Apple, Lenovo Top Computer Reliability Study
Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:12PM EDT
See Comments (12)
Who's got the most reliable computers? In an analysis of calls received by its tech support centers compared with the market share of the vendor, RescueCom has named Apple the far-and-away most reliable computer vendor in the U.S.
The methodology is intriguing and unique, but it's a basically sound way to look at the issue: Essentially, you take the total number of each brand of computers that are on the market and divide it by the number of support calls received for that brand. A high number indicates less of a need for service for that brand, while lower numbers mean more service is required.
Full results follow (with total score in parenthesis, for comparative use):
- Apple (357)
- Lenovo/IBM (236)
- HP (126)
- Gateway (103)
- Dell (94)
- Others (79)
Scores of under 100 mean that the share of repair calls for that brand are highter than the actual market share of the company. Sorry, Dell! (That said, remember, this is just one company's look at the issue; other reliability studies will offer different viewpoints on who's best.)
Also of note: Some companies lumped into "Others" actually had improved service over last year's scores, namely Sony and Toshiba. I presume they weren't broken out because statistically the figures were too small to be relevant. But just because a brand isn't listed you shouldn't immediately presume it has poor reliability.
RescueCom is a franchised, on-site computer repair operation, offering 24/7 support and emergency services. You can find out more information and read the full press release here (click Press Center, look under Latest Press Releases).
Top 5 Posts
More About Desktops
Comments on Apple, Lenovo Top Computer Reliability Study
Post a Comment
Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
-
2 Posted by cnull on Tue Oct 30, 2007 11:45PM EDT Report Abuse
fox - While I'm not sure that's the case entirely, this is a third-party support organization. That might actually lead to them getting MORE support calls than fewer.
-
3 Posted by txedreb on Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:28AM EDT Report Abuse
As both a former Apple (certified technician and phone support agent) and Rescuecom employee I think this is a unbiased yet somewhat laughable press release as Rescuecom does not get that many calls on Apple products and Apple has numerous dedicated call centers for tech support. Apple has also received high marks from Consumer Reports for several years in a row for customer support and product quality. Rescuecom techs on the most part are not Apple trained or certified. They are dispatched from a call center that does not do phone support. While working for Rescuecom I never received a single support call request for an Apple Product. Also you will pay for a tech to come on site. Apple has 90 days of complementary telephone tech support before you have to pay per incident for support or purchase an AppleCare Protection plan that not only extends your standard one year warranty to three years, it gives unlimited phone support and the option of having a certified technician come to your home to repair the computer. For Apple users that are near an Apple Store, appointment based tech support at the Genius Bar is free as are in-warranty repairs. This appears to be an attempt by Rescuecom to gain market share for tech support and get its name out in the market. Most people I talked as a Rescuecom employee had never heard of the company until they started looking for someone to help get viruses and spyware off their computer.
-
4 Posted by rogueist on Wed Oct 31, 2007 1:01PM EDT Report Abuse
I think that Apple laptops though have the one serious flaw - if you spill some liquid on they keyboard area, you fry the whole machine. Nearly every other laptop I have worked on has a barrier of some kind - usually a plastic sheet or covering on top of a metal tray, between the keyboard and circuit board area. This is all open air on Apple laptops. So one drop of sweat and you have a brick. Otherwise they last forever.
-
5 Posted by txedreb on Thu Nov 1, 2007 12:17PM EDT Report Abuse
True but all manufactures can be affected by liquid spills. I have worked on one Dell Laptop that had wine spilled on the unit and it not only fried the keyboard but part of the MB was exposed to the liquid and it was shot. All laptops need spill proof liquid barriers either over the keyboard or under it.
Post a Comment
Sponsored Links
Videos
Tech Close-Ups
The Nikon D80 is a pro-sumer camera that makes you feel like a real pro. The image quality on this 1 ...
Gadgets You Might Like
Also on Yahoo! Tech
| Computers | Home Office | Wi-Fi & Networking | Phones & PDAs | Cameras & Camcorders | TV & Home Theater | Portable Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Posted by fox95630 on Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:00PM EDT Report Abuse
I would like to point out that Apple is also one of the few companies that does not offer free tech support. That may contribute to a smaller number of tech support claims.