EZ Rated's ease-of-use labeling was created in response to some of the critical issues addressed in Cybercitizens Plead for Clarity In High-Tech Product Labeling .¹ EZ Rated's ease-of-use labels are put on technology products/ services and their packaging to quickly and credibly answer two decisive consumer questions:

• How much time, and
• How much effort . . .

will a particular product or service take to setup and use for its primary intended purpose.

To be approved for the ease-of-use label, the item must be evaluated with EZ Rated's Product Radar^SM or Flash services. These services are based on our anthropological evaluations. Our proprietary processes select, analyze, and report on users who reflect the home or work site setup and first use experience of 90% of the demographic, 90% of the time. If eight out of a group of ten users can setup and use the item being tested within the prescribed time for that product/ service class, and if the item is in accord with the remainder of the published standard for that product/ service class, it is licensed The EZ Rated ease-of-use label.

For example, Hewlett-Packard's Photosmart 618 Digital Camera and the Visioneer One-Touch 7600 USB scanner were licensed The EZ Rated ease-of-use label. EZ Rated's ease-of-use labeling provides consumers "short answers to simple questions," ¹ regarding the typical time requirement--and the relative ease-of-use for that product or service. This information is known to increase consumer appeal. Moreover, these certified items are compliant with commonsense standards that mandate consumer-friendly design, marketing, and labeling practices (e.g., warranty information on the box, etc.), on which consumers and the industry can, and do, agree.

Consumers are not the only winners: Producers who submit their products and services win--whether they pass or fail. The Product Radar report helps the producer make a significantly more usable, more desirable item. These reports consistently reveal product-bundle-issues (product, packaging, promotion, & documentation) which, if left unattended, will fill call centers, drive product returns, and cost sales (click for White Paper).

For uncovered issues, Product Radar offers quick, cost effective remedies (e.g., stickering, insert additions, revisions in documentation, marketing claims and artwork, the repositioning/ repackaging of items in the box, and web bulletins, etc.) that are commonly implemented by our clients.

We at EZ Rated, Inc. are grateful that some of these most important issues continue to be aired in highly visible forums. The first part of solving a problem is acknowledging that one exist. Broadly exposing these issues is a great way to start that problem-solving process.

¹ Wall Street Journal, Cybercitizens Plead for Clarity In High-Tech Product Labeling, Thomas E. Weber, April 29, 2002