Illustration by FlorafaunaDell and HP consumer laptops have turn some-more durable over a years, yet not as fast as several smaller rivals have. As a result, readers continue to ding a dual vast vendors on trustworthiness measures. Apple laptop users gave their machines high outlines for durability, support, and many facilities aside from “performance for a price.” Asus, in contrast, got regard from business for offered a lot of laptop for a money.
Highlighted in a 3 charts next are a consult participants’ ratings of laptop PC manufacturers in 3 ubiquitous areas: reliability, features, and service/support. These formula are drawn from a 2011 Reliability and Service consult of some 63,000 PCWorld readers. The other product categories lonesome in this consult were desktop PCs, tablets, digital cameras, printers, HDTVs, and smartphones. For a closer demeanour during a methodology we used in a consult to sign manufacturer trustworthiness and patron satisfaction, see “Reliability and Satisfaction: What a Measures Mean.”
Notes and Quotes
Here are some engaging information points from a laptops territory of a Reliability and Service survey, along with a integrate of deputy comments from participating PCWorld readers:
• Survey participants’ altogether compensation (“extremely satisfied” or “very satisfied”) with laptop trustworthiness from all companies has softened from 67.6 percent in 2008 to 81.9 percent in 2011. In that same period, Apple’s capitulation rating for laptop trustworthiness has risen from 82.3 percent in 2008 to 90.6 percent in 2011.
• Among laptop owners in a survey, 31.7 percent news regulating their machines for both personal life and work life.
• Approximately one in 5 problems that laptop users sought assistance with from a vendors’ patron support services were never resolved.
• Though a occurrence of poignant laptop problems has depressed for a attention as a whole, from 31.8 percent in 2007 to 22.6 percent in 2011, some vendors are creation faster swell than others. Specifically, HP softened from 36.1 percent of consult participants in 2007 stating a poignant problem with their laptop within a prior 3 years to 24.1 percent doing so in 2011, since Dell softened distant reduction dramatically over a same period, from 30.3 percent in 2007 to 26 percent in 2011.
• The 10 many common laptop problems that a readers reported encountering were with (in forward sequence of frequency) a handling complement (19.2 percent), a tough expostulate (17.8 percent), a energy supply (10.6 percent), a graphics or video complement (8.8 percent), a keyboard (8.6 percent), a motherboard (8.5 percent), a shade (6.1 percent), a wireless tie (6 percent), a visual expostulate (5 percent), and a complement memory or RAM (3.9 percent)
• “The tough drives in dual [Dell] laptops we purchased unsuccessful one month after their warranties expired.” –Dell laptop owner
• “It’s really good made, not a plastic-like materials we typically find.” –Apple laptop owner
Apple Leads in Laptop Reliability
Four companies warranted better-than-average outlines on a survey’s trustworthiness measures, with Apple going a category-leading 5 for five. Samsung and Toshiba tied for a second spot, interjection to 3 positives and no negatives each; Samsung’s strengths were in few problems on arrival, few passed laptops, and altogether owners compensation with reliability, while Toshiba scored good on few passed laptops, few components wanting replacement, and altogether owners satisfaction. Asus deserves an honest discuss here for a low suit of poignant problems and better-than-average altogether owners compensation with reliability.
Bringing adult a back in a consult formula for laptop trustworthiness are Dell’s business laptops and HP’s home laptops, with dual worse-than-average outlines and no better-than-average results, and Dell’s home laptops, with 3 subpar outlines and no positives.
BRANDProblem on arrivalAny poignant problemAny unsuccessful member replacedDead PCOverall compensation with reliabilityApple
Samsung
Toshiba
Asus
Acer
Digital Storm
MSI
Compaq
Gateway
HP for Business
iBuyPower
Lenovo
Micro Express
Sony
Dell for Business
HP for Home
Dell for Home
Better than normal Average Worse than average
“Dead PC” indicates a disaster in one of a system’s core components. The 6 laptop “core components” in a categorization are CPU, motherboard, RAM, graphics chip, tough drive, and energy supply. HP for Business laptops embody a EliteBook, Mini, and ProBook product lines, among others. Dell for Business laptops embody a Latitude, Precision, and Vostro product lines, among others. HP for Home laptops embody a Envy, Pavilion, and TouchSmart product lines. Dell for Home laptops embody a Adamo, Inspiron, Studio, and XPS lines.
Apple Laptop Owners Most Satisfied With Features
Continuing a considerable brush of a laptop landscape, Apple collected better-than-average outlines on 8 of a 10 measures, with usually “performance for price” and “ports” grading out as average. Three other manufacturers scored generally good on features: Asus and Sony, with 5 better-than-average showings each; and Toshiba, with three.
Vendors with during slightest dual worse-than-average outlines and no better-than-average finishes embody Digital Storm (two), HP for business users (four), and Dell for business users (a sad eight). Two vendors with generally bad formula can indicate to a china lining: HP for home users struggled with subpar outlines on 3 measures in a laptop difficulty of a survey, yet it compensated to some border with a better-than-average class for “built-in speaker”; and yet Acer racked adult 5 worse-than-average marks, it but perceived better-than-average outlines from a readers for “performance for price.”
BRANDBuilt-in speakerDisplay qualityKeyboardOperating noisePerformance for priceTrackpad/ indicating deviceWebcam qualityDesignPortsWarrantyApple
Asus
Sony
Toshiba
Dell for home
iBuyPower
Gateway
Lenovo
Micro Express
N/A
Samsung
Compaq
MSI
Digital Storm
HP for home
Acer
HP for business
Dell for business
Better than normal Average Worse than average
N/A = Not accessible (too few responses for this manufacturer on this measure). HP for Business laptops embody a EliteBook, Mini, and ProBook product lines, among others. Dell for Business laptops embody a Latitude, Precision, and Vostro product lines, among others. HP for Home laptops embody a Envy, Pavilion, and TouchSmart product lines. Dell for Home laptops embody a Adamo, Inspiron, Studio, and XPS lines.
Apple Leads in Service, Too
The Cupertino association finished a excellent display in a laptop PCs difficulty with better-than-average scores on all 4 of a use and support measures. Dell’s business laptops use and support picked adult high outlines on dual measures (“problem resolution” and “service experience”), as did Toshiba (for “phone reason time” and “Web and phone support rating”). Vendors with work to do in use and support embody Asus and HP for home, both of that warranted worse-than-average ratings on 3 of a 4 service-and-support measures in this product category.
BrandPhone reason timeWeb and phone support ratingProblem was never resolvedService experienceApple
Dell for Business
Toshiba
Dell for Home
Acer
N/A
Lenovo
Sony
N/A
Asus
HP for Home
Better than normal Average Worse than average
N/A = Not accessible (too few responses for this manufacturer on this measure). HP for Business laptops embody a EliteBook, Mini, and ProBook product lines, among others. Dell for Business laptops embody a Latitude, Precision, and Vostro product lines, among others. HP for Home laptops embody a Envy, Pavilion, and TouchSmart product lines. Dell for Home laptops embody a Adamo, Inspiron, Studio, and XPS lines.
Article source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/244419/laptop_reliability_and_satisfaction_macbooks_rule.html