Here are some quick tips to help you get started with your review. Your best resource, of course, are other reviews we've published. Also, feel free to ask us (editor@ZATZ.com) any questions.
For authors
Here are a couple of pointers to keep in mind:
- Keep reviews objective. If you don't like something about a product, give supporting reasons. "It sucks" isn't a valid statement. But "I found it very difficult to fit my stylus in the one pixel space provided" is a valid criticism.
- As a rule, we try to give the benefit of the doubt to the developers. It's a really hard thing to make a product and most developers put their heart and soul into creating something good, even if it turns out a bit wrong-headed. So we try to be gentle. If the product out-and-out sucks, let your editor know and we'll try to decide if we want to avoid running a review, let the developer respond, or whether some other action is necessary.
- Always, when available, do screen shots and product shots. For example, when doing a review of the first color Palm device, it was critical for users to see pictures of what the device looks like and of software that runs on it.
- If you can't find product shots, contact the developer's PR agent. They usually can send some promo pictures to you. Whenever you contact a developer, be sure to cc a copy of the email to editor@zatz.com.
About our rating system
For a long time, we avoided rating products in reviews. Frankly, even for us, the reasons are clouded in the mists of history. We now encourage rating products on a 0 through 5 scale, whole numbers only. Here's how we'd recommend you classify products:
- RATING 5: A 5-out-of-5 is reserved for the very best product in its class, a product with almost no flaws or even blemishes, a product that was designed so perfectly, implemented so smoothly, supported so well, and such a pleasure to use that nothing else even comes close. This rating should be used very sparingly. If there's ever even the slightest doubt of whether a product should be rated 5, it's a 4.
- RATING 4: A rating 4 product is an exceptional product, but with a few minor flaws. It might be a product that performs well in all its areas, but lacks complete documentation. Or it might be a product that's missing one minor, but helpful feature, or has one feature designed in a way that's usable, but annoying or somewhat flawed. Use this rating for nearly perfect products.
- RATING 3: A product rated a 3 is a good, solid, well-working product, but one that cannot be considered exceptional. Everything works as promised and well, but there's quite definite room for improvement.
- RATING 2: A product rated a 2 is somewhat problematic. It might be a product that crashes from time to time, one that sometimes works, is missing important features, or is just poorly thought out. It's the sort of product a reader should buy only if the specific combination of features is explicitly needed. You can also rate a product as a 2 if the price is way out of scale to the value.
- RATING 1: A product rated a 1 is a "don't buy this product" product. It's bad. We have no idea why it's on the market, or what the developers were thinking. This is the "it sucks" rating. We would also give this product to the "we were so incredibly disappointed" products -- you know, the ones that seemed so good and in reality were so, incomprehensibly bad.
- RATING 0: A product that gets a 0 rating should not be permitted on the market and is one that should be avoided at all cost. We rarely see these products, but when we do, it's our civic duty to warn our readers about this horror. In most cases, you'll want to rate a product a 1 rather than to go this far down. Rating 0 is really reserved for what we'd consider "dangerous" products that can cause real damage to our users or their property.
If you choose to rate a product 2 or under, please be specific in the article about what brought the rating down.
Doing camera reviews and other "intense" product reviews
Here's a quick note about doing camera reviews and other "intense" product reviews:
We don't try to compete with the high-powered detailed reviews that some "lab-based" publications put out. Instead, talk about it as an owner, why you bought it (what you had to bribe your wife/girlfriend with the get away with it), what you've done with it, how you like it, how it feels to you. All the subjective stuff that really helps a reader identify with you and the product.
Then include pointers, if you can find them, for really-deep, in-depth reviews for all the details and super-meat. People really want to hear from other people, rather than just get the heavy details. We've never really had that level of review intensity here. We're very much more subjective and personable in our reviews.
For companies
If you want to get your product reviewed, be sure to read How to get your product reviewed. It'll give you all the details you need to work successfully with our editors.
If you're a company who wants to write about your own products, please read How to write an article about your own product or service.
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