My Choice is E( was confused between E and B) , Now Analyst's assertion can be supported if introduction of new devices hampers the sale of existing devices( i.e. consumers buying new devices more). E supports it by saying that consumers are loyal to tech they are enjoying( making it successful) so they will tend to buy new device.

Why no B , because Analyst's assertion is sales getting hurt with new device, not that media and news papers are hurting the sales by publishing new device.

airan wrote:My Choice is E( was confused between E and B) , Now Analyst's assertion can be supported if introduction of new devices hampers the sale of existing devices( i.e. consumers buying new devices more). E supports it by saying that consumers are loyal to tech they are enjoying( making it successful) so they will tend to buy new device.

Why no B , because Analyst's assertion is sales getting hurt with new device, not that media and news papers are hurting the sales by publishing new device.

Airan : Analyst's assertion is "salse are going down becuase of announcement of launch new device, not becuase of new device. So if a company says in a press release that in next Nov 2008, they are going to launch a new series of laptops. The news may not even go to consumers unless media highlights it......

firstly i cant figure out which is the analyst's assertion here:
"But announcing new technology too soon after the introduction of a successful device can backfire. Once consumers hear about the new device, they may stop buying the one currently on sale"
or
"So, if a company wishes to announce the upcoming sale of a new device, it should wait until purchases of the old device have begun to decline. "

is the 2nd statement a conclusion and therefore not an assertion?

Regarding the statement:

" But announcing new technology too soon after the introduction of a successful device can backfire."

answer B) says "Media outlets, such as television programs and magazines, often report on the planned introduction of new devices while the sales of old devices are still strong"

answer B) does not say that media makes these announcements too soon. it just says that the media makes the announcement while the sales of the old model are still strong.
isnt it possible that the sales are strong even after 2 years. so if a media reports about a new model after 2 years, then it is not too soon. or is my presumption wrong ?
is it that 'too soon' is relative to the sales..i.e any time period when the sales is strong is 'too soon' after the product has been introduced, and once the sales start slowing down, the 'too soon ' period is over.

Also the assertion being made is that media announcements are detrimental to sales of existing models.
the assertion talks about the timing of the announcement by the media and how its detrimental.
how does answer B) support this assertion? It just states that the media makes these announcements while sales are still strong.
i.e it talks about the timing of the announcement but does not necessarily say that its detrimental.

I will Go with option E in this case.