Perceptive Sciences

This document contains an Executive Summary of the research study recently
conducted by Perceptive Sciences. The results and findings are based
on feedback attained from user testing of three of the computing industry's
newest, ultra-portable laptops. The results and findings from the
study describe each laptop's usability and what drives users' buying
decisions.

Study Objective

This study assessed the out-of-box usability of the Apple MacBook Air, the Lenovo ThinkPad X300, and the Toshiba Portégé R500 series. In addition to powering up each laptop, participants conducted eight tasks designed to explore the usability of the various devices’ ports, keyboards, trackpads, buttons, display, and audio features. All preferences and ratings expressed in the data from this study reflect only the judgments of the participants themselves.

Participants

There were 20 total participants recruited and remunerated for this study. All participants were selected to be representative users/buyers of these devices and were current laptop owners; however, none of the participants owned or had experience using the devices tested. The sample was made up of two equal segments, university students and business travelers (i.e. travel at least once monthly or more for work). The majority of participants were between 18 and 34 years of age, and there was an approximate balance of males and females. The sample consisted of approximately half “PC users” [i.e. familiar with PCs (11)], and half “Mac users” [familiar with only the Mac (2) or comfortable using both Macs and PCs (7)].

Design

Due to time constraints, each participant experienced two of the three devices. Accordingly, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: MacAir/Lenovo (n=8), MacAir/Toshiba (n=8), and Lenovo/Toshiba (n=4). The order participants experienced the devices was counterbalanced within each condition so that for each condition half of the participants worked with one type of machine first then the other, while the other half of the participants used the ultra-portables in the reverse order. Order was counterbalanced in all conditions. Perceptive Sciences also insured that there was an approximate balance of PC and Mac users in each condition. This allowed us to compare the influence of previous experience and familiarity on the usability metrics and user preferences. In most cases, PC and Mac users were in close agreement unless noted explicitly in the findings.

Method and Procedure

Each participant completed the same sequence of nine tasks with each computer (see below for the complete list of tasks used in this study):

set-up and power on computer #1, followed by tasks 2-9,
set-up and power on computer #2, followed by tasks 2-9.

Throughout the entire testing epoch, participants were instructed to think-aloud while working with the devices. Following each task, participants provided ratings of ease-of-use, confidence, and satisfaction with how long it took them to complete each task, as well as several other task-specific questions. Once participants had completed all nine tasks on both machines, they completed a post-session comparative assessment of the specific pair of machines they had worked with. These questions polled users for their preferences along a number of key dimensions:

ease of use
quality
fun to use
functionality and features
suited for business use
physical durability
which would you purchase if price were no option
which machine is the better overall value.

In addition to post-task and post-session ratings and preference choices, Perceptive Sciences collected usability data for each task including, time-on-task, success rates, and frequencies of errors. We also recorded spontaneous comments, issues, work-arounds, and trouble spots that arose during participants' interactions with the various machines.

Task List

1. Set-up and power on the device (from out-of-box to first boot up).

2. Connect the device to a wireless network.

3. Send an email.

4. Connect a flash-drive and copying over a file to a newly created folder.

5. Listen to an MP3 file and adjusting the volume (evaluating onboard speakers
and headphone audio quality).

6. Eject the flash-drive and deleting the folder/file.

7. View a movie trailer and adjusting the display.

8. Connect the machine to a projector and projecting the desktop onto a screen.

9. Shut down the machine.

If you are interested in more details about the findings and methodology of this study, feel free to contact us at info@perceptivesciences.com

Perceptive Sciences is relied upon by journalists and clients to serve as experts in market research, user experience testing, and competitive analyses on a wide variety of software, hardware and consumer products.

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