View this article at: http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/11/10/iphone.highly.reliable/
Monday, Nov 10, 2008 9:50am
Group claims iPhone twice as reliable as BlackBerry
The iPhone is an extremely reliable smartphone, a study from a warranty extension company claims. SquareTrade says that within one year of ownership, the failure rate for the iPhone is just 5.6 percent; this is half the rate for Research in Motion's BlackBerry phones, and almost three times less than the 16.2 percent for Palm's Treo line. While no iPhone has been available for two years, the projected failure rate in that timeline is only 9.2 percent, compared to proven rates of 14.3 percent for BlackBerries and 21 percent for Treos.

The iPhone is also said to suffer from fewer call quality and battery issues, with only 0.5 percent of iPhone batteries dying versus an approximate 1 percent rate for rivals. The phone is affected by significant touchscreen malfunctions however, comprising a third of all its reported issues, if affecting less than 2 percent of owners so far.

The largest cause of iPhone breakdowns is said to be accidents, at 12 percent. Treos and BlackBerries are listed as having only a 9 percent accident rate, though it is not known whether this implies extra fragility in the iPhone. The study is similarly limited in terms of information on the iPhone 3G, which has only been on sale since July.