Good Vs. Bad Laptops
The brands that are hot – and suck big time!
By Kiki Tan
PUBLISHED: FEBRUARY 2010

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Over four years ago, right after returning to the Philippines, I bought a laptop, an Acer (Travelmate) – it was quite expensive, so I expected much from it (e.g. fast start, no hanging, et cetera), which, I suppose, it was able to deliver.  Yes, yes, it wasn’t the sexiest unit – bulky (considering they now come as small as folded tissue papers now (oh, okay, I’m exaggerating), heavy (I used to get bruises on my shoulder from lugging the unit around), et cetera.  But that it did what I expected it to do (I started my Web site with it), I was quite happy with that unit.

Eighteen months ago, though, I had a chance to get myself a new HP laptop, so off my Acer went to my sister, as I dove into savouring the ever-popular brand.  The verdict?  It’s not as perfect as I wanted it to be – functionally, at least, considering that the aesthetics were the first to get my attention, and it’s the functionality that now bugs me.

What can only be worse?  Not even two years old, I fear my unit is dying.

Did I choose right the first time, and wrong the second time?

Maybe it’s just me – and the unit I have, so I don’t have to over-emphasize this.
But then again, if SquareTrade, which provides aftermarket warranty coverage for electronics products, is to be listened to, I am supposedly not alone on this, the dilemma of whether it’s just me (and my expectations), or the units themselves that are at fault.

Why? Because, apparently, in the first three years of ownership (often less), laptops/notebooks F-A-I-L.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

According to SquareTrade, the average total failure rate of laptops to be 31% over three years (netbooks, by the way, appear to malfunction slightly more than laptops, but “the lack of data on netbooks over a year old means that the results are far from conclusive,” SquareTrade states). The malfunction rate alone exceeds 20% at the three year mark – and, notably, there is an acceleration of malfunctions in the second and third years.

“While fewer than 5% of laptops failed from malfunctions in the first year, an additional 8% fail in each subsequent year,” SquareTrade states, adding that accidents cause a further 11% of laptops to break over three years, making the total failure rate nearly one-third of all units.

SquareTrade, nonetheless, explains that “given that the typical laptop endures more use and abuse than nearly any other consumer electronic device (with the possible exception of cell phones), it is not surprising to see such high failure rates.”

The group adds: “In SquareTrade’s experience, the 31% laptop total failure rate is higher than most consumer electronics. This comes as no surprise, given that laptops contain far more sophisticated mechanical and delicate electronic components than most other electronic devices. Keyboards, pointer devices, media drives and hard drives are all mechanical components that increasingly wear out when subjected to heavy use, while motherboard circuitry, memory and wireless devices are sensitive to heat and environmental factors.”

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