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Study Finds iPhone Twice As Reliable As BlackBerry
Posted by
timothy
on Sun Nov 09, 2008 07:36 PM
from the joe-random-study dept.
from the joe-random-study dept.
An anonymous reader writes "As reported at TechCrunch, 'The iPhone is twice as reliable as the BlackBerry after one year of ownership, a new study by SquareTrade finds. SquareTrade, which sells extra warranties for cell phones and other devices, looked at the failure rates of 15,000 phones covered under its plans. The malfunction rate for iPhones after one year is 5.6 percent, compared to 11.2 percent for the BlackBerry and 16.2 percent for the Treo.' The full report (pdf) can be found at the SquareTrade site."
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Submission: Study: iPhone twice as reliable as BlackBerry by Anonymous Coward
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OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:5, Insightful)
Not to mention that most Blackberry users have devices paid for by their employer. The majority of iPhone users buy their own phones.
Parent
Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:5, Insightful)
My coworkers and I get our Blackberries through the firm, and you'd be surprised how many old-model Blackberries get dropped once the new models become available. "Only the partners have the new ones?" "Yeah. We're relying on attrition to wear down the associates' Blackberries." Next day. "I need a new Blackberry. I dropped mine."
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Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:5, Informative)
Yep, I've seen the same thing many times. That was my point. I'd say a sizeable minority of Blackberry 'failures' are people angling to upgrade to the latest greatest model.
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Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I keep hearing about how our auto industry is in the toilet and they need a quarter-trillion dollar loan from the government (us) to keep going and I wonder if there aren't some entrepreneurs out there who could build reasonably priced, well-built cars that were really efficient and looked cool and who could become the next "Big Three". This won't happen, of course, because of the belief that GM, Ford, etc must be helped because they are "too big to let fail".
And by helped you must mean "granted a virtual monopoly on auto production in the US". Or at least a piece thereof.
Whenever I hear that some corporation or bank is "too big to fail" I always think that means they are "too big to exist".
A situation like that is like going to war - by the time you're fighting, you have already failed. Allowing a corporation to get so big means that We The People have FAILED in our jobs as citizens. Myself included.
Our government "of the people" helped the big three automakers destroy the working public transportations which predated our all-auto culture. We are all complicit - we let it happen
Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:5, Interesting)
While no denying your comment, I doubt many companies like yours would be using extra warranty services like this. I am sure SquareTrade's statistics only includes those insured by them - most likely individuals and small businesses.
So the abuse by enterprise users likely does not come into these figures.
Parent
Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:5, Funny)
My coworkers and I get our Blackberries through the firm, and you'd be surprised how many old-model Blackberries get dropped once the new models become available. "Only the partners have the new ones?" "Yeah. We're relying on attrition to wear down the associates' Blackberries." Next day. "I need a new Blackberry. I dropped mine."
I had a horrible accident with a Blackberry and a prototype mass driver at the lab. When my supervisor offered to have it repaired I handed him a Dust Buster and pointed to a smudge on the wall.
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Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:4, Interesting)
We had this same problem at the college I work at until the IT department changed up the way we handled this. Now if they "break" a phone we charge the department for phone replacements. You'd be surprised at how few managers of departments are willing to slice $200 off their budget to get a new shiny phone. Or if they do - I don't care, because it doesn't set any of my projects behind any longer.
Also, we initiated a two year rotation on phones - everyone gets a new one (the same model as the deans and executives) every two years. That cut down on the envy-breakage considerably.
Your tax payer dollars hard at work...
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:5, Informative)
With 3G Smartphones being so commonplace these days is Blackberry even relevent anymore?
Yes. The Blackberry platform remains the best mobile data system by far. Strong encryption, fully audited, free dev kits, no restrictions on what you do with it, push email, strong control of the devices by central IT policy, and outstanding integration with Exchange, Notes or GroupWise. Even supports PGP or S/MIME email for additional paranoia.
Unlike the iphone or googlephone, no one can remove apps from your blackberry (aside from your IT people).
