Site Information
Netbook Updates is a blog/news site dedicated to bringing the latest tech reviews, news, advice and much more about Netbooks, Nettops, and UMPCS to you, the consumer. By doing this we will provide you with the knowledge to make the right decision on your next purchase.
Page Credits
Our review rating system and pledge in this document are adapted from APH Networks' Review Focus, licensed from APH Networks and used under permission. APH Networks' Review Focus is originally drafted by Jonathan Kwan to promote distinct positive review practices with terms that are open and accessible by everyone. We are proud to incorporate this set of philosophies into Netbook Updates based off the APH Networks Review Focus terms and conditions. We are strongly affiliated with APH Networks; and contents in this document (In its current form, as well as basis of format and ideas based off the APH Networks Review Focus) may not be used, copied directly, and/or otherwise adapted to websites other than Netbook Updates without written permission from authorized individuals at APH Networks.
Our Ratings
The following shows what our rating system means and why it was chosen.
We chose a percentage scale as it seems to provide enough room for us to choose ratings that we feel a product deserves. The percentage scale will also be accompanied by awards for recommendations to innovative products.
100%: This product is perfect, there are no shortcomings whatsoever.
90%: It is near perfect, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
80%: Still a great product with minor setbacks that should not affect the reader.
70%: Good product with many positive traits to it but has certain unsubstantial flaws that should be considered
60%: Product with good attributes but has flaws that are hard to ignore.
50%: Product is average at best, flaws need to be addressed to fix the product up.
40%: Below average product with the negatives overshadowing the positive.
30%: Product with unavoidable flaws, we recommend getting a different product.
20%: Incomplete product that should not be marketed, there are some heavy flaws that need to be fixed before buying this product.
10% or below: This just does not happen but it is basically a product that has no merit and does not function as advertised.
Awards
Harmony Award: An award that is given to a product that is balanced in all areas including price, build quality, performance and style. We also believe that this product will do well in the market that it has entered into. This award can be given to any product that may or may not have certain drawbacks to it.
Deviation Award: An award that is given to any product that is different or innovative in it's intended market. This does not always apply to products with a high score, but it is based on it's uniqueness in it's sector as well as new or leading edge features implemented in the product. This includes additional software and online software or support for the product.
Optimum Award: The highest award given by Netbook Updates. Consider it as a seal of approval from us at Netbook Updates. This award is given to products that are believed to be the best in their sector or class. Only the very best products are given this award and few if any flaws can be found in these products. This award tops any other reward given and even if a product deserves more than one the Optimum Award is always given.
Pledge to Readers
As a blog/news site, we promise to the reader that we will always do things in your interests, Be it reviews, previews, perspectives or even news, we will always write for the viewers. It does not matter how much is given by a 3rd party to entice us into giving certain products, sites or even people higher than deserved ratings. It is mutually beneficial to us, to you and to the companies we work with. We believe in being true to ourselves and true to our readers.
We always take our time to see things from the consumer point of view. It wouldn't be a very good review if everything is hyper inflated would it? Unfortunately it is getting harder to find review sites with a genuine care for the consumers. Often they overlook major points that are important to the consumer such as design, price and function. It wouldn't make for a great netbook if it had atrocious battery life or a terrible keyboard. If you can't stand it, how can we? Well that's the whole point of reviews, to publicize the good and to hopefully get the companies to improve the bad. Most things would not be the way they are today without quality comments or revisions to products.
We also believe in providing the best quality content available and will not post meaningless or useless news stories not pertaining to technology. Not only that, but we will not tolerate any spammers or advertisers that disturb the quality of this site to give visitors a better experience.
Although many readers may see review samples as being "free" and as "bribes", we put as much as 15-20 hours into each review. This is a time consuming process and it is all done for the readers to provide further knowledge on new products. Truly, nothing in this world is truly free for anyone. As the saying goes, "Time is money".
If readers believe we unfairly reviewed a product or have any updates on products, feel free to contact us using the contact form at http://netbookupdates.com/contact
Pledge to 3rd Parties/Companies
If you do decide to contact us and send us review units for testing or exclusive access, we promise that we will write a reviews based on our set of beliefs. Under no circumstance will we rate a product, based on incentives. We will not base any type of weighting in the final outcome based on the company name or popularity of a company, since it does not represent the product itself. We are dedicated to our readers and will not sacrifice quality for such things.
If you receive a request for a review sample, please make sure it is from kenneth(at)netbookupdates[dot]com. (Replace (at) with @, [dot] with "." done to stop spam) We are not responsible for others posing as Netbook Updates staff for requests.
