sony
... that go into the consideration when buying a computer. We then came together and shared what we know with the other members in the group. We talked about what was important in buying a computer and compared the different computers. The whole time we were taking notes about what the other team members were saying and what was important to them personally. We then decided the importance in the attribute and ranked them accordingly. We decided on eight unique attributes in purchasing a computer. 1. Price 2. Speed 3. Memory 4. Easy of use 5. Design 6. Durability 7. Reliability 8. Promotion - After Purchase Service/Warranty The tools we needed were just a pen and paper to get what was being said on paper, and the knowledge that we had coming into the discussions with. The discussion group was very informal and had no real set direction. It was more a free exchange of thoughts between the four of us in which we made our decision. We decided Price was the most important aspect of buying a computer. Being university students price is a key deciding factor when buying a computer. We want something that we can afford and since we are students we must live on a tight budget. A computer is a big-ticket item for us so much consideration must go in to the fact of what we can afford. Speed came second in the ranking, as this will be with almost any computer buyer no matter the age group. Memory was close behind as these two attributes are closely related. With the ease of use the SONY computer was the clear choice here. The Apple is also easy to use and the shortest learning curve, however, people are more familiar to use PC such as SONY computer. Once you know how to use PC, you could control very easily by using memory stick for SONY computer that you would enjoy some entertainments. Design also played a big factor in decided on whether to buy a computer. Although SONY computers have a good design, Apple computers also seemed to have the most favorable design in that it was different and unique. As University students the apple computer seemed like the best looking computer just because it stuck out from every other computer. It was the capability of having it in different colors that allowed a more individualistic approach in that two different people can have the same computer but have it look different from each other and therefore be unique from other people. Durability and reliability were important because when spending up to three thousand dollars you want something that will last a long time and not breakdown on you when it is needed. I would think after sale service would be more important to us when selecting a computer. I myself value after sale service almost as much as the speed and memory but the other people in the group believed that the three computers were very similar when it came to the warranty offered after the purchase. There are many different brands of computer such as IBM, HP, Apple, Dell, Acer, NEC, and so on. By comparing our selected product, Sony computer, consumers will mostly consider other brands such as IBM or Apple computer as the two top-of-mind brands. Also by asking friends and Internet searching, people as consumers will also choose IBM or Apple. They choose IBM computer or Apple computer based on what kind of use they need, and the reasons why they choose IBM computer or Apple computer because both computer company are well known in computer manufacturing. Consumers buy their products will have confidence in using it, and also the after sales services such as warranty. They think both companyfs products are expensive, but itfs innovative and good design, and also itfs durability and reliability for which give consumers confidence to spend on their products and can gain consumers loyalty. Apple computer is the one of the top-of-mind brands among computers as consumers choose. They choose Apple computer because they need to use it for graphic, editing, programming, or design because Apple computer is well known in these kinds of functions. Consumers choose Apple computer will also consider what kind of computer like iMac, i-Book, Power Mac, or Power Book because these kinds of computers can bring different functions to the users. If the consumers are the artists, designers, or buying a computer for one, it's a great choice because iMac are excellent for first-time computer users who want an easy way to surf the Internet. It has a very user-friendly interface and comes in six different "flavours." And the design of iMac is all in one, it has some tremendous advantages. For instance, there arenft a lot of extra cords, so set up is simple to the consumers. Thatfs smaller than most stand-alone PC displays, which makes it ideal for limited desk space in the classroom or at home. And the difference between Applefs computer and the other brand is, Apple produce the software by themselves, it can be maintain the quality by supervise itself. Therefore, their software can be fully support their own hardware. If there is bug, Apple can make a new version of software to fix the bug with fully support their own hardware which Personal Computer (PC) cannot do. IBM computer also is one of the popular manufacturing brands. The stamp it puts on its products, services and the market place. IBM's character has been formed over nearly 100 years of doing business in the field of information handling. It has showed a history that give confidence to people. For its function, IBM produces the hardware by its own factory. Not like the other brands who buy the components from the other computer manufacturer. So it seems to be trustfulness for consumers. On the other hand, consumers buy IBM computer mostly fare the businessmen. The businessmen would not depend on the price and design when they choose to buy a computer, because they only care which brand can do the best way for security to protect their own secret for business information. Therefore, IBM Company is the best choice for business management because IBM has their own knowledge to create the hardware for security defence. Also its marketing strategy is focusing on professional group, and their target is basing on business or some technology stuff. The two important product attributes which consumers always concern are price and design. However, if the consumers buy Apple computer or IBM computer, they mostly depend on what kind of computer they need to use. For example, people buy Apple computer need to depend on whether the computer for professional users or low end users. If the consumers buy the Apple computer for the professional use, they will buy the computer with good functions such as editing, programming, or graphics and speed as the product attributes. Consumers as professional users need Apple computer as Power Book or Super Power Book to make graphic design; they must need a computer with faster speed in order to make the graphic can move faster. Also they need the software that can make the graphic which Apple computer produce their own software, and their own software can be fully support their own hardware which can gain consumer loyalty. That is why Apple computer has so many followers, and also consumers will think it is more convenience and cheaper than Personal Computer (PC). It is cheaper than PC because PC such as any brand name computer does not have their own software. If the graphic professional users buy PC to make graphic, they also have to spend on buying the software as well. Therefore, if consumers only spend on the Apple computer, which is a bundle as containing all the software, must be cheaper than Personal Computer with all graphic software as a bundle. On the other hand, if the consumers are the low end users like college students who major in film or video, they will purchase Apple computer such as iMac, eMac, or i-Book because these kinds of computer is not so fast as Power Book or Super Power Book. Consumers like film or video students will think of the price and functions as the products attribute. They do not care about the speeding because they do not need to make some graphic as professional users as making the graphic move so fast, and also the computer for the professional use as Power Book or Super Power Book is so expensive, so college students as the low end users may not have money to buy that expensive computer, but they do need the computer have the graphics functions or technology so that they could learn editing, capture, and so on. For the product attribute of IBM computer, consumers purchased IBM computer mostly are businessmen. Therefore, the two most important product attributes for the businessman are security or reliability and durability. Businessmen need a computer unlike college students who need a computer sometimes for entertainment and speed; they donft need their computer with super fast speed and any multi-media. The most important thing they need is security. Since businessmen need to do many confidential documents, they need something that can provide the security in order to protect their information or files, and IBM is the computer manufacturer that can produce the hardware to provide the security service not from the software which the other computer company cannot make, and it is the main reason that consumers buy IBM computer. On the other hand, IBM is a very well known computer manufacturer; and their shops or markets operate around the world. For this reason, consumers like businessmen are confidence to use their products and trust their service like warranty. If their computers have any problems, the businessmen can contact to the IBM shops for getting any repair so that their computer can be lasted longer, and also can protect the documents or files that were saved in the computer. By using Likert bi-polar scale to evaluate the product attributes for Apple computer and IBM computer, we got a different result for both computer companies since both companiesf product attributes are different in consumersf minds. For the product attributes of Apple computer users, due to depending on the users such as professiona...