Now, you might not be interested in all these features, but nothing else comes close.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
It's just I have found Blackberry to be a pain to maintain and just really expensive. Eventually we just went made do with Exchange, for push email in Exchange/Outlook mobile, that can be done (I dont know about Groupwise) and we were already paying for exchange to begin with. We just felt that was good enough so we phased out Blackberry and got everyone O2's, t
Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:5, Informative)
Don't get me wrong, I have a Blackberry and I like it; but let's not start giving each other blowjobs just yet:
Can't do VoIP apps - restricted by RIM.
Purchase/licensing and maintenance of a separate Blackberry enterprise server required. Note that iPhone integrates w/Exchange without requiring you to license/maintain this component.
Parent
Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:4, Informative)
iPhone uses SSL for IMAP by default, and I'd be surprised if the Exchange connection isn't encrypted as well. Most Exchange users will use the built-in VPN support to access their Exchange e-mail. That said, you are probably right in that RIM is the only player in the enterprise, but "end-to-end encryption" seems like a bad example.
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Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:5, Interesting)
Not to mention that most Blackberry users have devices paid for by their employer. The majority of iPhone users buy their own phones.
Regardless of who bought it, which would you spend more time protecting? Your personal entertainment device that lets you listen to music etc. or the virtual servant bell which forces you to check your email regularly out of hours and which few people use for personal calls.
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Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:5, Interesting)
Regardless of who bought it, which would you spend more time protecting? Your personal entertainment device that lets you listen to music etc. or the virtual servant bell which forces you to check your email regularly out of hours and which few people use for personal calls.
In all fairness, modern BlackBerry handsets do audio and video. Mine even has a 3.5mm headphone jack. Many also come equipped with cameras (although people who need to go places that don't allow cameras can get ones without). It's also good for surfing the Web, and although it comes equipped with a pretty decent mapping application, Google Maps is even better. As for personal calls, well, I really just don't enjoy being on the phone that much. But if I was somewhere away from home and I needed to make a phone call, I imagine pulling my BlackBerry out of my pocket, dialing a number, and holding it to my ear would be the simplest way to do it. Why wouldn't I?
What's more, all modern BlackBerry handsets have an Auto On/Off feature. If you're really so concerned, have it switch itself off at 6pm and come back on in the morning.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
What's more, all modern BlackBerry handsets have an Auto On/Off feature. If you're really so concerned, have it switch itself off at 6pm and come back on in the morning.
Most people don't have a problem with the device. Even getting into the habbit of manually switching it off wouldn't be too much to ask. What's more difficult is managing your boss' expectation that the thing is on. For that very reason I don't want a Crackberry.
Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:5, Informative)
Really?
Boss: Did you get my email?
Me: Not yet, I just got in.
Boss: I sent it at 9pm last night.
Me: Ah, that must be it. I left at 6. So what's up?
Is that so hard? In my experiences, bosses might expect all kinds of things, but rational people generally have a pretty good grip on what is reasonable to expect and what is not -- unless you give them other ideas.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Think about it - your manager's performance ratings depends usually on yours. If his team is not productive then he is
re: salaried work (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd argue that you're absolutely wrong. Paying someone a salary, vs. an hourly wage means there's an understanding that neither party thinks it necessary to track every minute that you're working. The employer benefits because he/she gains flexibility. (EG. You might be asked to stay late when a new piece of software is rolled out, and part of the setup can't even be done while the 9-5 employees are around and using the app.) The employee benefits because he/she is freed from a degree of micro-manageme
Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Not in my case. I've dropped my iPhone 3G several times, including a three-foot fall onto a hard surface--twice. The shiny bezel got a little scratched but the phone works fine.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Basically, having dealt with SquareTrade (they're actually a pretty decent company, by the way), anything that causes the phone to stop working normally, such as broken screen, broken keyboard, broken battery, broken... well, anything that can't be fixed by the user.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Just out of curiosity what exactly would you call a user fixable part on a cell phone?
