Computer Retail Week Launches CRW Labs

CMP Media Inc.'s Computer Retail Week is launching CRW Labs, a comprehensive testing ground for computer products. Results from CRW Labs will be developed specifically for the product information needs of retail store buyers and sales professionals, and will be designed to provide these target audiences with the information they need to make better stocking decisions and deliver improved sales assistance. CRW Labs reviews will be featured in a special section in the print edition of Computer Retail Week, and posted online at http://www.crw.com/ starting April 21.

"Customers come into the retail store looking for answers to questions such as which products are right for their needs or which products perform what functions best," said Kevin Ferguson, Computer Retail Week's Editor. "By delivering retailers hands-on reviews of the latest products in the market, CRW Labs will help provide them with the answers to some of those questions." Ferguson added that reviews from CRW Labs will also evaluate product features that most affect customer satisfaction, such as effectiveness of technical support, quality of documentation, and ease of installation.

Products tested in CRW Labs will conform to benchmarks set by industry consortiums dedicated to developing and distributing a set of objective performance benchmarks for computer products based on popular software applications and operating systems.

The first edition of CRW Labs looks at MMX systems. The report cites the Compaq Presario 4784 as the editor's choice. Upcoming lab reports include graphics accelerators (May 19) and photo printers (June 16).

Computer Retail Week is one of the leading newspapers for technology retailers. Each week, it provides critical information about new alliances, technologies and products for a wide audience of computer hardware and software retailers, mass merchants, software specialty stores and other Channel members. For the past six years, Computer Retail Week has delivered breaking news weekly, and those stories can be viewed on the Computer Retail Week home page -- CRWi -- at http://www.crw.com/.

CMP Media Inc. provides publishing, marketing and information services to the broad high-technology spectrum -- the builders, sellers and users of technology -- through print and electronic media. All of CMP's publications and online products can be accessed through the company's TechWeb® site on the World Wide Web (http://www.techweb.com/). Along with Computer Retail Week, print titles include EE Times, Computer Reseller News, InformationWeek, NetGuide Magazine and Windows Magazine.

-0- 04/18/97

SOURCE: CMP Media Inc.

CONTACT: Leslie Dunbar, Corporate Communications of CMP, 516-562-7040,
or ldunbar@cmp.com