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Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
SquareTrade's iPhone 3GS Warranty Covers Clumsiness, Stupidity, and Human Nature

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The Dude
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
frankly, there is much less difference between manufacturer reliability than i expected to see. #laptops
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minibeardeath
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
WOW!!!!! i am surprised. almost every toshiba ive ever come in contact with has broken down at one point. granted it wasnt ever anything i couldnt fix, but still i am genuinely surprised #laptops
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FigNinja
11/17/09

@minibeardeath: Were they generally under 3 years old?

Still, 15% failure in 3 years is still pretty crappy, IMO. I'm curious how these numbers would look if they weighed the scores for severity/cost of failure, though. I would love to see detailed numbers for each manufacturer for what their top three failed components were.
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Edited by FigNinja at 11/17/09 2:05 PM FigNinja was starred FigNinja was unstarred

Matt
11/17/09

@FigNinja: I'm in insurance and a large part of my job is data analysis. These numbers don't give us enough information to determine true reliability because this isn't a measure of reliability, it's a measure of claims submitted. Are there unique characteristics about the Squaretrade policyholders for certain brands that make them more likely to file a claim? (gender, age, location, financial status, etc.)
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Dave Clarke
11/17/09

@Matt: I'm going to have to agree with you on this. People who buy Asus probably aren't the same who buy 'shiny shiny HP'.

Myself excluded, I suppose... #laptops
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Brendan Bone
11/17/09

@FigNinja: The stats are for PCs within 3 years because SquareTrade warranties are for 3 years (for new PCs). #laptops
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FigNinja
11/18/09

@Brendan Bone: Yep. I'm aware of that. My question to minibeardeth, which may not have been very clear amongst all the replies, was whether the computers HE saw matched the study sample.
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Edited by FigNinja at 11/18/09 2:31 AM FigNinja was starred FigNinja was unstarred

Bandit
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
How is it possible that Apple laptops are barely more reliable than Dell? I don't own an Apple, but this just sounds wrong to me. #laptops
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minibeardeath
11/17/09

@Bandit: i believe that you have a misconception of Dell not Apple, despite all you hear, Dell has decent quality (esp for business), its just their customer support that is shitty #laptops
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Xeno
11/17/09

@Bandit: Apple and Dell do use the same parts for the most part. Neither of them really design their own processors, mother boards, graphics cards etc. #laptops
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MonkeyBiz
11/17/09

@Bandit: I friend over the course of 4 years of college sent his Macbook Pro for major hardware repairs 3 times. None were normal wear failures. #laptops
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opanitch
11/17/09

@Bandit: You just hear about more Dell mishaps because there are more Dells sold in the US than MacBooks #laptops
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Bandit
11/17/09

@opanitch: Fair point. Though on here, half of Gizmodo readers have Macs, so that's not the case. #laptops
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opanitch
11/19/09

@Bandit: this study wasn't done using Giz readers as the subjects... so I'm not so sure it matters that half of Giz uses Macs...

#tips
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opanitch
11/19/09

@Bandit: sorry if this is a double post, i accidentally hit back and my post dissappeared (while i was editing it).

I don't think the fact that half of Giz readers use Macs matters... the study wasn't done using statistics taken from Giz or any Gawker site for that matter.
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Bandit
11/19/09

@opanitch: The point someone above made is that I must be experiencing more reports of Dell failures because there are more Dell computers. That is not the case here, where Macs are the majority, yet I feel like here I've often seen comments about Dell reliability.

#tips
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opanitch
11/20/09

@Bandit: ah when I made that point (at least I'm one of the people that said it) I was speaking in general, not just here, ie friends, co-workers, family, etc...
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BK Phil
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
HP takes a hit, as usual. Problem is, their consumer products tend to be flaky, and their business products rock solid. Shame they get lumped together like this. #laptops
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dougwilliams
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
Also, if a certain manufacturer (*cough*apple*cough*) does not make netbooks, their overall reliability rating may appear higher, even though their laptops are less reliable than comparable full size models from other companies.

lies, damned lies, and statistics, ya know?
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WestwoodDenizen
11/17/09

@dougwilliams: But Asus is one of the most popular netbook makers of all. Not only that, but I'd imagine the eeepc family takes up a much larger share of their laptop division than the netbook divisions of Sony or Dell. Yet Asus comes across as the most reliable. #laptops
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FigNinja
11/17/09

@dougwilliams: Considering the premium they charge, they have no excuse for failing to make first place by a wide margin, netbooks or no. #laptops
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Span_Wolf
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
I'd like to see how Sager stacks up on the list, that's my laptop. #laptops
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FigNinja
11/17/09

@Span_Wolf: Me, too. Every one I've had has been rock solid. #laptops
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Span_Wolf
11/17/09

@FigNinja: I've actually been made fun of for owning one by people that don't recognize it. Say it looks like a cheap Chinese knockoff that fell off a truck. #laptops
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FigNinja
11/17/09

@Span_Wolf: Well, they're not exactly beautiful but that's not the top of my priority list. #laptops
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Span_Wolf
11/17/09

@FigNinja: I think mine is one of the prettier ones anyway which makes it kind of funny. #laptops
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weendex
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
I detest when they skew stats like this:
"Netbooks are projected to have a 20 percent higher failure rate than more expensive laptop computers."

This would make you think that if a "more expensive laptop" had a failure rate of 4.7%, the netbook would be 24.2%.

But take a look at their graph.

When they say 20% they mean a 20% increase on the 4.7%, or approximately just a piddle ONE PERCENT increase in overall failure rate.

So by 20% they mean that out of a hundred netbooks ONE additional netbook will fail if compared to a hundred laptops.