Aside from the few phones that have interchangeable outer covers, I can't think of a single thing. Not like they sell parts at Radio Shack...
Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score:4, Informative)
We divided reported malfunctions into the following problem categories:
And, regarding the level of care, and how accident prone iPhones are:
As it turns out, an iPhone user is more than twice as likely to experience an iPhone failure due to accidental damage than through a handset malfunction. An astounding 12% of iPhone owners have reported a failure due to accidental damage at the 1 year mark, and nearly a quarter of all iPhone owners can be expected to have their phone fail from an accident by the end of 2 years. This accident rate is higher than the 9% accident rate reported on all other phones by one-third...
Personally, I see and use the iPhone as an appliance, not as a platform, which is what a real Smartphone is. iPhone is not in the same league, and comparisons of this kind, while informative to some extent fail to provide any significant insights.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Right. Research suggests that the iPhone are reliable, so their methods must be wrong. Because I know a guy who's iPhone broke, and we all hate Apple anyway, so lets be as dismissive as we can.
It couldn't possibly be because the devices are durable and designed pretty well.
bias. (Score:4, Insightful)
There are plenty of people who would wait until there was more than one problem with their iPhone before calling it in for repairs. But those with a blackberry might be more quick to respond to problems.
Did the study really only count the number of times someone sent their phone in for repairs, or the actual defects in the hardware?
Re:bias. (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:bias. (Score:5, Funny)
the case is coming apart - bad glue?
That's not broken. You're one of the lucky ones who got one with a user replaceable battery!
Parent
Re: (Score:3)
There are plenty of people who would wait until there was more than one problem with their iPhone before calling it in for repairs.
are you joking? the people who buy apple products are generally complete nuts when it comes to returning stuff. shit, I remember ibooks (or were they macbooks?) being returned because of discolouration where you wrists like. discolouration!
if there's the slightest flaw in an apple product their is almost always an outcry demanding a recall. where are you getting the impression people buying iphones are less fussy than blackberry buyers? because it sure isnt this reality
Re:bias. (Score:5, Informative)
So far even minor issues found in the iphone have been turned into a maelstrom of users, fanboys and haters all cashing in their feedback. There are people actively petitioning the iPhone for the following: Canadian pricing, the autocorrection feature having a disable switch, iphone unlocking/drm, 3rd party application NDAs, iphone in china & other providers, chrome for iphone, mms, 802.1x NACS, etc etc.
The blackberry is not getting anywhere near this much attention, petitions for the blackberry are aimed at the service providers disablement of a particular BB feature.
However all this vocal activity is a good thing for apple, as it gives them ways they can improve their product.
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Who protects a Blackberry? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Who protects a Blackberry? (Score:4, Insightful)
No kidding. My blackberry gets near constant use all day. In and out of the holster, keyboard pounded on. I've spent 6 straight hours (leashed to a power outlet) doing emergency work over SSH on one. Dropped it repeatedly. Had it on and awake for months of uptime. And you know what? It works just as well as it did the day I got it.
If iPhones have a better fail rate than Blackberries, my guess is because people simply use them less.
Parent
Twice as reliable? (Score:5, Insightful)
The malfunction rate for iPhones after one year is 5.6 percent, compared to 11.2 percent for the BlackBerry
To me that suggests the iphone is 94.4% reliable and the blackberry is 88.8% reliable. That's just me, though.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The malfunction rate for iPhones after one year is 5.6 percent, compared to 11.2 percent for the BlackBerry
To me that suggests the iphone is 94.4% reliable and the blackberry is 88.8% reliable. That's just me, though.
That makes sense if you're a reseller or insurer, and you're interested in how many iPhones or Blackberrys will be sent back for replacement.
However, the consumer who only owns one such device at a time isn't interested in that probability. He's interested in the probability of this individual unit failing tomorrow. From that point of view, the iPhone is twice as likely to not-fail on any given day -- making it, to him, twice as reliable.
