contributing through discussion on topics THEY originate. That is why ultimately you wind up reporting on other communities work when it comes to cutting edge developments like work-arounds and discovery. Because of this I find myself scanning the chat areas of inferior sites once a day even though those sites have long ceased being a center for PPC heavyweights and are NOT PPC friendly.

A good for-instance is if I find a new product or have a problem, I automatically go to another site's chat area with it, because I know that someone will respond in a matter of minutes. On the other hand, I don't even bother reading those sites' home pages any more - that is a waste of time. Maybe you can't have both a news gateway AND community contributions, but if you could find a way to incorporate easier user participation this would be the ultimate killer PPC site. BTW - talking about easier user participation, it is almost impossible to register at this site! Registration is buried on the left side under SUBSCRIBE. Even doing a SEARCH for "Registration" turns up a FAQ that explains what it is but not how to do it. Who would ever dream that your Subscribe button actually covers registration?

[Jason Dunn]

Thanks for your feedback Peter! My comments below...

1. A consistent icon on the home page when the posting is a review of a product. For example, I had no idea that the CF camera article today (IA Style CompactFlash Camera: Only for the Patient?) was a review until I looked at the reviews page to provide feedback. I thought it was just another hardware announcement.

2. Categorization of reviews on the review page (graphics software, utilities, etc.).

3. An overall rating (0 to 5 stars) that can be seen on the review page.

4. Posting the reviewer's conclusion/synopsis on the home page.

5. Providing a link to your affiliate in the review if they sell the product so if we like the product, you can get compensated. (I doubt that the financial incentive will be so great that PocketPCThoughts will turn into a puff peice for hw/sw sellers.)

1) The left zone is exclusively for reviews, and the graphics all say "FEATURED REVIEW" on them. The right zone is for a sponsored article (advertisement) when I have one, and it also says "SPONSORED ARTICLE". When I don't have a customer for that zone, it gets a few featured articles in rotation. I'm surprised that you didn't realize these were reviews, because it means I'm not being obvious enough about it. :-) I'm open to ideas on how I could make it more obvious.

2) Great suggestion! I agree completely.

3) Another good suggestion that others have also asked for. I'll see what we can do!

4) We sort of do that now - the introduction they write should be a short summary of the review, a sort of teaser to make you want to check out the full review. Every time you see a review graphic in the upper left, it means that the actual review post was made on the front page sometime in the past 72 hours.

5) We do that now. :wink: If it's an affiliate link, we put [Affiliate] after the link in the WHERE TO BUY section. Did you miss this, or do we need to make it more obvious?

Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts!

[Abba Zabba]

Oh also, I'd like to see some reviews of Pocket PCs themselves, not necessarily just accessories or software, etc..

Definately...we need more reviews of the hardware side of things not just software.

But all in all I think that they're doing an excellent job taking their time out to help us their fellow ppc fans out :lol:

[Abba Zabba]

I think Brad has a great idea about not rating the context of the article or how well it is written but if it helped in your decision to purchase or not purchase a product :)

[Pony99CA]

How about a C|Net-like set of review critera (Usability, Features, Value, etc.). Each of those would be rated separately, with an overall rating at the end. For products that score highly, you could even have a "Pocket PC Thoughts Choice Award" (which might bring you more sponsors :-)).

Also, I like the suggestion of Amazon-like review ratings others have suggested. I might extend that by having multiple criteria to rate reviews on, too -- usefulness, style, comprehensiveness, etc.

Steve

[dh]

I have to say, I find the reviews to be of very good quality and they have certainly helped me decide whether to buy or not buy certain products. Since everyone is using the same template the style is consistant as well.

A couple of the guys write so well, I read their reviews even if it's for a product I have no interest in.

A few comments I would make are:

- There could be more reviews, more hardware ones as others have suggested. I would like to see new PPCs reviewd as they come on the market.

- A rating system would be really good.

- I read a lot of car magazines and really like the comparism road tests. Maybe something like that could be done here - SD card contest, PIM shootout etc. Maybe go so far (shock horror) as to compare PPCs to Palm or Linux models.

- The reviews (and the site) could be more PPC friendly. I know you are working on it, just like to remind you every now and again. :D

All in all, no complaints at all.

[Jason Dunn]

There could be more reviews, more hardware ones as others have suggested. I would like to see new PPCs reviewd as they come on the market.

Here's the reason why that doesn't happen: unless I can get advance review unit from a vendor, I'm not interested in reviewing it. Some sites go out and buy the units themselves, but I don't have the finances to do that. I'm also not keen on the idea of publishing a review two weeks after everyone else has, even if we can get a review unit on loan.

What do you think? Is it important for us to have the first review of Pocket PCs here, or if we're a few weeks behind other sites, is that ok?

Unfortunately, much of this hangs on the PR firms - most of them don't understand that Pocket PC Thoughts is perhaps one site that should get a review unit. :wink: They're still very focused on traditional "big media" and tend to ignore the enthusiast sites. They don't quite "get it". :|

[bdegroodt]

Unfortunately, much of this hangs on the PR firms - most of them don't understand that Pocket PC Thoughts is perhaps one site that should get a review unit. :wink: They're still very focused on traditional "big media" and tend to ignore the enthusiast sites. They don't quite "get it". :|

Who do I need to call to help them "get it" faster? :twisted:

[dh]

What do you think? Is it important for us to have the first review of Pocket PCs here, or if we're a few weeks behind other sites, is that ok?

