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Public Hardware Beta Tests

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the first-one-is-free dept.

orangerobot writes "Commercial software companies have performed public beta tests of their products for quite some time but more recently Philips Electronics has started holding public betas of new consumer hardware gadgets. A few months ago it was the Streamium MC-i250, and now it's their iPod clone the HDD-100. Public hardware betas seem like a great way to do a bit of marketing and user testing at the same time maybe more companies will pick up the same idea." This seems like a great idea for a company wanting to collect usability data on their interfaces, so that the release version can be tweaked.

3 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. There go my chances. by Lenbok · · Score: 5, Funny

    Gee thanks! I had signed up for the beta test and
    now I've got the entire slashdot crowd applying --
    there go my odds of getting one...

  2. Re:Yeah... by Drishmung · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hey, Alfa Romeo hasn't even made it as far as Beta yet, and it's a pretty fair car...

    --
    Protoplasm. Quiet Protoplasm. I like quiet protoplasm.
  3. Things you DONT want to beta test by chunkwhite86 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Top things that you DONT want to beta test.

    1. Parachutes.

    2. Invasive surgical procedures.

    3. Seat Belts.

    4. Condoms. (Whoops, it broke. Now was that a Yes or a No to my "Do you have herpes" question?)

    5. Pot Holders (So, on a scale of 1 to 5, how badly would you say you were scalded?)

    --
    I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.