Bad stats = pet peeve #17 #laptops
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aec007
11/17/09

@weendex: Add this to the mix:
A cheap HP laptop can be about $370 compared to a $1200+ average Sony.
So in 4 years it might have a 10% higher failure rate.
SO????? it was 25% of the Price !
Go buy yourself a new HP, faster than your 4 year old Sony and you would still be ahead of the game by 50% of the cash you spent.

I once read about this guy that kept buying Canon Printers because it was cheaper than the ink refills... he kept donating the ones that run out of ink and deducting the donations.

Some of these charts forget the "bottom line". #laptops
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Fighter-of-the-Nightman
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
What about Sager? #laptops
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FigNinja
11/17/09

@Fighter-of-the-Nightman: I wouldn't be surprised if SquareTrade didn't carry enough warranties on them to have an accurate sample. #laptops
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BeowulfRex
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
And cue the same response as the last time they released these numbers: Apple doesn't contract with SquareTrade to do warranty repairs. Any data they have on Macs comes from user extended warranty contracts, not from new machines. #laptops
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Nathan Obbards
11/17/09

@BeowulfRex: So Apple is worse than those numbers show? #laptops
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Ovi Aiesec Hentea
11/17/09

@Nathan Obbards: No, I think he's saying that Apple perform better than shown there since the warranty SquareTrade provides for Macs is generally purchased by owners of already aged Apple products (after Apple's warranty runs out, eg.) #laptops
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Nathan Obbards
11/17/09

@Ovi Aiesec Hentea: It wouldn't work like that. The warranty is for the first three years of ownership, so it would be those who opted for a SquareTrade warranty rather than AppleCare, probably because they purchased from a third party or felt that it was a better warranty being offered to them. I was being facetious in my statement because the numbers should not really vary that much between those seen by SquareTrade and those seen by Apple. #laptops
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twilight-arc
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
The next question is which company fairs better when you contact them because of a laptop failure. #laptops
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namnnumbr
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
As someone who dealt with broken laptops for the past five years, I have to say that the Toshibas I saw had very severe problems (bad motherboards, severe overheating, completely wrecked HD's) much more often than other computers. This impression might be skewed because I only saw sick computers, though. Their tech support was terrible, though. #laptops
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zrag
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
It brings me joy to see Apple only .9% points ahead of Dell. It shouldnt, because I really like my Macbook, and hope to god it doesnt shit the bed on me. Its just nice to see Apple shown in a more human light, with flaws, rather than seeing it on its usual perch up on Mount Olympus. #laptops
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otus
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
I feel sorry for people who actually keep a laptop for three years. I'm upgrading yearly at least. #laptops
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danger the pirate
11/17/09

@otus: and i feel sorry for you because youre clearly bad at money management and computer maintenance. #laptops
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NorwoodIsMyHero
11/17/09

@danger the pirate: Or he could just have a lot of money and it doesn't matter, in which case this article is meaningless to him anyways. #laptops
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LeoSolaris
11/17/09

@danger the pirate: SHHH!!! It's people like him who let people like me have great laptops at low prices! #laptops
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otus
11/30/09

@danger the pirate: for me it's a new laptop yearly because my machine is my money. yes, i have plenty of money so it's no big deal, though my kids are the benefactors of my regular upgrades. Time waiting on my machine is money wasted.

I make money with my computers. the faster they are, the faster I can be. though i do have to say, as slow as my wife is, she still has a laptop that will best most anything the rest of you have.
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Pope John Peeps II
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
Out of curiosity, what's the difference between laptop and tower failure rates.

I'm fairly convinced that the increased heat and limited airflow in a laptop is murder on the parts (and thus good for the computer sales industry) but can find no definitive study on the topic. #laptops
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chefgon
11/17/09

@Pope John Peeps II: Does anybody even use desktop computers anymore outside of specialized gaming rigs? I'm pretty sure nobody who builds a gaming rig even attempts to use it without massive upgrades for an entire three years. #laptops
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SublimeAndEtc
11/17/09

@Pope John Peeps II: shhh There's a reason you can't find anything on the topic. You might be silenced with that kind of silly talk.

but seriously, what you're thinking surely must be the case. This trend here even backs you up with netbooks, the even smaller computer, having a higher failure rate. So many components packed into ever shrinking cases just increases the self destruction factor of these things, but that's business. We can't give you those light bulbs that never burn out just yet. #laptops
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Pope John Peeps II
11/17/09

@chefgon: Since desktops are so much cheaper, especially when buying the parts and doing some of the assembly yourself, you can basically buy one that stays relevant to technology for way longer than a laptop would. My desktop has 2 year old parts and is still very, very fast relative to today's tech. Well, maybe I need a new graphics card if I want to make it my media centre. #laptops
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NorwoodIsMyHero
11/17/09

@chefgon: Yes, they do. I recently graduated from college, and got a job where I no longer needed a laptop for any meaningful reason, as I have high speed at my apartment and at work.

Why not get more power, more reliability, and more upgradeability for the same price, if mobility is a non-issue? #laptops
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szrimaging
11/17/09

@chefgon: Hmm, lets see....

Scientists, Graphic Artists, photographers, video, 3d artists, engineers......

Yep, they all use desktops. Not to mention the larger widescreen monitors are nicer to use than any laptop monitor on the market. Desktops are the most flexible, upgradable, and cost effective way to do computing. The only spot they fail is the whole portability thing. #laptops
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JohnnyQuine
11/17/09

In reply to Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top
Huh. I'm surprised to see Apple even in fourth place-- from reading the tech blogs the past two years, it seemed like every revision of the Macbook Pro had its own hardware issue.

Then again, I'm typing this from my seven-year old PowerBook. So there could be a trend I'm overlooking. #laptops
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Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top

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