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Engadget's editor's response - http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-4g/97335-engadgets-iphone-4-vs-evo-poll-2.html#post908708 http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-4g/97

Engadget's editor's response - http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-4g/97335-engadgets-iphone-4-vs-evo-poll-2.html#post908708 http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-4g/97335-engadgets-iphone-4...

paulnelligan 16y ago
He makes a good point. But then the question is; why did they post the poll in the first place?
lurch_mojoff 16y ago
Although it would have been best if Topolsky et al. had figured this out before they posted the poll, the reason for pulling it is quite sensible. Comparing a device that has sold not that many units yet with a device that is yet to go on sale, serves no purpose at all, except for providing a tribune for "fanboy" circle-jerking.
- TheBranca18 16y ago
  They posted the poll to get page views. The integrity on Engadget is severely lacking, in my experience.
rbanffy 16y ago
So, you write and publish an article comparing two phones under non-ideal circumstances, let it air a couple hours, attract attention and then pull it - along with comments and a poll - because it was a comparison done under non-ideal circumstances that should be redone later? Write a second article apologizing for the first one. Don't make the first article disappear. This is seriously bad journalism.
- marknutter 16y ago
  I think what happened here is the poll was posted before being approved by someone slightly higher up the totem pole at Engadget and was retracted by said person so that a more full treatment could be done later. People make mistakes, this doesn't really bother me too much, especially since they have apologized and promised a more in-depth re-post in the future. What does bother me is how crazy people are getting about this. I understand being a fan of something, but there's such a thing as taking it too far. Yeesh.
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    When you publish news for public consumption, you have to be held to higher standards. Engadget is not an opinion blog for someone. Engadget is news about... gadgets. Engadget certainly welcomes the traffic and attention offering news bring.
- maukdaddy 16y ago
  Please don't use the word "journalism" and Engadget in the same post. Ever again.
  - cookiecaper 16y ago
    He didn't actually use the word "Engadget"
- KirinDave 16y ago
  Is it great work? No. Is it possible given the speed of the gadget news cycle? Yes. And I read that article before it was taken down, it was total fluff. It shouldn't ever have been posted. They should have taken it down and left the editor's explanation in place. But seriously, Android-fan readers need to calm the fuck down. This inconsequential editing gaffe doesn't mean Engadget hates anyone's phone, nor love anyone else's phone, or have any special conspiracy-driven agenda to hide bad press for Apple. It reveals the profound insecurity of that forum's collective mentality when they say things like that and get a lot of people agreeing. I know the EVO has been getting socked in the press for its battery life (and these complaints are legitimate), but really it's a cool phone with a lot to offer and all signs point to the launch going very well for a Sprint phone. Re-lax.
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    It could be improved without being taken down.
    - KirinDave 16y ago
      No, it probably couldn't; the entire premise of what they are doing is bad tech journalism. Comparing something that doesn't have any concrete data to a recently released phone, declare half the things subjective, and then draw conclusions. The only thing they could have done to improve it without takedown is put a big disclaimer at the top, “Journalism is hard. Sorry about the pile of poop below. We dropped the ball on this one.”
      - rbanffy 16y ago
        > The only thing they could have done to improve it without takedown is put a big disclaimer at the top, “Journalism is hard. Sorry about the pile of poop below. We dropped the ball on this one.” That would be a perfectly acceptable solution ;-) A disclaimer stating all data on the iPhone 4 is from spec-sheets would do too. It would not be hard to make a comparison matrix between the two phones from the data that's publicly available. With the proper disclaimer, it wouldn't even be a bad article - just a very preliminary one. You don't need to refrain from reporting on an important development (Apple announcing a phone is important) when you have incomplete data - all you need is to clearly state that.
ZeroGravitas 16y ago
The article that got pulled, retrieved by a forum poster in two parts: http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2355928 http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2355928 http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2355929 http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2355929 Seems like one of the better reviews I've read, mostly pointing out that which is best depends on several factors such as where you live, what kind of apps you use etc.
- rbanffy 16y ago
  Seems reasonable. In reality, you can't make a good comparison between a phone that was just launched and one that hasn't been. You end-up comparing press-releases, something the tech press was never afraid to do.
mawhidby 16y ago
The same editor also posted an article on Engadget about this: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/10/conspiracy-theory-what-happened-to-the-evo-4g-vs-iphone-4-post/ http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/10/conspiracy-theory-what-ha... The poll is back up in that article, and now the iPhone is winning..

