First Annual Computer Reliability Report in the Kansas City Star

Looking for reliability?

If you're considering a computer purchase for the holidays, some new statistics from computer repair firm Rescuecom are worth considering.

Based on data from 20,000 users, the Syracuse, N.Y.-based national repair firm contends computers manufactured by IBM/Lenovo and Apple are the most reliable on the market.

Rescuecom gave computers from Lenovo, a firm formed in China that purchased IBM?s computer division in 2004, a reliability score of 243. Apple computers received a score of 201.

The nearest competitor was Hewlett-Packard, which trailed far behind with a score of 12. Dell received a 4, Gateway received a -12 and "others" received a -16.

Rescuecom CEO David A. Milman said the company arrived at the scores by comparing each computer manufacturer's market share to the percentage of service calls about that company's computers.

Lenovo, with 4.3 percent of the U.S. market, accounted for 1.8 percent of Rescuecom service calls during the second quarter. Apple, with 4 percent of the U.S. market, accounted for 2 percent of the calls.

HP, with 17.9 percent of the market, accounted for 15.8 percent of calls. Dell, with 30.7 percent of the market, accounted for 29.4 percent of Rescuecom?s calls.

Smaller manufacturers, lumped together for the survey, accounted for 37 percent of the market and 44.4 percent of the calls.

Apple and Lenovo appear to be more focused on quality products, while other manufacturers focus on market share, Milman said.

Milman recommended that potential computer buyers stick with names they know.

Lesser-known brands, especially those offering lower-priced computers, have a much higher incidence of service calls, Milman said. He attributed the higher rate to less reliable components used to build computers and poor or nonexistent customer service from the manufacturer.

"If you''e got a $400 computer, there's not much room (in the price) for quality customer support," Milman said.

In a survey last year, Rescuecom found "Windows won't start" was the most frequent computer problem, reported by 20 percent of customers.

Other top problems were: "Internet connectivity difficulties," 17 percent; "computer running very slow," 16 percent; "data loss," 11 percent; "printer not working," 6 percent; and "networking problems," 5 percent.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/15874266.htm