Rescuecom has once again published its computer reliability report based on its own internal breakdown of computer tech support needs, including data recovery, virus removal, wired and wireless networking.
According to Rescuecom's Computer Reliability Report, which it claims to give factual, unbiased data to determine the reliability of today's personal computers, the top five manufacturers with the best overall computer reliability performances for 2010 are:
- Apple (365)
- Asus (305)
- IBM/Lenovo (305)
- Toshiba (199)
- HP/Compaq (149)
Rescuecom pointed out that Asus was definitely the manufacturer to watch in 2009 with a skyrocketing market shipment percentage and a lopsidedly low number of computer support calls. Apple finished the year with a higher score than Asus; but the latter company had to also contend with 190.7 percent growth, year over year. The firm said that Dell's negative growth and poor reliability stopped the U.S. PC giant from reaching a top five position. Conversely, Rescuecom gave honorable mention to Panasonic and Samsung for reliability, despite shipping in smaller numbers.
The following data was used by Rescuecom to calculate reliability scores for the 2010 Computer Reliability Report:
As for how it came up with these rankings:
Rescuecom determines the reliability of a manufacturer by comparing their market share of shipped computers, weighed against the percentage of computer support calls Rescuecom handles for that same manufacturer. Higher scores indicate better reliability. Reliability is attributed to a combination of two areas: quality of components used by a manufacturer, and the success of after sale support provided by the manufacturer. Low-quality components lead to more frequent repairs, and a lack of manufacturer support will lead to customers seeking outside support options, such as Rescuecom.
Of course, the reliability ranking doesn't account for users who experience problems but enlist the services of the OEM. For example, those experiencing difficulties with a Mac might choose to deal directly with Applecare rather than Rescuecom, which wouldn't be tracked in the aforementioned report.
