“For several years, I have written at great length about the problems that arise when Consumer Reports tackles tech gear,” Gene Steinberg writes for TechNightOwl. “When it comes to such personal tech gear as smartphones, tablets, and particularly personal computers, CR falls down on the job. “Way down.”
Steinberg writes, “A notable example is the curious way in which they handled the alleged ‘Antennagate’ scandal, involving the original iPhone 4 and the possibility that you could kill reception with what became known as a “death grip.” Despite all the visual evidence that a similar phenomenon could be easily duplicated on other phones when held in somewhat different ways, CR decided that only the iPhone 4 was at fault and, despite getting the highest numeric rating in a smartphone feature, still wouldn’t recommend the product. CR was even oblivious to manufacturer warning labels and printed documentation that also cautioned against holding their mobile handsets the wrong way.”
“When CR reviews personal computers, it’s not at all clear how closely they try to match the various specs, or whether the basics, such as display size, hard drive capacity, and memory, are sufficient for them to put products in the same overall category. Although CR is aware of the existence of Mac OS X and Windows as separate, distinct platforms, they do not actually compare the two in any meaningful way, so you can decide whether to go Apple or with one of the Windows PC models,” Steinberg writes. “Now what’s unfortunate about all this is that CR seems tone deaf to the problems with their reviews. They aren’t asked the hard questions by a fawning media, and thus have nothing to explain. But with all the resources at their disposal, they should do a better job than anyone. Too bad they haven’t figured that out.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we’ve been saying for many years, Consumer Reports is a garbage publication. If you subscribe to Consumer Reports, stop wasting your money and cancel your subscription immediately. Nobody should read it for anything to do with tech and, if they make such blatantly obvious mistakes in their testing methodology with tech, it should make you wonder just how badly they’re failing at rating vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and toasters, too.
Related articles:
Consumer Reports hops off free PR gravy train, officially recommends Apple iPhone 4S – November 8, 2011
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Consumer Reports was wrong on Verizon iPhone 4; so-called ‘death grip’ fixed by Apple – March 2, 2011
Consumer Reports: Verizon iPhone 4 has antenna ‘problem’; not recommended – February 25, 2011
Consumer Reports continues laughable vendetta against iPhone 4 – January 14, 2011
Android sweeps Consumer Reports’ rankings as iPhone 4 is omitted – November 17, 2010
All of Consumer Reports’ ‘recommended’ smartphones suffer attenuation when held – July 19, 2010
Consumer Reports: Apple’s free Bumper case does not earn iPhone 4 our recommendation – July 16, 2010
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Consumer Reports continues harping on iPhone 4 attenuation issue – July 14, 2010
Electromagnetic engineer: Consumer Reports’ iPhone 4 study flawed – July 13, 2010
The Consumer Reports – Apple iPhone 4 fiasco – July 13, 2010
Consumer Reports: Oh yeah, almost forgot, Apple iPhone 4 is also the best smartphone on the market – July 12, 2010
Consumer Reports: We cannot recommend Apple iPhone 4 – July 12, 2010
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Consumer Reports: AT&T dead last in service survey; 98% of iPhone users would buy iPhone again – December 01, 2009
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Consumer Reports dubiously finds 20-percent of Mac users ‘detected’ virus in last two years -UPDATED – August 10, 2005
Consumer Rep… Who? Wait, I think my grandpa used to….
I subscribe, and I like their ratings for everything but tech. I agree, they are flawed and very much meaningless.
If they can’t get tech right, doesn’t that make you question their methodology on everything else?
Now that’s a big leap of faulty logic, bjb. CR’s reviews of paints, stains, hand tools, power tools, ladders, etc. have been useful to me over the years. To a somewhat lesser extent, I also utilize CR’s reviews of home appliances – particularly for reliability ratings. I also appreciate the data that CR regularly provides on cars and trucks – reliability, ratings, etc.
But I decided a long time ago that CR did a poor job with computers and various other forms of consumer electronics. Since I apparently know a lot more about Apple products than the CR staff, I just ignore those reports. I am not going to buy a Wintel PC or a Samsung phone, regardless of their ratings.
I missed the memo that stated use is replaced by an inane utilize.
So, we are to utilize utilize rather than utilize use? See how stupid that sounds. You do not sound smarter utilizing utilize rather than use, you sound uneducated, a rather pompous person.
+1
It’s entirely possible their methodology works just fine for strictly hardware products, but falls flat on it face when it comes to anything with software. In fact, it sounds like they don’t even consider software as a factor at all:
Although CR is aware of the existence of Mac OS X and Windows as separate, distinct platforms, they do not actually compare the two in any meaningful way
This seems like a logical outgrowth of a hardware-exclusive methodology which sees software as a non-factor. Which is why they’d fixate on a hardware-related issue such as the iPhone antenna.
