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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.

6 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. This isn't new by wwwgregcom · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I once got a free internal DSL modem from Efficient Networks because they were beta testing the drivers on their new internal card on linux. Very nice of them, I hear the card was expensive.

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  2. This is a great idea... by alwsn · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Having just filled out the form, this is a win win for Philips. Only 50 people will get the hardware, which costs them next to nothing.

    But when they get out of the deal is thousdands of people filling out pretty detailed information that they normally wouldn't fill out in the hopes of getting something for free.

    Good idea.

  3. Let me know by tmark · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Let me know when you all finish filling out the application. I quit when I saw that the 3rd page had what looked like at least 20-30 additional questions. Forget the beta-test, what Phillips is really looking for is a lot of data points on a a huge market research study - I'm sure they could care less about the actual beta-test itself.

    1. Re:Let me know by Naikrovek · · Score: 4, Interesting

      right, and it was that page that let you express your love for the OGG format, which is the only reason i filled out the page. i don't give a poo if i get to trial it, i just want them to know that i dig OGG and it is important to me.

  4. Releasing products when they are ready by 200_success · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Whatever happened to releasing a product when it's ready?

    Some issues, like usability, do benefit from a beta. The more morons you expose a product to, the more likely one of them will report a usability problem. Remember the "butterfly ballot" problem in Florida? A well conducted beta would have changed history.

    Beta users volunteering to test a product that isn't dangerous is a good thing.

  5. Why this works by 3ryon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    After filling out their lengthy survey (slim chance of being 1 of the 50 now that it's posted on /.) I can tell you why they do this. The "application" is basically a marketing survey. They'll get tens of thousands of these surveys completed, and it only cost them 50 devices.

    --
    Kind thoughts do not change the world