NbC: What would you change?
June 29, 2010 at 8:32 am
By now most of you have probably heard that Netbook Choice is entering a period of hibernation, whilst it considers other projects. We may resurrect the site at some point in the future, but it’s all unknown for now.
We wanted to take this opportunity to ask our readers a few questions and we would like you to be brutally honest in your feedback. We basically wanted to know the following:
– What did you like about the site and what wasn’t up to scratch?
– If you ran Netbook Choice what would you change?
– Would you have liked to see more/less news, features, and reviews. Which one of these was important to you?
– What was your opinion on the design of the site, would it have worked better in a blog format?
Any feedback at all would be much appreciated. If you’re not comfortable with replying in the comments section then please contact us directly through this link. Many thanks!
June 29th, 2010 9:34 AM
I enjoy reading netbook reviews so I could find out more about which netbook to get. Although, reviews on NbC weren’t really thorough enough to be satisfying. It lacked a “pros and cons”.
The design of the website is fine the way it is. Separating reviews from news is a definite plus. Blogs would make it harder to navigate because everything is crammed together.
June 29th, 2010 10:13 AM
Thanks for the comments Issen. I hope you didn’t feel that our own NbC reviews weren’t thorough enough as we felt they were quite detailed. The only problem is that it’s difficult to write lengthy reviews like that for every netbook around.
You’re right about the the reviews listed in the ‘Reviews’ category, which were more meant to highlight which websites had reviewed that model rather than a full synposis. It’s interesting that’s what you valued though and is certainly something we can look at next time round!
June 29th, 2010 2:11 PM
* I thought your reviews were perfect and/or neatly compiled.
* The design and layout was easy on the eye, scroll ‘n’ click buttons of my mouse and ‘cool’ to surf through. I like the fact that ads are non-intrusive and don’t choke the site. Forums were fun! Your format is better than the blog format.
* Live news feedback with photos would be welcome – like the opening of BestBuy Store in Thurrock could have been covered by NbC. A quick video perhaps. Some outdoor stuff , yea 😉 You may wanna think of an occasional visit outside UK too.
* Interviews with Manufacturers may have that much more importance. You can call ’em trend-spotting interviews.
* This may sound silly BUT try to consider MID Tablet Smartphones (smaller alter egos of netbooks capable of making/receiving calls) as a category to be covered alongside the main netbook category. Am referring to the Android-isque 4 inches+ screen size ones that would soon flood the markets – these almost emulate netbooks – they are not the same but technology rendering seems to suggest they are not that different, notwithstanding the utility and size ofcourse. Case in point: Dell Streak, Motorola Droid X, HTC Evo4. No need to cover this in detail but a hub for this category may find takers too and could add that extra zing to the main site. This way you’ll cover more readers.
* Readers Polls to seek user opinions always create a sense of interactivity with the readers, so this would be nice. The contests with free give-aways was enjoyable.
* So, take a break, enjoy your holidays and come back soon 🙂
June 29th, 2010 3:40 PM
Many thanks for that extensive list Bob! Some very good suggestions there. We will definitely be looking at a wider range of products in the future as in all honesty there isn’t that much innovation in the netbook space right now.
We didn’t really want to cover those MID products here as it didn’t seem to fit in well with the site’s name!
June 29th, 2010 4:48 PM
My pleasure. I think its a great idea to cover as many products/gadgets as possible. Look forward to Round Two 🙂
June 29th, 2010 6:53 PM
I think the ultimate drawback to the idea and eventual downfall was it was sole based on around netbook/tablets, and with the lack of events in it, it was fighting to keep going.
Having said that, If the audience was more broader, Example; technology as a whole and more community based, perhaps it could be more sustainable.
Example Model Idea
Site based round a whole genre (Technology), viewers can upload their own reviews, whether text or video subject to approval, deliver news, etc
News format on here was great, real easy to use..Perhaps from a forum side maybe full intergration would have helped?..Something like VBPortal?
June 29th, 2010 9:41 PM
Cheers Spencer – the news on one sole niche subject was always going to be difficult when things slowed. We appreciate your feedback. 🙂
July 8th, 2010 3:08 AM
Only one comment no to the blog idea…some may love it. I dont. I prefer a tradition layout like you so gratefully displayed all this time.
December 8th, 2010 12:10 PM
Heyyy, When I saw your site link in a website, and attended its domain name, I got really interesting of what a useful site I found for achieving information about netbooks and getting hot news about them, that can help me in pre-puchasing investigation. You know, like what http://www.gsmarena.com does for cell phones. But I see that you have stopped your site 5 month ago. Why are you disappointed, man? Your site has a good idea but a hard work it needs to be updated.
Well, if you still believe your goal, lets get it done! You can get many ideas from GSMarena about the features that your site can have, such as ‘advance search’ that made GSMArena that famous. And I thing design is important, but what makes your site useful is functionality.
With Lucks
December 28th, 2010 11:08 PM
Hi
I’m so sorry to hear about NbC hibernation… It was for me first site with reliable informations about netbooks that I subscribe.
If I ran NbC firstly I would change layout. Now it is… too blue 😉 And nothing more. Everything excluding layout is perfect for me.
December 28th, 2011 5:37 PM
I ONLY GOT TO YOUR SITE ONCE, LOOKING FOR LG X300, AND CAN NOT TELL U VERY MUCH. IT LOOKED OK TO ME. I HOPE U COME BACK.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2012!