I see a new trend; people looking up on the Internet for users manuals or instruction and guide books to get have meaningful information about products. That is cool and very subliminal. No?

Real tangible point in this is that people can have a look at user’s manual; without buying a product. I love it because that is how I can get the feeler of a product before I pay for it. This will ultimately improve their overall marketing effort and increase their brand image. Manufacturers and advertisers should want more manuals online (have a look a Techno Station and you will know) and seek to reach out.

Manufacturers and marketing professionals often tend to underestimate importance of a nicely written user manual and they find their way out of selling products without the manual. "Who reads," they reason out.

So, who reads manuals? There are many categories of users. Some new users would get outside help to install a product like setting up a computer. Yes, it is still common particularly with the first time users. Another category would make a call to customers' support and ask for step wise help. Many users tend to buy a product, rip it from the box, plug it in, and turn it on. They do not read the manuals. "If all else fails, read the manual," is what they believe.

There is a large number of users who buy a product, open the box, remove and read the manual, remove the product from the box as per the instructions, install and operate the product per the instructions. It is for this category of users that companies need to supply a well written users' manual that should act as company's representative.

Recommendation; make a useful and worth reading user's manual and save your customers from looking elsewhere for help.

• Android Tablet (3G)
• 7-inch screen
• 1024 x 600 resolution
• capacitive touchscreen display
• Tegra 250 Dual cortex A9 processor
• 512MB DDR2 RAM
• 8GB of flash storage
• microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
• 2MP front-facing camera
• 5MP rear-facing camera
• 3G
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS

• Mid-Tower PC Case
• Size: 567.9mm x 237mm x 581.6mm
• weight: 11.6kg
• I/O panel with 2x USB 3.0
• 2x USB 2.0
• 1x eSATA and audio ports
• Top-mounted SATA docking station
• supporting 2.5-inch
• 3.5-inch drive bays side window
• four 5.25-inch external drive bays
• six 3.5-inch/2.5-inch internal drive bays
• eight expansion slots
• Three 2x 200mm Colorshift fans

Let us have a look at Dummies first. Despite the title, publisher of Dummies - prolific series of instructional books which are intended to present non-intimidating guides for readers new to the various topics covered - takes pains to emphasize that the books are not literally for dummies. The subtitle for every book is "A Reference for the Rest of Us!

Similarly the Complete Idiot's Guide are reference books that provide a very basic understanding of seemingly difficult topics. This is accomplished by using very basic words and terminology to explain different facets of a topic. Definitions of words, profiles of people and a synopsis of events for context are also provided when necessary. They are very similar to the For Dummies books.

As I also fall in ‚the rest of us' category, I need to know detail information about features, specifications, and other explanations about most new products I am to use in life and at work. I also need to find out parts and functions, the control panel buttons and their locations. How to set up, software installation, networking, troubleshooting (general troubleshooting tips) and the like. That is what makes me read users' manual before I unpack and start using. Therefore, apart from dummies and ‚complete idiots', users' manuals are for all of us too.

Users' manuals are one of the best and first help to know anything. They are useful throughout the life of the product. During the successful operations over time, one tends to forget where user manual has been lost. That is when everyone can look up or user’s manual available online.

So how you can do that? One way is that you have an access to the actual product you are planning to buy before you buy. That doesn't seem possible as no seller will allow you to use the dryer before you make a purchase. This is neither possible not very practical.

Best thing is that you go through the user manual of the product before making a purchase. Users manual too come along with the products and are not on sale anywhere (I don't know of a place where you can go and buy users manuals alone). But best thing is that more and more marketers and developers are putting their users' manuals and product reviews online (see Techno Station). Users with connected computers can go and explore Techno Station and find users' manuals of the products of interest and get to know what they need. That will help them make informed purchase decisions.

By the way, that is how I purchase my 'Hair Dryers' and everything else I need. How you purchase, Share with us.

• 10.1-inch screen
• 1024 x 600 resolution
• Touchscreen display
• NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor
• microSD card slot
• Bluetooth
• USB port
• HDMI port
• Android 2.2 OS

We all agree that TV advertising is outdated. People try just Tivo or DVR right through that ad spending.

On the other hand, online advertising has come alive. How? Given the exponential growth in Internet user’s base, I think online has become one of the most effective way to advertise. Social Media is a tremendous opportunity for advertisers if they play by the rules - start sharing your users manuals.

