Tom's Hardware Needs More Mobile Reviewers

Let me not disappoint my many journalism mentors by burying the lede: If you'd like to write mobile reviews for Tom's Hardware, go here and answer a few sharp-shooter questions.

Now the preamble.

You may have noticed we're chugging our way through some of the latest smartphones and tablets. (Some of you might think "chugging" is a bit too kind. Yes, we read your comments on our recent Nexus 6 review.) We hired a full-time mobile editor (Matt Humrick) late last year, and he's been playing catch up ever since. We wanted to create a body of work from which to compare newer devices as they shipped, and we've also been laying some groundwork by revamping our testing methodology to provide even better results.

Consequently, we're still a few months behind (Galaxy Note 4 anyone? It’s coming. S6? Coming. HTC One M9? Coming. And so on.)

Mobile coverage is more timely category than others. Unlike PSUs or motherboards, which tend to have a longer shelf life (we recently reviewed motherboards that are almost a year old), the rapid development and release schedule for mobile products ensures no single device stays on top for long.

As we strive to catch up on some of the mobile products we've missed out on so that we can eventually be more timely, cover tablets better, and review products in other price ranges (not just "flagship" phones and tablets), we also recognize that we need some help. Not just to catch up, but to keep up long term. So many devices, so little time.

Do you think you have what it takes? Judging from some of the comments on our mobile reviews, I'm betting so. But it takes more than interest and an opinion. You are a demanding crowd, so our reviews are thorough, requiring expertise as well as a willingness to learn.

Thus, if you want us to consider you as a mobile writer for Tom's Hardware, you'll have to traverse a bit of a gauntlet. Let's call it a pop quiz. I'm sure there will be some folks who just want the challenge of taking this little test, but we'd ask for serious wanna-be reviewers only. Make sure you answer all of the questions, especially the contact information we request on the final page.

And while we certainly will be looking for those with serious chops, don't be too intimidated here. We don't require a correct answer to every question, or that you're an expert in every teeny tiny subsystem, but instead we are using this to identify strengths and weaknesses. This comes down to a decent amount of mobile knowledge, a readable writing style (we can fix the grammar, spelling, and punctuation . . . and what we don't catch, readers are sure to).

If your skills match our needs, Matt will be in touch. Depending on how many responses we get, it could take some time.

Best of luck, and thanks, in advance, for taking the time. Once again, here's the link to our mobile reviewers pop quiz.

Follow Fritz Nelson @fnelson. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Fritz Nelson
Fritz Nelson is Editor-at-Large of Tom's Hardware US.
  • TechnoD
    "and what we don't catch, readers are sure to)."
    Perhaps this is dated thinking but isn't the job of the editor to make it so that reader's don't have to catch writing mistakes? I would think that if you were publishing a review you would want every mistake caught before publication...
    Reply
  • Larry Litmanen
    My current salary is $80K plus $10K bonus. Is Tom's willing to match that?

    Also what are the benefits (aside from showing off the latest tech to friends)
    Reply
  • FritzEiv
    TechnoD: It is not dated thinking. A little sausage making . . . articles go through a multi-step process. First, we try to hire people who know their s*#@, and know how to write. One of us usually does a first read to make sure the content is good, and any initial clean up. Then it goes to a copy desk, which edits for style, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and so on. Producers lay out the article, create charts, and a few other elements that go into how the final article appears to the reader. Then a technical editor pores over the content to ensure accuracy, meaning, and to clean up any final issues. Our managing editor will do a final look before making it ready and scheduling it for publishing. We take accuracy seriously. But it is an imperfect task. I find typos and grammatical mistakes in venerable publications like the Wall St Journal constantly. I happen to think we're better than most, and I can promise you we strive for perfection. In 10 page reviews of highly technical matter, it is a constant quest. Shorter answer: Yes. :-)

    Larry: No. These are primarily freelance/contract opportunities. You do get paid for your work. Sometimes when freelancers are fantastic, we end up hiring them (or trying).

    - Fritz Nelson, Editor-in-chief, Tom's Hardware
    Reply
  • firefoxx04
    Not to nitpick but if you want to be "better than most", maybe you guys can stop using contractions. It drives me crazy. I am far from perfect but I notice these things.
    Reply
  • captaincharisma
    it does seem lately you have too many people who are just doing opinion pieces aboutt theories and other that are just flamebait more than actual news and reviews
    Reply
  • MobileEditor
    Not to nitpick but if you want to be "better than most", maybe you guys can stop using contractions. It drives me crazy. I am far from perfect but I notice these things.

    Thank you for your feedback. Ultimately, the use of contractions is a matter of style and writing for a specific audience. For example, contractions would be avoided when writing scientific or engineering papers (as an aerospace engineer, I wrote many of these). However, we feel our writing is more engaging if we avoid the third person point of view and make it sound more conversational (the only being I ever heard speak without using contractions is Commander Data :)

    I hope you do not find this style decision too offensive, and hopefully you can still enjoy the content.

    - Matt H.

    P.S. I did not use a single contraction in this comment :)
    Reply
  • scolaner
    it does seem lately you have too many people who are just doing opinion pieces aboutt theories and other that are just flamebait more than actual news and reviews

    I'm not sure what you would consider flamebait...?
    Reply
  • kurahk7
    Why not just repost Anandtech's articles on phones since you guys are owned by the same company now.
    Reply
  • captaincharisma
    15883919 said:
    it does seem lately you have too many people who are just doing opinion pieces aboutt theories and other that are just flamebait more than actual news and reviews

    I'm not sure what you would consider flamebait...?

    the apple article about why the writer bought a mac is a good example. considering the article was filled with many controversial points on the pc hardware that was used to compare against the apple hardware

    Reply
  • scolaner
    15883919 said:
    it does seem lately you have too many people who are just doing opinion pieces aboutt theories and other that are just flamebait more than actual news and reviews

    I'm not sure what you would consider flamebait...?

    the apple article about why the writer bought a mac is a good example. considering the article was filled with many controversial points on the pc hardware that was used to compare against the apple hardware

    I disagree on the "flamebait" accusation--it's never our intention to produce content with that design, in any case--but I can see how you might interpret that particular article as such. However, I believe our readership is capable of having conversations around divisive topics without devolving into flame wars.

    Even so, that article's over three months old. That hardly constitutes "lately," and a single article does not a trend make. So I'm not sure what you're getting at.

    If you don't like op-eds in general, that's a different story.
    Reply