Difference between "review", "revision", "upgrade" etc...

[crizal]

Hello everyone, I'm pretty new to the Apple World. So here I go..

First of all, English isn't my mother language and this might also be the root of my problem. As I was wandering in the Buyer's Guide, I have noticed that there are different words for explainig what Apple has in mind for its products.

For example we can talk about a whole "update" of a product line, if there are major internal improvements and also a whole new design to the line, such as the alu-unibody of the MBPs. And there are the words "revision", "review" etc.

So my question is this. Is there really a difference between these words? Are they really used for spesific improvements in periodic times? If so, could you please explain me what they mean? Or maybe not even slightly important are these words?

I would be very glad for every answer. Thanks a lot already!

 

[Hellhammer]

Revision usually refers to the generation. E.g. Revision A is same as first generation.

Upgrade is when something is updated with something new. E.g. MBAs were updated/upgraded in October.

Review often means a test from a user. When you get a certain product, you can write a review about it with your insights and opinions so other people can then think about is it worth buying based on the review.

Of course it would help if you gave some examples as the meaning of the words is dependent on the context.

 

[crizal]

Oh sorry, I have apparently forgotten what review means. I meant by that of course revision. Review is something way different.

So you mean that the "updates/upgrades" usually happen in a "revision/generation", am I right?

Well, for examples, as you also would guess, there are a lot of these by Apple.

But what comes to me first is the line of MBPs. After Powerbooks there were the discrete Macbook Pros without the unibody. Well, now this is a new generation/revision for sure. Then they made their cases out of aluminium, so called Alu-Unibody. And they all had C2D CPUs in them, with another bunch of new inner improvements. I would call it a revision, so a new generation, cause the whole line has been changed, right? But after a while, they took the C2Ds out of the 15" and 17", and replaced them with the newer Core i-series, with again another bunch of internal improvements. But they didn't changed the cases or redesign them. Also let the 13" one almost as it was. I would call it now an update within the revision/generation.

Have I got it right?

 

[Hellhammer]

Oh sorry, I have apparently forgotten what review means. I meant by that of course revision. Review is something way different.

So you mean that the "updates/upgrades" usually happen in a "revision/generation", am I right?

Well, for examples, as you also would guess, there are a lot of these by Apple.

But what comes to me first is the line of MBPs. After Powerbooks there were the discrete Macbook Pros without the unibody. Well, now this is a new generation/revision for sure. Then they made their cases out of aluminium, so called Alu-Unibody. And they all had C2D CPUs in them, with another bunch of new inner improvements. I would call it a revision, so a new generation, cause the whole line has been changed, right? But after a while, they took the C2Ds out of the 15" and 17", and replaced them with the newer Core i-series, with again another bunch of internal improvements. But they didn't changed the cases or redesign them. Also let the 13" one almost as it was. I would call it now an update within the revision/generation.

Have I got it right?

Well, usually a new revision/generation is just an updated version. It doesn't have to be a revolutionary update.

To put it briefly; an update occurs -> a new generation/revision

 

[crizal]

I see. So there are no perfect lines between these words.

But what I'm also getting now is that the revision/generation concept isn't so strict by the Macs as by the iPod/iPhone/iPad, cause there are more parts to improve in the computers.