How consumers get themselves into (usability) trouble

Monday, November 23, 2009

The Microsoft laptop hunter ads (inadvertently) provide a wonderful illustration of how consumers get themselves in trouble by focussing on specs and not on the user experience. In the movie above Lauren and Sue set out to buy a laptop that has "speed, portability and battery life." When looking at a Mac Lauren remarks: "This one only has a 250 GB hard drive. [...] It seems you pay a lot for the brand." And her criterion 'speed' she mainly judges by looking the specs on the card. Now, I don't want to get into a Mac vs PC fight here, but what this movie illustrates is what criteria people set when buying a product, and that usability might not be among them.

See also:

> Experienced versus expected usability

> Selling usable products: the roots of Apple's retail stores

3 reactions:

Jonathan said...: Any bets she sold the laptop on eBay for $600, added it to the cash MS gave her, and went back and bought a Mac!
Ironically she seems the kind of gal who wears brands.; 5:00 PM
nullandvoid said...: even when buying a PC laptop, different brands will give a different user experience. Even if you toss out the apple vs. win debate, User experience is very valid.

there is a big difference in the user experience between an ACER, a sony, a Lenovo or a DELL, etc...; 10:22 PM
Rich said...: I use a IBM a T model levno at work. The Design seems outdated. Who uses the red mouse pointer thing in the middle of the keyboard!; 9:25 AM