Numbers Sell

In my column of December 17, I wrote (among other things) “Gateway has a nasty little marketing thing going on” in which it implies that its “low-end” (my term) 2.7-GHz machines aren’t “perfect” for things like image editing and multitasking.

I took Gateway to task for that because I thought that kind of marketing a bit disingenuous. My creaky old 750-MHz machine does image editing and multitasking wonderfully, for example.

I got a note from Lisa Emard, Gateway’s director of media relations. Naturally, she was unhappy with my characterization, and wanted to make Gateway’s position clear.

Although I stand by what I wrote, but she did have some good and important points I want to share. And I want to put her most important idea up front.

Contrary to your focus solely on processor speeds, Gateway does not
highlight one spec to delineate between product lines. We build
complete systems that provide the customer with the best experience for the primary applications they want to run.

She gave some examples, such as:

A Media Reader is the fastest and easiest way to download
images from a digital camera. All of our 5200 Series PCs come with
8-in-1 Media Readers standard. Also, photo editing apps like Photoshop run better with more memory and faster processors. Benchmarks prove this as well.

(Note: The 5200 Series machines are a step up from the “low-end” boxes I was talking about. Her point is that an upgrade is worth it because it’s more than a better processor.)

I can’t disagree; there’s more to a machine that processor speed, and Gateway packs more into their higher-end boxes than into the lower-end ones.

For example, that media reader. It’s a nice touch and it certainly adds some level of convenience to the unit. And sure, Photoshop runs faster on a box with more memory. (More in a sec on that.)

In short, Gateway does add features to it’s higher-priced computers that make some tasks faster and easier.

She also wrote:

In the end, you go back to the description of your Dad who simply uses his PC to write letters, send emails and surf the web. There are a lot of consumers our there just like him, and for people with basic computing needs, we absolutely recommend our Gateway 3200 Series, which starts at just $399. And as you’ll note on our desktop PC site, we feature our 3200 Series just as prominently as our higher-end desktop PCs.

She’s right: The three categories of machine are featured equally. It’s not as if the low-end boxes were relegated to the side. My apologies if I implied that.

So perhaps I was a bit harsh to call it a “nasty little marketing thing.” (I’ve asked my USA Today editor to make a change to the wording to tone it down.)

But.

I still stand by the spirit of what I said: That Gateway’s marketing doesn’t just imply that the higher-end machines are simply faster and more convenient — it implies that the lower-end boxes aren’t very good at things like photo editing.

And that’s my issue. There’s a big difference between something being not as good as something else, and something being not suitable at all. I think Gateway is implying — gently, I admit — that its lower-end boxes aren’t really good for certain tasks at all, when in fact they’re very good at them.

Here’s an analogy:

Imagine if Honda advertised the Civic as “Great for short trips around town, or easy commutes,” but pushed the Accord as “Great for longer highway drives and interstate travel.”

The fact is, the Civic is a great car that performs well, and would be excellent for “longer highway drives and interstate travel.” But that (ficticious) ad implies otherwise — it implies that you really need an Accord for longer trips.

Would the Accord be better? More comfortable, perhaps. More cup holders, a better stereo, arguably. But both cars have more than adequate acceleration, handling, and safety features. They’re both great cars.

And that’s my issue with the Gateway ad. Would your image-editing software have better benchmarks on the 5200 series? You bet. But benchmarks aren’t that meaningful after a certain point.

It’s like the difference between a car with a top speed of 300 MPH and one with a top speed of 250. It doesn’t matter ’cause you won’t ever go that fast.

Lisa Emard also wrote:

Fact: Gateway 5200 Series PCs multitask better than our 3200 series
because they have double the memory, four times the cache, faster hard drives and faster hyperthreading P4 processors. Industry-standard benchmarks prove this.

All right, I’m drooling. I can’t help it.

No argument: The 5200 series is faster and better. And yes, I’d love to own one. (I’ve owned four Gateways and loved every one. In fact, my Dad’s machine — the 200-MHz box with Windows 95 he’s had for a couple of years — is a hand-me-down Gateway of mine and still going strong after about eight years.)

Still, I stand by my contention that computer hardware is now ahead of most software, and even the low-end machines can handle just about anything with aplomb.