Consumer Reports Again Rated Apple BEST in Reliability and Support

The March 2006 Consumer Reports (CR) tree edition just landed in our mail box. It includes a report on using computers as a living room media center. In its list of criteria to consider, CR reports on reliability and support based on its reader survey covering more than 134,000 desktop and laptop computers.

Once again, Apple leads the pack. In its brand repair desktop history survey, Apple at 11% (lower is better) leads seven PC brands by 4% or more, a difference that CR calls "meaningful." In a survey of laptop repairs, Apple is clustered with six other brands in a group that is statistically equal.

For tech support, Apple is the runaway leader for desktops; its readers scored Apple 22 points higher (higher is better) than the closest PC brand. The reader survey of laptop tech support puts Apple again at the top, 12 points higher than the runner up and a whopping 24 or more points better than other PC brands.

CR summarizes by noting under the heading of Quick Picks "As our surveys indicate, Apple's reliability and tech support have been top-notch. The Mac Mini is more user-friendly than comparable budget Windows PCs and includes a FireWire port and a DVD writer."

Elsewhere, CR notes that Macs are less vulnerable to computer viruses and spyware. [Dana Baggett]