Apple, Lenovo Top Computer Reliability Study

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).