[waterbuck]

Hi
I can't post polls, but for people who have experience with Windows and Apple laptops, my dad is asking me this question as he contemplates buying an iBook for my Mom.
My TiBook had 3 failures of the CD-ROM drive (not due to mishandling), plus one hard drive failure which I think I caused through trauma. The Aluminum PB that Applecare kindly provided as a replacement has had its first hardware failure, as yet undiagnosed, but probably Hard-drive cache, or logic board stuff.

My Dad's experience is that Dell laptops and IBM Thinkpads failed all the time, but that--in business meetings all around the world--Toshiba laptops were solid as rocks and seemed to work very well and generally when his Dell failed 5 minutes before a presentation, someone else would hand him a Toshiba to work with...

He is worried that if he buys Mom an iBook she'll have something more like my Apple experience (relatively frequent hardward failures) while he has really high appreciation for the reliability of Toshiba.

My gut sense is that Apple's equipment suppliers are about the same as those used by Dell, and held to roughly the same standard. So while the design is cool, and the Applecare service excellent, the reality is that you should expect to need that service..

What should I tell him?
Thanks

[osxisfun]

tell him that if he buys your mom a toshiba he or she will have to spend copious amounts of their time dealing with spyware and viruses.

the best bet for her might be an ibook. with added applecare. and live near an apple store. and then buy the apple pro care so in the event of a machine problem she should have it back with 2 days.

[Yonidass]

Dollar for dollar, I don't think there's any doubt that Macs generally have more reliable hardware. Though they've slipped a bit in recent years, that's always been a generally regarded truth about Macs. Comparing an iBook to a top-of-the-line Toshiba is perhaps another story but there you're going to spend a lot more.

But reliable hardware is not the only consideration. Reliable or not a Toshiba is still going to run Windows and these days all the hassles with the above mentioned spyware and viruses in addition to the less stable, less customizable, commercially intrusive Windows XP could cause your mother a lot more headaches than it's worth.

[driven]

Dell's fail quite a bit .... IBM and Toshiba are top notch. (Although I'd be concerned with IBM Thinkpads now that they are no longer going to be manufacturerd by IBM, but rather by Lonovo ...) HOWEVER: You still have to deal with Windows, which includes spyware, viruses and bluescreens.

iBooks are probably more apt to take a beating than the Powerbooks at a minor cost in performance.

I'd go with the iBook personally.

[benwhanlee]

here is a recap of consumer reports reliability ratings:

http://www.consumerreports.org/main/...=1117484676848

[Yonidass]

That survey is in regard to tech support, not hardware reliability. Still, nice to know Apple was consistently at the top of their list.

[driven]

The fact that Apple was able to "fix" the problem says something ... more likely user error rather than actual hardware failure.

[ojnihs]

I've had my Powerbook for about a year and a half now and I've actually had to send it into Apple Repair three times already (once for logicboard failure and twice for superdrive failure). Even though I've had to send it in this many times, I'm still certain that Apple is quite reliable when it comes to hardware. I know other college mates who have Dells, Toshibas, and Gateways that just die every once in a while and they need to get it repaired. It's a pain in the rear end to have to send my PB out since I'm a college student and need it most of the time, but I'd rather have an Apple than any other.

[waterbuck]

As the original post-er of this question, I share the impression that Apple's OS is less troublesome and that their customer service reputation is very good.

As for the basic hardware. Applecare "fixing" my problems consisted in all instances of Apple replacing parts that broke (the CD-ROM stopped working on its own, was replaced, and worked briefly then stopped working on its own even though I did not use it much). My latest hardware problem is freezing that can't be due to software since I erased the harddrive, reinstalled the OS from scratch and the problem recurred immediately.

My gut sense is Apple's hardware comes from the same place as everyone else's and companies may very a little on how stringently they control the assembly process over their in East Asia. I have no idea if Apple does more or less than anyone else.

On whole however their service seems to be fairly responsive.

[itguy05]

In the order of worst to best:
Dell would be the worst for reliability.
Toshiba would be better
IBM would be the best of the PC manufactrurers. Don't worry about the Lenovo thing -they have been manufacturing IBM stuff for years.
Powerbook would be reliable, but they dent easly
iBook would be the most reliable - they are built like tanks and made to take the abuse of kids...

[macaddict0001]

I would say dell is most prone to hardware failure, this is because dell often uses out of spec or below spec parts to save money, the parts apple and toshiba turn down are being used to build dells.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by waterbuck

Which is more prone to hardware failure: PB, iBook, Dell, Toshiba laptops? Reply to Thread

You're asking your question in the wrong place. Go to a Dell forum and you will be told Dell's are best; go to a Toshiba forum and you will be told Toshiba's are best.

From working in a computer retail store that sold and offered service on both Apple and Toshibas, I can safely say that as many Apple's came in with problems as Toshibas. Buy a Rev A Apple and the Apple's with problems climbed past the Toshibas.

Long story short, in terms of hardware reliability, I never saw one to be better than the other, except when Apple released a new design and used customers to iron the final bugs. I can't speak to Dell.

