"InfoWorld" in 1982 stated that "The considerable virtues of the Xerox 820 lie mostly in its use of the Big Board design—its faults are, to a large extent, Xerox's own, and in no small measure due to its rush to get the system to market" before the IBM PC. The reviewer criticized the keyboard's contact bounce, slow disk access, and "pieced-together ... minimal" documentation, and warned customers against the Xerox-customized WordStar. He reported that three of the four computers' disk-drive units his company had purchased had problems, and "strongly recommend an 820 owner get a service contract". The reviewer concluded that while the 820 "could be a fine office computer, its faults are so egregious that they indicate a basic lack of attention to detail on the part of Xerox". While noting the 8" model's low price and Xerox's strong field service and "prestige nameplate", and expressing hope that the company "gets it act together" and fix the keyboard and other problems, he suggested that potential customers consider building a similar computer at a lower price around the Big Board.