Back when I first started snowboarding, I never understand the difference between a beginner vs advanced board. Now 10 years later, the difference for me is much clearer. Beginner boards are simply more forgiving. If a board is forgiving, its a great beginner board. Any board that's selling as a "park" oriented board is pretty good for beginners because the board is forgiving. It can be advertised as an advance park board (such as NS Evo), but it still good for beginners (though I want to cry when I see such a beautiful board on a noob... seriously my heart breaks).
An all mountain board tends to be much less forgiving. Its specific use (or what a rider expect out of it) is a smooth ride down the mountain in any condition. There's a whole less play in the board, and the rider needs to be in control of the board. Which makes it more of an "advance" board.
Here are some key terms that I believe makes a bigger difference then other tech jumbo.
1. Stiffness. The stiffer the board the less forgiving it is. (it doesn't matter what scale the company uses. out of 5, out of 9, out of 10 whatever. A stiffer board is a stiffer board.).
2. Aggressive side cut. This effect how the board grabs the snow when its on edge. If you know how to engage it properly, it can be your best friend. If you have no idea, it will take you out. Meaning, if the board has a very aggressive side cut, its not very beginner friendly.
3. General shape of snowboard: Camber, Reverse-Camber, Banana etc. The traditional shape of a snowboard is camber which is more catchy = less forgiving. A R-camber or banana is less catching. I'm not going to go into how they ride, just a general rule of thumb.
The other "tech jargons" tend to have something to do with weight (lighter being better), base (faster being better), construction (indestructible being the best of course), stability (the dampness. its like absorbing shocks in a car. Usually more damp the board the stiffer it is), pop/energy of a board (it can be achieve through fiberglass or whatever "tech" the company choose to use), and edge grip (how well the board edge engages the snow/slush/ice like maganatraction or whatever "tech" the company choose to use). Those are just selling points and frankly, without actually trying them yourself, you can't tell if the company is full of crap or its working as advertised. Also, one board may be great for your friend but crappy for you.
Having said all that there are no real beginner boards. There's only beginner riders. Some company advertise "beginner" boards, but all they really want to say is this board is cheaper. Maybe its not as well made, bad construction etc. After all its for "beginner". A good company as an example is Never Summer (I'm a die hard fan for 10 years, though I owned few other brands here and there, I just love NS.). There's no board on their web site that's marketed for beginners. Does it mean that no beginner should buy NS? hell no.
What you want to look for is a board from a reputable company and a board that's well made. I would stay away from the extremes, not too stiff but not too soft either. Also look at how you want to grow with the board. If you want to just mess around and play in the snow, get more park oriented board. If you want to slay the whole mountain, get more of an all mountain board. But again, middle ground is good.
I personally learned snowboarding on a NS Premier. Which is stiff as hell and not forgiving at all. But I love it. I cannot get lazy with the board. I have to snowboard the right way if i don't want to eat snow. It was that simple, and it was that painful. But the board made me grow. The first year on the board I was playing catch up literally... the board was much much faster then me haha.
Anyways i side tracked. So let me summarize. If you can't turn, you CAN'T turn. It doesn't matter what board your riding. Just make sure the board is meant for your size. Get the right length for your height AND weight, and get the right width for your boot size. That's the most important IMO.
