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Which Specs Deserve Your Respect?
When it comes to buying a new computer, printer, camera, HDTV, phone, tablet, or storage drive, you can safely neglect certain specs. Here are the features to ignore, the ones to consider in some contexts, and the specs you should actively seek out.
By Jason Cross, Ginny Mies, Patrick Miller, Tim Moynihan, Melissa J. Perenson, Nate Ralph, and Melissa Riofrio, PCWorld Jun 9, 2011 9:00 pm
Here in PCWorld Reviews Land, we often end up in conversations like this:
"So, what do you do for a living?"
"I review [insert product type here] for PCWorld."
"Oh, I'm looking to buy a new [insert product type here]! Which one should I get?"
There's never an easy answer to that question. Everyone's needs are different. Everyone's budget is different. And just about every week, a new gadget comes along and renders yesterday's hottest gadget obsolete--and much more affordable.
In every product category, however, you'll find certain overmarketed specs that really shouldn't mean much to most people. For that matter, many features are important in some contexts but not others, and a few specs don't get nearly enough attention.
Before you reach for your wallet and plop down cash for a bajillion-gigahertz CPU or a bajillion-megapixel pocket camera, consider the advice we dispense in this article. Category by category, here are the specs we think you can safely ignore, the specs you should consider in certain contexts, and the specs you really should seek out.
Laptops and Desktops
Printers
Cameras
HDTVs
Phones
Tablets
Storage
When it comes to buying a new computer, printer, camera, HDTV, phone, tablet, or storage drive, you can safely neglect certain specs. Here are the features to ignore, the ones to consider in some contexts, and the specs you should actively seek out.
By Jason Cross, Ginny Mies, Patrick Miller, Tim Moynihan, Melissa J. Perenson, Nate Ralph, and Melissa Riofrio, PCWorld Jun 9, 2011 9:00 pm
"So, what do you do for a living?"
"I review [insert product type here] for PCWorld."
"Oh, I'm looking to buy a new [insert product type here]! Which one should I get?"
There's never an easy answer to that question. Everyone's needs are different. Everyone's budget is different. And just about every week, a new gadget comes along and renders yesterday's hottest gadget obsolete--and much more affordable.
In every product category, however, you'll find certain overmarketed specs that really shouldn't mean much to most people. For that matter, many features are important in some contexts but not others, and a few specs don't get nearly enough attention.
Before you reach for your wallet and plop down cash for a bajillion-gigahertz CPU or a bajillion-megapixel pocket camera, consider the advice we dispense in this article. Category by category, here are the specs we think you can safely ignore, the specs you should consider in certain contexts, and the specs you really should seek out.
Laptops and Desktops
Printers
Cameras
HDTVs
Phones
Tablets
Storage
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- mainstream desktop,
- all-purpose laptop,
- inkjet printer,
- pocket megazoom camera,
- lcd hdtv,
- iphone,
- tablet pc,
- hard drives