Actually I probably should not have suggested review PPCs as soon as they are released. Some of the better reviews are written after the reviewer has been using the device for a few weeks. Much more useful than a quicky review trying to be first.

This way we can get feedback from someone who knows the device well and has experienced living with it for a while.

Reviews of new devices done too quickly often seem to look like the manufacturer's PR releases. Maybe that's why the marketing groups make sure the big media groups get review units first.

[Pony99CA]

There could be more reviews, more hardware ones as others have suggested. I would like to see new PPCs reviewd as they come on the market.
Here's the reason why that doesn't happen: unless I can get advance review unit from a vendor, I'm not interested in reviewing it. Some sites go out and buy the units themselves, but I don't have the finances to do that. I'm also not keen on the idea of publishing a review two weeks after everyone else has, even if we can get a review unit on loan.

I'm confused, then. Why is it acceptable to review software months after it has been out, but not Pocket PCs themselves?

I think an initial review is great -- to get information about new functions and any surprises. But, as another poster said, a review after a long time gives an idea of how it is to actually live with the device; things like battery life and feel with be discussed more than individual features.

If you want a quick review, ask your reviewers if any of them are planning on buying the device, and, if they are, ask if they'll write a review.

Steve

[Jonathon Watkins]

What do you think? Is it important for us to have the first review of Pocket PCs here, or if we're a few weeks behind other sites, is that ok?

I'd rather see it reviewed here 'late' than not at all. Most people don't buy a new PPC as soon as it comes out anyway. Waiting a few weeks means that the initial bugs will have been ironed out.

I would really like PPC reviews from PPCThoughts – at any time.

[thenikjones]

[quote="Jason Dunn"][quote="dh"]

What do you think? Is it important for us to have the first review of Pocket PCs here, or if we're a few weeks behind other sites, is that ok?

quote]

I'm happy to wait a few weeks for a good review. I've never bought a device the moment it appeared, and I'd still go read the review at the-gadgeteer.com anyway, as I think they do good reviews. I've just read their review of the J720 as I'm getting one 2nd hand - for new devices, I'd say it doesn't matter if the review is "late", so long as it's good quality (the ones here are!)

[Jason Dunn]

Ok, thanks guys, we'll do PPC reviews, no matter how late in the game we get the devices. :-)

[Jonathon Watkins]

Good, good. :mrgreen: The PPCT takeover of the world is on course. :twisted:

Looking forward to the reviews. 8)

[PeterLake]

Jason -

I just read your questions to me now.

Thanks for your feedback Peter! My comments below...


1) The left zone is exclusively for reviews, and the graphics all say "FEATURED REVIEW" on them. The right zone is for a sponsored article (advertisement) when I have one, and it also says "SPONSORED ARTICLE". When I don't have a customer for that zone, it gets a few featured articles in rotation. I'm surprised that you didn't realize these were reviews, because it means I'm not being obvious enough about it. :-) I'm open to ideas on how I could make it more obvious.

2) Great suggestion! I agree completely.

3) Another good suggestion that others have also asked for. I'll see what we can do!

4) We sort of do that now - the introduction they write should be a short summary of the review, a sort of teaser to make you want to check out the full review. Every time you see a review graphic in the upper left, it means that the actual review post was made on the front page sometime in the past 72 hours.

5) We do that now. :wink: If it's an affiliate link, we put [Affiliate] after the link in the WHERE TO BUY section. Did you miss this, or do we need to make it more obvious?

Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts!

1 & 5. I guess I wasn't keeping my eyes open. If I don't see it the next time, I'll let you know.

4. The teasers would cause me to read more if I knew that you liked the product. I'm not interested in reading an entire review on a so-so product.

Best,

[stitics]

This is probably a little bit too little, a little bit too late, but this is what I think about this site posting reviews on just about anything, just about anytime.

I am aware of a couple of other Pocket PC/PDA sites out there, but I am sure not nearly as many as most of your more vocal readers. This is the site that I go to for PDA (specifically Pocket PC) news.

I am not one of these people who can afford to go out and buy the latest gadget whenever the mood strikes me, so what is said on the sites affects what I might buy a great deal.

The most important separation between this and other sites, in my opinion, occurs here:

A lot of the people who visit this site are loyal and dedicated visitors, and I consider myself one of them. I have lurked here for a while, occasionally putting in my 2 cents, but mostly keeping quiet, reading, and learning. After doing that for a while, one gets a sense of what certain people might like or not like in a product. A sense of what are the "turn-ons" and "turn-offs" of the reviewer.

So, even if a product is getting reviewed MONTHS behind other sites (though, I am not suggesting this should be common practice), they are more meaningful, because the reader has a clue where the reviewer is coming from, what they want, what they do NOT want, what they like, and what they don't like. It's kind of a built in "read between the lines."

Hopefully that was somewhat clear and didn't just confuse people.

[Jason Dunn]

This is probably a little bit too little, a little bit too late, but this is what I think about this site posting reviews on just about anything, just about anytime.

I appreciate your feedback a great deal! I monitor every thread I've ever posted to, so it's never "too late". :D