Yahoo! Tech: Too much shopping, not enough substance

Yahoo Tech launched today. It's a new site for gadget shoppers. My take so far -- it's very pretty, with lots of nice photos, but it isn't a place I expect to go back to. When I research a tech product I usually start with the tech retailing sites (I start with Amazon.com most often and am also a fan of Crutchfield). Then I work my way around the web from there. Otherwise I'm reading tech news and occasionally getting lured into reading a product review.

The glitzy stuff at Yahoo Tech, like a column by a technology adviser just for moms and win-a-tech-makeover contest  run with ifilm, aren't enough to keep me coming back -- so far. And I'm a tech mom myself!

Here's what some other voices out on the Web have to say:

Saul Hansell of The New York Times points out that it is one of Yahoo's first efforts to build a new site with original content.

Staci Kramer at PaidContent.org calls it, "still a work in progress."

Richard MacManus at Read/Write Web says he's "uneasy" about the "overwhelming consumer focus."

Om Malik at Giga/Om, says it's no threat to CNet. (Yahoo Tech is headed up by Patrick Houston, Yahoo's general manager for technology--and the former editor-in-chief of CNet.)

I agree wholeheartedly with Om's take, even though I'm not an avid C/Net reader myself. Bottom line: If I want tech content, I look to news sites and blogs. A consumer tech shopping site? I'll hit the online retailers first and if I find I get bounced to Yahoo Tech enough, maybe it will make it to the top of my list. It will take a while from here though. So far investors aren't too excited at the site's immediate prospects either. Yahoo! is down 77 cents to $32.01.