Understanding Product Knowledge When Purchasing a Computer :: Essays Papers

Understanding Product Knowledge When Purchasing a ComputerBuying a computer seems like a daunting working class to many. There are many factors to consider when making a purchase. Brand name, functionality, speed and customer support are just some of the factors that one must consider when researching the options. In order to wisely purchase a computer, one must attain a considerable amount of product knowledge, to get the nigh value for their dollar.Consumers have different levels of product knowledge, which they can use to interpret information and make product choices. (Peter 64) When researching computers, product knowledge could range in consumers minds from come up to less abstract thoughts about the options. Within this scope of abstract to less abstract options could be 4 sub-categories of product knowledge. These include product class, product form, steel name and the model or features.The most abstract and first of the four categories is product class. This is t he most basic of the four categories. Simply for this demonstration, the product class beingness discussed is a desktop computer or generally the product type. Now this class differs slightly from some other similar computing product classes such(prenominal) as laptop computers, mainframes and personal digital assistants (PDAs). The second of the four sub-categories is product form. The basic product form differentiation that one must make is what do you sine qua non a computer for and if you need a home-based PC or business-based PC. This would be considered identifying the product class, a home-based system versus a business based-one. The fact is that the average out home user who needs a general-purpose PC to go on the Internet and run productivity applications differs little from the average worker in an office. Indeed, the actual features in a vendors business line does not differ much from whats in the home, except at the extreme end of the spectrum, such as a non-upgradeable closed-box corporate PC versus a loaded gamers system with all the entertainment trappings that a business user would find superfluous. (MSN) If the computer is purely for business or word processing purposes and will rarely be relied upon for gaming and multi-media applications than sound and graphics components are less important because theres little need to keep up with the newest games that require the best graphics and sound components.