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For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Friday, October 13, 2006

Apple still leads the pack at Consumer Reports ... Sort of

Apple's Consumer Reports "win" has gotten a lot of press lately in Mac circles, as you'd expect:

Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) laptops did the best in terms of value, but the interesting figures come from the large user database on customer support and reliability. According to Consumer Reports survey of over 12,000 of their readers, Apple had top ratings for notebook and desktop computer tech support. Brand repair history of some 128,000 computers had Apple showing fewer repairs than any other PC brand.

But this glowing report in bloggingstocks.com, like all the others, omits one crucial details that Consumer Reports is very careful to point out: Apple only offers 90 days of free telephone support, compared to 1 year for the rest of the industry. And buying into Apple Care to extend the support is more expensive than support offerings from PC companies. We shouldn't be suprised that Apple has good support: God knows you're paying for it upfront. But let's not go crazy patting Apple on the back. Apple support is better, yes, but it's more expensive and lasts for far less time than does support from virtually any PC maker.

[ Posted at 12:49 PM | Permalink ]