Netbooks have "20% higher failure rate than laptops"

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 19 Nov 2009 at 12:29

Netbooks are 20% more likely to fail within the first year than their more expensive laptop brethen, according to new research.

SquareTrade, an independent US warranty provider, analysed the failure rates of more than 30,000 laptops covered by its own warranties.

It found that 5.8% of netbooks malfunctioned within the first year, compared to 4.7% for regular laptops and 4.2% for premium laptops costing more than $1,000 (£600).

Overall, more than a fifth of laptops are likely to malfunction within three years, according to the company's research. Netbooks haven't been on sale long enough for the SquareTrade to reveal what the three-year failure rate of the mini-laptops will be, but the company predicts that just over a quarter will fail within that timescale.

The company says that the increased risk of failure is unlikely to deter people from the cheap machines. "To many consumers, an extra 1 in 20 chance of having a netbook fail is probably not going to be a deal breaker, as there are many other factors other than reliability that should be considered," the company's report claims. "But it is something to think about, especially given the lack of concrete data on netbook reliability beyond the first 12 months."

Apple reliability

The research also raises question marks over the famed reliability of Macs.

Three PC manufacturers - Asus, Toshiba and Sony - boasted better reliability rates than Apple. Macs have a 17.4% malfunction rate over three years, compared to market-leader Asus, which has a 15.6% failure rate.

HP was the worst of the nine PC vendors listed, with a malfunction rate of 25.6% over three years.