In a survey of 39,000 Consumer Reports readers, Apple emerged on top with the , and the highest rated technical support. Four percent of consumers bought a computer that "was completely inoperable within the first month; another 10 percent had problems that month but could use the computers." Dell trailed Apple's ratings the closest of any PC maker.
Comments
I knew it!
-Proud Apple Certified Tech
This is satisfying. Partly because it proves in relatively objective terms what many of us think about Apple's build quality (although if Dell rated that high, I'm a bit suspicious), and partly because it illustrates the fallacy of the squeaky wheel.
That is to say, you read a lot of posts online about how terrible the quality of Apple products, or some individual Apple product, is. And I don't doubt these are accurate--4% isn't a small number, nor is 10%. And there are special cases where something goes really wrong--the eMac screens, before Apple realized the defect, for example.
But the point is, the people who have the problems make the most noise about them, and frequently talk as if because one product was DOA, every one will be. This is NOT the case, clearly, on average. People who don't have problems don't make noise (like me--I'm currently up to 20 Apple system purchases, with a total of 1 bum serial port in terms of manufacturer's defects), so trawling online discussions would lead you to believe they don't exist.
And perhaps more importantly, since there are still plenty of people who do have some problems (again, 10%), they should remember that the chances of having similar problems are higher with even the best PC manufacturer, Dell.
Go into price arguments all you want, but at least you're paying for quality.
If Apple were churning out the volume of boxes Dell and others are, we might see quality related issues. It does become a matter of numbers at some point...
duh
volume is not relevant when you are talking about percentages!
My flock so far:
Plus, IISi, Quadra 605 (I think), 6116, 6300, iMac233, iMac266, G4/400, IMac400DV, iMac350, ibook300, Cube/450, Cube/450, iMacG4/800, G4/dual1Ghz, iBook500, iMacG4/1Ghz
The only problems I've had were the sound in the IIsi, never fixed, the graphics card on the G4/400, fixed in house immediately, the display in the iBook300, never fixed.
Not bad.
It's good to know that Apple is the MOST reliable computer maker around.
It's BAD that 4% of Apple customer's are getting BURNED (I assume that most of these are eventually resolved, but still! Imagine the heartbreak of buying a new 17" PB and having it take a c*** on you on DAY ONE!)
It's SHOCKING that a 4% catastrophic failure rate is not only acceptable, but industry-leading in this business. Whatever happened to Inspector 13? :)
This is a poll that CS does of their readership periodically. It's not based on any hard numbers from Apple or any of the other major OEMs. That last time the report came out Dell was in the lead -- Apple and Dell swap back and forth in the poll frequently.
It's just a fact. They are c***. A rose covered t*** maybe, but still a t***.
OR
Network Headlines
Most Popular
Recent Reviews
Logitech Cube
The world of mice could often be described charitably as stagnant: it's an endless sea of ergonomic shapes that assume you're sitting ...
NewerTech and Targus USB Hubs For Gifts
A useful holiday present to resolve an ongoing frustration is a multi-port hub. Whether as a stocking stuffer, Chanukah present, or an ...
X-Rite ColorMunki Photo
Color calibration is the art of tweaking your monitor so that the colors represented on screen better match real life and your printer ...
Most Commented
Popular News
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2001
Funny
You wouldn't know if from reading the Forums. :) FWIW - First!