Engadget's editor's response - http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-4g/97335-engadgets-iphone-4-vs-evo-poll-2.html#post908708 http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-4g/97335-engadgets-iphone-4...

paulnelligan 16y ago

He makes a good point. But then the question is; why did they post the poll in the first place?

lurch_mojoff 16y ago

Although it would have been best if Topolsky et al. had figured this out before they posted the poll, the reason for pulling it is quite sensible. Comparing a device that has sold not that many units yet with a device that is yet to go on sale, serves no purpose at all, except for providing a tribune for "fanboy" circle-jerking.

TheBranca18 16y ago
They posted the poll to get page views. The integrity on Engadget is severely lacking, in my experience.

rbanffy 16y ago

So, you write and publish an article comparing two phones under non-ideal circumstances, let it air a couple hours, attract attention and then pull it - along with comments and a poll - because it was a comparison done under non-ideal circumstances that should be redone later? Write a second article apologizing for the first one. Don't make the first article disappear. This is seriously bad journalism.

marknutter 16y ago
I think what happened here is the poll was posted before being approved by someone slightly higher up the totem pole at Engadget and was retracted by said person so that a more full treatment could be done later. People make mistakes, this doesn't really bother me too much, especially since they have apologized and promised a more in-depth re-post in the future. What does bother me is how crazy people are getting about this. I understand being a fan of something, but there's such a thing as taking it too far. Yeesh.
- rbanffy 16y ago
  When you publish news for public consumption, you have to be held to higher standards. Engadget is not an opinion blog for someone. Engadget is news about... gadgets. Engadget certainly welcomes the traffic and attention offering news bring.
maukdaddy 16y ago
Please don't use the word "journalism" and Engadget in the same post. Ever again.
- cookiecaper 16y ago
  He didn't actually use the word "Engadget"
KirinDave 16y ago
Is it great work? No. Is it possible given the speed of the gadget news cycle? Yes. And I read that article before it was taken down, it was total fluff. It shouldn't ever have been posted. They should have taken it down and left the editor's explanation in place. But seriously, Android-fan readers need to calm the fuck down. This inconsequential editing gaffe doesn't mean Engadget hates anyone's phone, nor love anyone else's phone, or have any special conspiracy-driven agenda to hide bad press for Apple. It reveals the profound insecurity of that forum's collective mentality when they say things like that and get a lot of people agreeing. I know the EVO has been getting socked in the press for its battery life (and these complaints are legitimate), but really it's a cool phone with a lot to offer and all signs point to the launch going very well for a Sprint phone. Re-lax.
- rbanffy 16y ago
  It could be improved without being taken down.
  - KirinDave 16y ago
    No, it probably couldn't; the entire premise of what they are doing is bad tech journalism. Comparing something that doesn't have any concrete data to a recently released phone, declare half the things subjective, and then draw conclusions. The only thing they could have done to improve it without takedown is put a big disclaimer at the top, “Journalism is hard. Sorry about the pile of poop below. We dropped the ball on this one.”
    - rbanffy 16y ago
      > The only thing they could have done to improve it without takedown is put a big disclaimer at the top, “Journalism is hard. Sorry about the pile of poop below. We dropped the ball on this one.” That would be a perfectly acceptable solution ;-) A disclaimer stating all data on the iPhone 4 is from spec-sheets would do too. It would not be hard to make a comparison matrix between the two phones from the data that's publicly available. With the proper disclaimer, it wouldn't even be a bad article - just a very preliminary one. You don't need to refrain from reporting on an important development (Apple announcing a phone is important) when you have incomplete data - all you need is to clearly state that.

ZeroGravitas 16y ago

The article that got pulled, retrieved by a forum poster in two parts: http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2355928 http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2355928 http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2355929 http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2355929 Seems like one of the better reviews I've read, mostly pointing out that which is best depends on several factors such as where you live, what kind of apps you use etc.

rbanffy 16y ago
Seems reasonable. In reality, you can't make a good comparison between a phone that was just launched and one that hasn't been. You end-up comparing press-releases, something the tech press was never afraid to do.

mawhidby 16y ago

The same editor also posted an article on Engadget about this: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/10/conspiracy-theory-what-happened-to-the-evo-4g-vs-iphone-4-post/ http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/10/conspiracy-theory-what-ha... The poll is back up in that article, and now the iPhone is winning..