Sacramento Bee Does Coverage on RESCUECOM's First Ever Computer Reliability Report

Computers made by IBM/ Lenovo and Apple Computer are tops in the United States for reliability, according to rankings recently compiled by a national computer repair chain.

Rescuecom, based in Syracuse, N.Y., said callers to its technical support center reported trouble with IBM/Lenovo and Apple machines far less frequently than other brands, relative to market share.

The data were complied by analyzing more than 20,000 tech support calls in the second quarter and comparing them to the market share of major computer makers.

IBM/Lenovo scored 243, which is the percentage difference between the company's market share and percentage of repair calls. Apple ranked second with a score of 201.

Other major computer makers, however, didn't fare as well. Hewlett-Packard/Compaq machines scored low at 12, Dell 4, Gateway a minus-12.

Rescuecom founder David Milman said the high scores for IBM/Lenovo and Apple reflect those companies' quality hardware and high level of warranty and customer support. Products with stronger warranties and support generally generate fewer phone calls to outside repair companies.

"All the name-brand computers are great computers, and I wouldn't have any trouble purchasing them," Milman said. "But for years, our customers have been asking for some sort of guidelines, so that's why we published this study."