Obvious reasoning (Score:3, Insightful)
The reason is because the blackberry is treated as a tool, more likely to be thrown around, and while it can probably handle being thrown around much better than an iPhone, but it'll break eventually. People who get an iPhone will carry it around in their little plastic cases, polishing it with a cloth after every conversation, and protect it with their life.
Also, the lack of mechanical parts (ie buttons) will make it fail slightly less...
Re:Obvious reasoning (Score:4, Insightful)
If you stop and think about it, it makes a lot of sense that the blackberries /fail/ much more than iPhones.
The reason is because the blackberry is treated as a tool, more likely to be thrown around...
Unless, of course, you RTFA in which case you see iPhones fail more often due to accidental damage, but still have significantly lower failure rates overall.
Also, the lack of mechanical parts (ie buttons) will make it fail slightly less...
Yup and that probably accounts for that one of the eight categories where the BB lost.
Parent
Not necessarily true (Score:3, Interesting)
If you don't have an AT&T contract, you cannot get your iphone serviced. With that in mind, I'm sure many minor issues aren't sent in for repair and people simply learn to live with them.
For instance, my iPhone has, ever since I got it, had one dead speaker (the left one). But because I've been using prepaid sim card (AT&T) and I used a jail breaking program to activate my phone, Apple won't do anything for me about it. So, as far as they are concerned, my phone is working great. It's not a huge deal so I don't worry about it.
They don't specifically say you must have an AT&T contract to get warranty service, but it's more or less required via the other terms. They wont' service your phone unless its activated ("How can we see if it's working or not?). They won't service phones that aren't activated legitimately (at least not if they know about it). You MUST sign up for a contract to activate your phone (not actually true with the 3g, it'll apparently activate on a prepaid sim).
Re:Not necessarily true (Score:5, Interesting)
Oh, good grief; not you, too?
Neither iPhone model has stereo speakers. It's not a dead speaker, it's the fricking MICROPHONE [macrumors.com].
Parent
Speaking as an iPhone user... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm so completely used to random crashes to the main screen, random complete lockdowns, random freezes, dropped calls, you name it... that it'd have to take something pretty remarkable before I even realized it was a fault I could make a warranty claim over as opposed to just "buggy as usual" functioning.
Looking at the typical blackberry users who regard it as a critical piece of their god given right and duty to answer emails even when on the can... I'd imagine they're vastly less tolerant than iPhone users.
Most iPhone users I know, who haven't previously used Blackberries, are pretty happy with their iPhones. Just about every former Blackberry user I know who converted to an iPhone hates the thing's unreliability and wants to go back.
In short: Relying on reported failures doesn't always tell you which device is more reliable. It can just be an indicator of which user group is more tolerant.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Speaking as an iPhone user, WTF are you doing that causes your phone to crash so much? I have some problems with safari, but other than that it works fine.
It checks an imap mailbox with at least a hundred folders, and several hundred messages in the inbox itself at any given time, I use the clock for alarms, cal for future events, sms very lightly, a couple pages of downloaded apps and it just works.
Today was the first day where I've had a real problem, and you better believe I was on the phone with AT
I call BS on this one (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah, it's a close one, but I'm going to go with the study in TFA.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Exactly. This study's findings are applicable only to people who have SquareTrade warranties--but I'm sure diehard Apple fans will point to this study as more proof that the iPhone is the best thing since sliced shit.
(Disclaimer: I own a MacBook.)
Re:did the study only measure reliability? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:did the study only measure reliability? (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Or?? (Score:4, Insightful)
Can't speak of iPhone - I can only say to BlackBerry.
In my company we have so called "standby support," when people are getting a BlackBerry from company and have to respond to customer calls.
The amount of abuse BlackBerry can survive is really impressive. Generally, BlackBerrys assigned to standby support pool last for 8-14 months. But the phones rarely have a quiet hour in their lives.
So my biased theory would be that BlackBerry and Treo are failing more because they are used in business more and thus are open to more abuse.
Parent
Re:Or?? (Score:4, Interesting)
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