If you send us any products for testing, we will write articles based on our own opinion and will recommend products according to different aspects: including but not limited to price, value, physical appearance and performance . Previews will be given to companies before any reviews are published, with a one day notice. After one single day without a response, we may publish the article and make it public. A company may at any time request an extension to this time for changes or any other feasible reason.
Any companies that give any type of support towards Netbook Updates will have their names added to the Companies list. They may include an image for their companies and the name of the type of support including review samples here: http://netbookupdates.com/companies. Companies are also allowed to take an excerpt and/or award from our site to post on their corresponding product page or packaging without prior permission as stated in our copyright policy.
The product will also be added into our What's Next page: http://netbookupdates.com/whatsnext. This page is used to inform both the readers and the companies of the status of any articles, the location of the product and what is coming up next on Netbook Updates. Please allow up to 4 weeks for reviews as it may take that long to write and edit a review. Although, an average review will only take about a week, things happen and should be accounted for via. the What's Next page.
As soon as a product is shipped to Netbook Updates, it becomes the sole property of Netbook Updates. We unfortunately can't return review samples or other products back to the company unless we are directly told beforehand and agreed upon that we must return the product. This helps us in future comparisons as benchmarks needs to be reaccessed and available compare to the other products to give a fair weighting on each product. We may need it in the future, if the benchmark are updated with software or bios improvements that may change the performance of the device and providing fair comparisons between products.
*Note
All cross-border shipments must be marked as engineering sample with a value under $20USD. If shipments can't be marked this way, fees may be charged and it will be the responsibility of the sender to pay for such fees. This is usually not an issue but it is just a precaution to avoid such events.
We also reserve the right to retire any products to be either given away in contests or to be receded as they become obsolete or replaced by a better version or revision.
If you feel that your product was reviewed unfairly feel free to contact us here: http://netbookupdates.com/contact. Even we make mistakes so please be patient with us as we try to resolve any issues. Do not feel disappointed by lower than expected ratings. The best way to get a better rating is to take some of the suggestions into account and create a better product or new revision.
We will reply emails sent in as soon as possible. Some of our staff may choose to reply to emails at night or later on in the day. This is convenient for most companies in differing time zones. We try our best to accommodate all requests within a reasonable time frame. Sometimes we may send out a email around 10PST or later, so be ready to get a reply in a short amount of time.
--
End licensed adaptation of APH Networks' Review Focus document.
Netbook Updates Marketing
Finally this is just information for companies interested in Netbook Updates. The following will serve as our marketing kit as well as our information kit for potential sponsors or companies. If there is any missing information or if you want more information contact us at: http://netbookupdates.com/contact.
Recently we have been deploying integration with Google Analytics to track our site views and traffic information. However, we are still working on the full data so for now we are still using our Cpanel integrated Awstats until Google Analytics is fully implemented into Netbook Updates. Our site gets over 200000 hits every month with a constantly growing reader base. A record year for Netbook Updates and is always climbing each and every day in terms of readership.
Our viewer base is based in many places but most notably in North America, however we do also have a base in both Europe and Asia. Our news and blog posts apply to an international reader and allows for us to reach many more users than just focusing in one location. Our breakdown usually is about 50% of the viewers in North America and about 30% from Europe and the remaining 20% in Asia. This is very supportive of our growing base worldwide since we started with about 80% of our viewers from North America. Feel free to take a look at our stats below.
(Click on the image to see full version)
*Note*: Although this month may seem to be lower than last months results, that was due to a server maintenance work that broke the statistics on cPanel for over five whole days.
Our site is also used for third party news and articles by other sites all the time. We feel that we should share anything that we publish as long as they give credit. Regardless, our site overall has a pretty big base and is growing every month. We have written many articles including our Perspective articles here: http://netbookupdates.com/perspective
The only reviewer right now is currently me, Kenneth Kwok, I am also a reviewer and a Technology News Director at APH Networks. You can see more about me here under shc-boomer: http://aphnetworks.com/behind_the_scenes I also have experience in the technology sector from reviews to building computers to programming software. This extensive knowledge allows for a better technical understanding as well as a consumer point of view of modern technology from Netbooks to Nettops.