I cancelled my subscription after antenna-gate, though they were helpful in the past for choosing appliances.
They’ve always sucked with technology, from VCR’s to computers to washing machines. I have a nightmarish GE front-loader they rated no. 1- not a lemon, I should’ve read users’ comments first. I’ll look into some of their ratings, but areas in which I’m most knowledgeable- Apple, coffee, food- NOT MY FATHER’S CR! They lose more credibility as time goes on. And they don’t have a clue about software, particularly Mac OS.
They get all red stars from me for arrogance.
Yup, toilet paper, house paint, and possibly pet food. Their tech and automotive reviews are laughable.
Consumer Reports is more full of crap than Gene Steinberg. And that’s saying a lot.
Sorry but CR does a lousy job with appliances. I bought a Kenmore Dishwasher based on their recommendation. Its drying and heating element on the bottom burned through the bottom of the dishwasher (which was plastic), and leaked through the wall for weeks, causing $8,000 in damage to a finished basement below. I cancelled my subscription . . . and their auto suggestions suck too.
I like Consumer Reports for paint, vacuum cleaners, and the like, but I always tell people, “if it requires tech support, CR doesn’t get it.”
I agree … Consumer Reports is a garbage publication !!! I am a former subscriber !
CR is the equivalent of stopping while driving and asking directions. REAL MEN don’t do it.
I subscribed to CR in 2002 when I moved from Switzerland to the US. I noticed pretty fast that the CR testing was not really profound and cancelled my subscription after one year. CR was probably good in the fifties.
CR is great to help you chose garbage bags and laundry soap… Nothing else.
Subscribed for a year to learn that 🙂
Tom
Toasters and washing machines? How about cars! Mainstream consumers have been relying on Consumer Reports for car-buying advice for decades without ever questioning the reliability of CR’s conclusions. I think Consumer Reports should stick to testing pencils. I’m fairly sure they can handle that assignment.
All I can say about CR is that when I was a kid my parents had a small appliance store and the stuff we brought home and kept was never the highest rated in cr, and when we did bring home the high rated stuff they never lasted long—broke, didn’t work well, etc.
CR is so passé. Google the name of anything you want
to buy. You’ll get ratings, reviews, comparisons, etc.
by the hundreds if not thousands. Much better !!!
Auto ratings? just as ridiculous as tech ratings.
I was around when Audi was almost destroyed by a few arrogant kids at CR.
I was no fan of Audi, but I was in the auto business at the manufacturer level, (not Audi, but a definite well known competitor) and what these kids “found” could never be verified in a statistically meaningful way. That was a lynching.
And the tragic part of the whole thing is: often when detractors cannot provide verifiable evidence of a serious, real problem traced to the car itself, that fact in and of itself somehow becomes proof of an even bigger conspiracy!
Congratulations Audi, you survived the attempted lynching. I might even buy one of your cars, although I still prefer the manufacturer that I worked for at the time of the “incident’)
CR was humiliated by it all, and sometimes, humiliation is required to complete your education, especially if it is self-inflicted.
Wasn’t it TV’s “60 Minutes” that “tested” the Audi 5000 and attempted to lynch them? I still have an old Car and Driver magazine in which Don Sherman and Csaba Csere expertly debunk every attempt at finding a fault with the car.
I remember the Car and Driver issue too, and remember the 60 Minutes broad cast well. I remember a massive amount of “piling on” over the problem, but it is very possible that I remember CR’s part in it incorrectly. If so, they have my apology on that…..but not other things.
I stopped reading them about 15 years ago. Too many bad rec.’s in the non-tech area. I swore they were getting kick backs.
Despite the derisive comments here, CR has an unmatched reputation in many fields, cars being one. (The Audi A6 just got top honors in their Nov. ‘shootout’ btw.) They simply drive the cars and rate them next to other cars. It’s not any more complex than that. Motoring journalists are more concerned that they rate cars well, otherwise the manufacturers will be less inclined to give them free test cars in the future. The only exception to this rule is Top Gear, for obvious reasons.
As well as this, there is only one source that I can think of for unbiased real-world reliability ratings of just about every car sold in the US.
Also, Apple products consistently get high marks from CR and the removal of their ‘recommended’ status for the iPhone 4 did absolutely nothing to its sales.
Even though the 4s is back in CR’s good graces it offends Mac fans that it is not the top pick. But in the real world normal people don’t think like us. In the real world a bigger screen and 4G is a Good Thing and I personally can’t wait for the 5 to get both.
CR is clueless and regarding tech remains increasingly irrelevant. Sad.