The reviwers conundrum

So recently entering the world of reviewing things, I have come into a problem. When looking at reviews at products, it seems like the reviewer is either too harsh or too soft on the item in discussion. Why does it seem like it is so hard to get that right balance? Jump the break to find out more.

Looking around at the reviewers that a prominent, they seem to have something that separates them from the others. Despite this, sometimes I feel as if they are just catering to a fan base rather than actually taking the product for what it is.

Full time reviewers are lucky because they are generally given the product by the company. So having a constant stream of the most cutting edge devices tends to make even the hardest of reviewers a bit jaded. When something that comes out that really impresses a reviewer, generally things that come afterwards do not impress the reviewer tend to face a harsher review. Is this a fair way to review things? It's rather hard to say, if it fails to live up to previous innovations or if its the reviewers wants and needs placed on a product.

Obviously a consumer's need is much different from a reviewers.  When a consumer goes into a store they look at what will fit their needs the best. As long as the device is solid and will last, then generally anything will be fine, usually ending up with a personal preference. This is because when a consumer goes into a store, they only have at most a few hours to actually look at a device and compare what is on the show floor. So try as they might, a consumer will never really get the full feel of a device.

This is where reviewers come in, they try and help any potential buyers become aware of what maybe benefits or drawbacks to a certain device. As mentioned earlier, this does not come without its drawbacks. For many reviewers, they tend to review a product based on all similar products. So one cell phone is compared to another cell phone, even if they are not available on the same carrier.

Personally I think a product should be mainly reviewed on how the product fairs by itself, if necessary compare it to something similar but not put a lot of emphasis on it. This is because in the long run comparing it to something else serves no purpose to the consumer since they are not going to be buying two products. Achieving this balance is what all reviewers should strive for, not for themselves but for the benefit of all those reading the reviews.