Some of my past works include:
-hField Wi-Fire Review @ Netbook Updates
-Choiix Mini Air-Through Review @ Netbook Updates
-Nanovision Mimo 2G UM-720S Review @ Netbook Updates
-Gingle UP-04 4G Review @ Netbook Updates
-Mintpass Mintpad Perspective @ Netbook Updates
-Asus Eee PC 1005HA Perspective @ Netbook Updates
-HP Mini 1000 Perspective @ Netbook Updates
-Sylvania g Netbook Meso Perspective @ Netbook Updates
-NZXT Panzerbox Review @ APH Networks
-Thermaltake TMG IA1 @ APH Networks
-Cooler Master Silent Pro M 1000W Report @ APH Networks
-NZXT Beta Review @ APH Networks
-Thermaltake Litepower 450W Report @ APH Networks
-Thermaltake Spedo Advance Package Review @ APH Networks
-VidaBox Premium Wireless HTPC Media Center Keyboard Review @ APH Networks
-iStarUSA T5F-SS Review @ APH Networks
-iStarUSA xAGE-N99-SAU Review @ APH Networks
-Vizo Propeller II Review @ APH Networks
-Eagle Consus I-Series ET-CSIU2J-BK Review @ APH Networks
-Thermal Paste Roundup August 2008 Report @ APH Networks
-Acronis True Image Echo Workstation Report @ APH Networks
As a reviewer, I myself believe in a fair opportunity for all products, even if I were to have never heard of the brand. I will always give a chance and always look for ways to improve the products themselves. There may be times when we do not recommend a product based on the features or the physical build or size, but we will always give ideas to improve the products. There is no point in just complaining with no idea how to fix something. It is always better for us to help consumers by making suggestions for the improvement of future products. We will attempt to take the most unbiased view possible which in turn should provide the best review experience possible for the companies and consumers.
Each review will include as many images as needed in order to provide a proper view of the product. Our photos will be taken in the best quality in order to provide the best view of all the products that come by. A grade will also be awarded at the end with a summary highlighting all the positives and negatives of a product. Any products that are reviewed will be added to the Companies page here: http://netbookupdates.com/companies. Images may also be included if there is a logo that the company wants added.
Overall we offer a great view of products for the public and believe that a review from Netbook Updates will boost sales as well as improve company relations between reviewers and companies. We will try our best to accommodate all reviews and will get them finished in the highest quality in the fastest time possible. We provide these reviews in the best interest of consumers and the manufacturers to further improve the field of technology that is available today and towards the new products of the future.
Are you a company who wants their product(s) reviewed? Want to help support us in future events? Feel free to shoot us a email here: http://netbookupdates.com/contact
Copyright Policy
Notice to readers: The following is a legal and binding contract to all readers and viewers of this page. By accessing Netbook Updates including all and any part of this site (this includes all folders, subdomains or properties held by Netbook Updates), you agree to the following policies.
From this point forward the "viewer" or "user" will be used repeatedly as anyone accessing out site. "Us" means Netbook Updates and all things that are under the property or holdings of Netbook Updates.
1. Any content on this site may be downloaded or archived for single use purposes including non-profit or for your own viewing pleasure. You must however, give credit to Netbook Updates when using our material. If you use any material for commercial purposes, you must have written permission from Netbook Updates to do so.
2. Nothing on Netbook Updates may be reproduced, altered or changed without explicit written permission from Netbook Updates. This includes images, logos, articles and all things within Netbook Updates. This is not only limited to digital content but also to physical content that may exist from Netbook Updates. You may not use our content for personal gain or even worse attempt to sell out rightful property from IP to physical property.
3. You may however aggregate our feeds with permission from Netbook Updates. Articles may be previewed provided permission was given by Netbook Updates. However some of our content may be copied for use for companies such as our reviews or perspectives. These can be taken without permission as it is fine to take our award pictures or conclusions for use in product advertising and/or reviews.
4. You must not use the Netbook Updates name interacting with any individuals, companies or other organizations without explicit written permission from Kenneth Kwok, the owner of Netbook Updates. This includes but is not limited to getting free stuff, sending in requests, spamming other websites.
5. This agreement can be changed anytime by Netbook Updates and can be done so without the consent of the end user. Reading this agreement is the sole responsibility of the user and Netbook Updates should not be held responsible for the breaking of the Privacy Policy or Copyright Policy
This agreement is broken when any of the terms above our broken by the end user. If the following is done, we may have to take legal action against you in order to protect our viewers and our own IP.
Privacy Policy
1. The only required information that we collect is your email when you sign up for our feed or through our site contact form or in other ways. This is only taken for archiving purposes and we will not SPAM you in any way, shape or form.
2. IP addresses are also automatically collected on viewing the site and is used only for tracking trends and we will not share your information with others.
3. Cookies are used on this site to keep content up to date and to keep you logged in or updated as well. Cookies can be deleted at any time and are not intended to invade your privacy.
4. Your information is held for safe keeping in our databases that are only accessed by Netbook Updates administrators and will not be shared for other purposes.
5. By accessing out site you agree to both our Privacy and Copyright Policy as written above. It may be changed at any time without the notice of the end user.
If you have any further questions or comments feel free to contact us using our contact form.
--
Copyright and Privacy Policy, an authorized adaptation from APH Networks' Copyright and Privacy Policy document.