14 DAY TRIAL // Once again, Apple is at the top of the PC Magazine's "19th Annual Reader Satisfaction Survey." Apple is continuing its trend, much to the surprise of PC Magazine editors.
In terms of desktops, this year Apple's overall score was 9.1, same as last year, while in terms of units needing repairs, Apple has been going forward with only 8 percent of all machines sold, instead of last years' 11 percent. But the numbers get even better, as amongst the first year systems, the number of units needing repair was only 5 percent. This figure is quite amazing when you consider that Apple went through a transition the likes of which has never before been even contemplated by other companies.
User's satisfaction with Mac desktops is as usual, high, with a score of 9.1. Apple also scores significantly high on the reliability and the likelihood of recommending scales. The only area where Apple has been dragging its feet is technical support, which is down to 8.1 this year from 8.4 the previous year. On the other hand, 88 percent of tech support issues were covered by warranty, the highest rate amongst the leading vendors.
For portables, things look the same, with an overall score of 9.1. Scores for reliability (9.2), tech support (8.5), and likelihood of recommending (9.4) are also significantly better than average. The only area where Apple does not have a head start is the percentage needing repair which was 16 percent, but on par with Sony's 16 percent, these being the lowest values in the survey. Without a doubt, now that the hardest part of the transition is over, the number of units needing repair will go down significantly.