[Broni]

http://www.channelre...aptop_reliable/

A survey of 30,000 laptops has found one in three machines die within three years and netbooks do even worse, suffering 20 per cent more hardware failures than larger laptop machines.

Apple is fourth placed for reliability behind, in ascending order, Sony, Toshiba and in first place Asus. To be fair to Apple there's not much in it - 15.6 per cent of Asus machines are expected to malfunction within three years, compared to 17.4 per cent of Apple laptops. Worst performer is HP - 25.6 per cent of its machines are expected to break within three years.

Firmly in the middle is Dell with an expected failure rate of 18.3 per cent, Lenovo with 21.5 per cent and Acer with 23.3 per cent failing within three years.

It seems for laptops, as so much else, you really do get what you pay for. If you buy a nice cheap netbook then just over a quarter, 25.1 per cent, are expected to fail in three years, compared to 20.6 per cent of entry-level lappies. Premium machines on the other hand suffer only an 18.1 per cent failure rate.

The research, from SquareTrade which flogs extended warranties, found overall 31 per cent of machines will fail within 36 months - which is worse than most consumer electronics.

The company noted that netbooks have only really been around in volume for about a year - so it will be interesting to see how their reliability performs over the longer term.

More details are available here (pdf). ®

[jram]

There is a reason for that.

1 they switched from PPC to Intel




2 they are making cheaper Macbooks to keep up in the market.




3 many users put Windows on their Mac.

Ratings & Reliability on Consumer Reports.




 

[rokytnji]

I think also that the data is a bit skewed.

Netbooks below 12" come with all different flavors of operating systems from Linux to Windows.

Users buying Linux ones with no previous experience with the OS get frustrated and return them in droves. That is how I got my refurbished Asus 900. Wasn't even a scratch on the case or screen.

Also I have noticed that a lot of Windows Users. Trying to speed up their Netbooks. To get them to Perform Better. End up breaking them through inept hacks. Talking about changing ram or hardrives and breaking mouse cables or screen cables.

Then, a lot of them get dropped or coffee spilled on them also.
I see a lot of 701 users in Europe who take care of their gear because they seem to pay more for the same equipment. Well their 701s are still chugging along.

Only experience with Mac was years ago I bought my wife a New Powerbook. She got frustrated with the proprietary nature of software and Hardware and sold it to a buddy of mine. He used it to play Poker for years till he spilled something on it and killed it. So I take some of this info with a grain of salt.

Besides, I have some ancient Laptops that still chug along quite nicely using Linux that ran Windows 98 and 2000. So I guess the user determines the longevity of certain gear as well as enviormental circumstances.

[jram]

Netbooks are doomed to fail unless you just run Linux, as you know Linux will run on a toaster    They set up  netbooks to fail because they should just be running Linux or XP, not 7 or Vista.  

[jram]

I have to admit using my PowerBook is like standing still compared to my MacBook Pro. But it did the job, just took longer.

[JohnT]

I have had great reliability with my Sony Vaio Desktop. It is still going and six years old. It is my backup unit now but still had the original CMOS battery, and power supply. I Have my XP Pro on it. I don't care for laptops want a machine that can take heavy use of graphics so have never got one. Perhaps some day for trips to the coffee shop. No MAC because over priced for what you get.