When I go online to look at reviews for products, I look at what it is capable of doing. I noticed that some products have biased reviews. This is not a good thing.
We often look at reviews to determine if a product is worth buying. Trusting the person writing the review. Unfortunately, this seems to be quickly becoming a marketing tool for the product manufacturers. Hiring people to write positive reviews on various websites.
As for me, I am not a product reviewer. I do purchase various products with the intent to document everything that I learn about them. My goal is to ensure that anyone purchasing an item will know what to expect when they read about it on my site. I will give my honest opinion about every product I use. Furthermore, I will also document any workarounds to various problems that one may face.
To answer the question of do I have a preference? Yes, I do. When it comes to various products, I always choose name brand products. Names such as Zenith, Sony, Viewsonic, Coolermaster, etc. These names are either well known, or seen in various advertisements. Although, I do purchase cheap, generic products also.
Which path I will chose depends on what the product is and the price. If the price is too high, I will often look for a generic alternative, but I have purchased expensive products just because I don’t want to be hassled with buying another when the generic and/or cheaper alternative does not meet my expectations.
In conclusion, many online reviews are no longer a person’s honest opinion. They are an advertising avenue.
In depth look into product reviews posted online can be seen at http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/blog/2009/12/can-you-trust-online-product-reviews.html