I can say, though, that my next purchase won't be either. Fujitsu surpasses both in terms of quality and I've also got my eye on LG (a recent, but promising looking, player in the NA laptop game with a good laptop history in the Asian market)

[wuzup101]

As a college student who builds and fixes PCs as a hobby I can tell you that I would buy nothing else than an IBM if I were to buy a PC notebook. My personally choice would definitely be the T series. They are very nice notebooks and IBM has great customer support in my experiences. I've had to send my powerbook in for service once when my LCD developed a line of dead pixles down the screan. I will tell you that I don't baby my powerbook and it has it's' fair share of dents. The LCD failure was probably partially my fualt, as I often travel with it in my packpack in only a neaoprene sleeve case. However, apple was happy to fix this problem for me, and the turn around time was great. I think I was without my powerbook for a total of less than 72 hours due to fast work and fast shipping. Everything came back in tip top shape.

In my experience the lower end dell notebooks are full of problems. In fact I have a handful of friends who have 5100 series (I believe) inspiron notebooks and all of them have failed for some reason or another. I have a friend who's computer randomly shuts off about 5-10 times a week. Another had to have his fan replaced twice and then a whole logic/motherboard due to the video card frying. They overheat like crazy and sound like vaccume cleaners compared to my powerbook which is almost silent. I have had good experiences with laditude series dell notebooks though. However, they definitely aren't as cheep as their similar, though a bit less well made, inspiron brothers. They tend to have very soild keyboards and feel more like and IBM or Powerbook than your traditional dell notebook. However, they still run windows which means after dealing w/ all the odd trial crap that dell puts on them you still have to deal with viruses and spyware.

I would personally just go for an ibook if it's going to be her main computer. I do still maintain a gaming PC that I do use on occasion. That being said, I get a ton more work done on my powerbook that I ever got done on my PC.

[sniffer]

For what it's worth, my mother love her iBook. She hasn't had any software issues either. All I've done for her is to set up mail, wireless connection and later done the transition to 10.4. That's all. My father OTOH is a sworn Windows user and I always need to aid him from time to time even though he has been on XP longer than I've been. (I left the boat years ago.) For build quality I've had mixed experiences with all the i* machines, but the product in itself is very well balanced and stable.

[crazeazn]

id say go IBM if ur going to go PC, but since its our parents the headache of cleaning spyware and malaware isnt worth the effort. os x is just too easy its perfect

[bighead]

When considering the number of NOT off-the-shelf component failures (i.e. not HD, optical drive, LCD, RAM) I do not see many failures of batteries, logic boards, and things like case parts. I would say that PowerBooks seem to be more reliable, but it could be because a stereotypically younger group of people are using the iBooks (and are notably rougher with the equipment.)

In terms of the failure of off the shelf stuff, like hard disks, optical drives and the like, I'd say that Apples are generally as reliable as the next manufacturer. Everyone buys notebook HDs from Toshiba, Hitachi, Fujitsu, and Seagate (along with Western Digital and Samsung to a lesser extent.) Most notebook optical drives are made by Matsushita Kotobuki (Panasonic), Teac, or Pioneer with Sony also in the mix. When everyone buys their big parts from the same people, I would think that the failures would happen at a similar rate.

[spanties]

I had both a toshiba and a ibm laptop (and a powerbook of course).
I bought my toshiba thru a programme at school for students. It was assembled in Taiwan and goodness me, that unit really really really sucks. I had my screen's backlight die after a year or two, harddisk errors, my latch on the laptop broke. The other students in school also encountered the same problem with the toshiba laptops. IBM is wayyyy better. Never died on me in 3 years! My powerbook's still in infancy @ 2 weeks. So no comparison there.

Hope that was helpful =)

[olePigeon]

Hardware-wise, I'd recommend an iBook for the Mac and an IBM or Toshiba for PC. However, even if the PC is cheaper, you're going to spend a fortune in time and money dealing with viruses and malware.

I'd recommend out of sheer sanity the iBook.

[wuzup101]

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Hardware-wise, I'd recommend an iBook for the Mac and an IBM or Toshiba for PC. However, even if the PC is cheaper, you're going to spend a fortune in time and money dealing with viruses and malware.

I'd recommend out of sheer sanity the iBook.

Others have said it, but I think this sums it up best. Apple has good service and is a fairly reputable brand construction wise. They do have their problems, but atleast they don't have major OS problems like Windows

[Superchicken]

Does your mom NEED a laptop? All laptops have problems... as long as you use them as a laptop. If you use them as a desktop then they're generally fine. I had logic board failures with my iBook but that was the G3 series they're supposed to be sorted out now... that said my PowerBook has gotten quite dented. In general unless someone needs a laptop I recommend a Mac mini.

[Spliff]

Originally Posted by Superchicken

that said my PowerBook has gotten quite dented. In general unless someone needs a laptop I recommend a Mac mini.

What have you been doing to it that it's so dented?

[crazeazn]

Originally Posted by Spliff

What have you been doing to it that it's so dented?

porn

[dialo]

Looks like no one has put any figures in here. Well, here you go:

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...14,pg,5,00.asp
http://forums.applenova.com/showthre...387#post187387