We all know Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in this mix of online advertising as well. Placing user’s manual online on an optimized and search engine friendly site can result into a big success; measurable increase in sale. If your manual placed at techno Station figures out in Google’s top ten then the consumer feels you must be of importance.

Which is why I really believe that there is and should be a place for user’s manual online. User’s manuals will stay there as long they remain the same and will updated in real time. Try it and experience the difference.

• 21.5-inch screen
• LED Backlight Monitor
• Mono 1W speaker
• 250CD/m2 of brightness
• 1000:1 of contrast ratio
• DVI-D connector
• D-SUB connector
• HDMI port
• Less power consumption

Manuals that are merely a translation of engineering jargon into a human language may explain specifications but are a bad read. The problem with these types of manuals is that they may explain every feature in depth but will not provide any reason and or motivation to why use those features.

How can that be done? Ask gifted writers to follow the principles of manual design and write putting life in them in the process of writing.

Users now understand the motivation for the features, as well of the value of the features. Their minds have become fertile ground for the explanation of how to use the feature (imagine the amount of awareness web is creating and the resulting choices users have). So manuals need
to give users motivation to use a particular product for some of its features that meet user's unique requirements.

Manuals must be introspective. They must cover the experiences. They must be written down and presented so that their readers don't have to go through the any struggle. That is the very essence of useful manuals.

Additionally, manuals need to cover the tasks, not just the operation. The depth and extent of the task that must be presented will depend on a number of factors, including the expected knowledge (and don't underestimate that) of the users and the amount of knowledge necessary for people to be able to use the application.

Last but not the least; make manual an enjoyable and engaging read.

• 3D-Ready
• All-In-One Desktop PC
• Space-saving machine
• 23-inch screen
• 1920 x 1080 resolution
• Full HD display
• NVIDIA’s 3D Vision technology
• Intel Core i5-2400s
• i5-2500s or i7-2600s processor
• GeForce GT 440
• GT 435M graphics card
• 16GB RAM
• 2TB hard drive
• 2.0-megapixel webcam
• Blu-ray combo drive
• multi-in-one card reader
• Built-in IR emitter
• TV tuner (optional)
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• Two 5W speakers
• Windows 7 OS

• Wind Mobile
• 7-inch screen
• 1024 x 600 resolution
• capacitive touchscreen display
• 1GHz Texas Instruments dual-coreprocessor
• 3.0-megapixel front-facing cmera
• 5.0-megapixel rear-facing camera
• 1GB RAM
• 32GB of internal storage
• GPS
• WiFi
• Blue

I think this should be other way round. I am not suggesting that marketers should stop making the documents to be given away for free. What I am saying is the focus should change. Users should get much nicer manuals, the way they want to, including online. That will help the potential users to buy and existing users to learn?

Paying more attention and better budget allocation to product manuals and support will help everyone. There is no harm in trying to get new customers for anyone, particularly those who are in the market for short term but those who are here for long term must refashion their focus and invest more User’s manuals.
It is the user’s manuals that can bring loyal users, passionate users, repeat customers and can form the bases of what is called customers relationship.

Here is the simple philosophy: Users manuals will get passionate users who will get others. The better users get at something (through learning from freely available manuals), the better the user experience. The better the user experience, the more likely they are to keep trying to use the same product. Nobody is passionate about something they are stuck with. Helping your users learn is the best way to up the odds they'll become repeat customers.

Creating fabulous User’s manuals might be a far better use of the budget than creating fabulous ads and brochures. If traditional advertising and marketing is becoming less and less effective, why not move all that talent including designers, artists, copywriters and others from before the sale to after the sale?
We suggest, better product manuals be used as promotional material?

• 3D Ready DLP Projector
• High performance projector
• 1024 x 768 native resolution
• 2700 ANSI lumens brightness
• 3700:1 contrast ratio
• 6000 hours of lamp life

Search for users' manuals start when people need instructions for some old vacuum cleaner, or water filter, or a dishwasher or a new iPhone. Sadly, they are not found when most needed and a wild hunt starts. Sometime users have to go to customers' services of the respective product just to find an answering machine giving not so much required instructions. What is worst, some time users may get the answer that help for an old product is not available as the company has abandoned the production of some old model.

That is an old story. Now savvy people can save, sort, organize, manage and most importantly use users' manuals online. There are so many ways to keep the manuals but finding them on a specialized portal is one of the most convenient. No clutter. Just go to the portal and click to go to the required part of the updated manual. It is as easy as that. Frequent users can bookmark the site and keep it handy. The best part is that developers and manufacturers can keep the manuals updated every time.