[nkoren]

This, this, a thousand times this. One thing that Apple has done very well is put together a website that:

  A.) Tells you what they are selling, and
  B.) Can sell it to you.

Why is it so hard for other vendors to figure out that this is a pretty good way to sell computers?

My girlfriend bought an Asus Zenbook the other day; it's a really nice machine and made me wonder whether there might be a Zenbook for me. So I ended up on http://www.asus.com/zenbook/global/index.html. Is there a product list? No. A comparison feature? No. A way to buy, like, anything at all? Fuck you, says Asus. Here, have a bunch of annoying marketing copy; if you like that enough then maybe you can buy from some online retailer who has screwed up the model-numbers, unless you'd rather go to a shop were some know-nothing highschooler will try to make a commission by upselling you.

Had the same experience with HP. I take your word for it that Leno and Dell and Acer are similar. Really made me appreciate Apple's retail mechanisms (as much as I'm aiming to exit their ecosystem).

Seriously, industry: WTF? Get it together, guys!

[massysett]

Lenovo's website is the least of their problems. I'm in the USA and ordered a Thinkpad. They ship out of China. No one in their call centers can give any kind of order status. Their information is days behind. I canceled an order (after they cut the price to try to get me to change my mind) and the thing still shipped. It seems like their Thinkpad factory just pumps them out; no kind of true build to order.

The only good way to get their machines is through a reputable reseller who has them on a shelf.

[mhw]

> One thing that Apple has done very well is put together a website that:

  A.) Tells you what they are selling, and
  B.) Can sell it to you.

  C.) Be able to configure a US keyboard when you're not in the US.

I'm in the UK, but I've used a US keyboard layout all along from the days that I bought an obsolete Sun3/50 to use as an X terminal. My last ThinkPad was bought in the US by a friend who came from there and sold it on to me. But if I wanted to buy a new laptop with a US keyboard from Lenovo or Dell today, their web sites don't provide the option. Apple do.

(I'm sure it might be possible to order one over the phone, but why should I have to?)

[TazeTSchnitzel]

I wonder if it reflects how they manufacture them. Do they print the keycap labels on demand?

[activatedgeek]

I think the problem here is that Apple doesn't really have to have a huge product range because they are pretty much focused on the premium price range.

On the other hand, manufacturers like Asus, Lenovo and Dell have everything from the economy to premium range which makes the content organization a natural headache. And it looks like nobody has figured out a good way to fix everything up.

[pawadu]

But Dell has a pretty nice web site despite having a huge range of products.

[flurdy]

Yes and no. UI looks wise it is ok, but UX wise it is a nightmare.

When I try to find a product I often can't find it. Or I can only find the previous year/range's version. Or I can only find it if I pretend to be in the US. Or mostly it is out of stock. And all this time direct links works so the products exists, I just cant find them consistently.

Went through this recently trying to find the XPS13 DE for a friend. He bought his first macbook pro in the end instead(a 2015 one just after the touchbar launched).

Yes their SKU stock is massive compared to Apple, so navigation will be trickier, but why do they need to make it so hard by hiding products etc.

[activatedgeek]

I believe that is solely the reason some listing websites came up just to search for products. Plus in most cases, you really aren't suited for the whole range. Trade-offs.

[franciscop]

I have been using Asus Zenbook for the last 3 laptops; I just go straight to Amazon or Ebay to buy them, the experience there is quite better (besides I want a US keyboard instead of Spanish).