Apple portables better than average, not tops says survey
A warranty intermediary says that HP has the worst reliability and Asus the best when it comes to notebook computers. And — this should come as no surprise — netbooks are 20 percent more likely than full size laptops to break in the first year.
SquareTrade, a company that sells warranties for products it neither makes nor sells, has analyzed failure rates for over 30,000 new laptop computers covered by SquareTrade Laptop Warranty plans and found that one-third of all laptops will fail within 3 years. Moreover, the service intermediary also found that netbooks are 20 percent more unreliable than other laptops, and that Asus has the most reliable portables laptop and HP the least.
No surprise here as netbooks have been widely observed, by users and pundits alike, to be quite unreliable.
Buttering both sides of the bread
But, wait a second, Asus tops in reliability? This year’s Consumer Reports laptop reliability survey, which Apple dominated as always, only listed one Asus product which users ranked third overall in the 14 to 16-inch category. Similarly, Asus didn’t appear in Consumer Reports 2008 survey.
Likewise, Apple’s MacBook, as well as the iPod and iPhone, dominated PCMag’s reliability survey in September of this year, which the mirrors last year’s results.
Contrariwise, a survey earlier this year by Rescue.com, another after-market laptop warranty/insurance seller, also named Asus number one in reliability.
There certainly is an interesting dichotomy between self-reporting users, who consistently score Apple portables tops in survey after survey, and the self-reporting after market laptop insurance sellers, like SquareTrade and Rescue.com, who likewise find for Asus time after time.
I guess it still comes down to who you trust…
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November 18th, 2009
Maybe running around crowing about how a tool you use places you among the select few with a superior sense of value and judgement.
November 19th, 2009
@aquaadverse
That comment is a bit too cryptic for me – would you care to elaborate?
November 19th, 2009
It’s pretty simple. Many Apple customers, not all, are emotionally attached to the company and bend over backwards to excuse any short comings. No 3G ? It’s a good thing because it runs down the battery and you can’t swap it. No netbook? It’s a good thing because Apple refuses to put out less than state of the art. You aren’t overpaying and giving Apple an interest free loan, you have good resale value.
Most of the time people only reply to self reporting surveys when they are dissatisfied. I look at computers and OSes as tools. Most PC users feel the same. Apple users have a much higher percentage of people who think the tool you use makes a statement about who you are.
I have no confusion about why there is a dichotomy.