We were looking at Bluetooth headsets in a store and my wife remarked that the controls on one were a little fiddly. As is common nowadays, the headsets were all in heat sealed plastic packaging of the sort that you have to cut your way into, so it wasn't possible to touch the items inside.
It brought home to me again that one area of product evaluation that the internet can never enable  that of using the sense of touch to discern quality.

I remember as a teenager (many years ago!) putting together an audio system of separate components. I would go to the hi-fi shop where you could touch the display models. Just turning the main volume or tuning knob was enough to tell you much about a piece of kit. The viscous feel of an oil dampened knob proclaimed quality whereas a resistless turn indicated where costs had been cut.

The same was, is, and always will be true of computers. The 'clacky' keyboard and 'clicky' mouse may no longer be with us but there are still differences in quality that can only be discerned through touch.

Forgive the pun, but 'first hand' evidence is still vitally important. A year ago when we renewed our mobile phone contracts I was attracted to the Symbian based Nokia 6260 about which many users had expressed excitement and delight in their internet reviews. I took a trip into the city and asked to see a sample and realised as soon as I felt the lifeless keys and rotated the fragile plastic joint that this was a phone better seen and shown than handled and used.

I ended up with a Nokia 6600 which may be shaped like a flint used by Cro-Magnon man but has something of the same sturdiness yet with sensible, tactile keys and a tiny joystick that is responsive and a joy to use.

Retailers and showrooms provide opportunity to handle some brands and models but many are only available through on-line purchase. Third party reviews can help but my phone experience shows that user reviews on the internet cannot always be trusted since the users often have limited exposure to the full range of makes and models that are available.

Consequently, reliable, third party reviews by experienced reviewers such as those in PCW become increasingly important in the buying decision process, particularly with respect to  build quality. In a very real sense, you are our hands and fingers. So tell me... How does it feel?

McAdam