SquareTrade found that iPhone handsets had substantially fewer failures than BlackBerry and Treo handsets within the first year of ownership. The company compiled iPhone failure rates for more than 15,000 new phones covered by SquareTrade Care Plans.
The SquareTrade study revealed:
- In the first year of ownership, the iPhone had a 5.6% malfunction rate, half the rate of theBlackberry and one-third the rate of the Treo.
- The iPhone is projected to have a 9-11% malfunction rate in the first 2 years of ownership, compared to 14.3% for BlackBerry and 21% for Treo handsets.
- Touch-screen issues were the most frequently reported iPhone problem, accounting for nearly one-third of all reported malfunctions.
- The iPhone is prone to failure due to accidental damage, with 33% more failures reported in the first year. Nearly one quarter of iPhone handsets are projected to fail due to an accident in the first two years of ownership.
You can view the whole study at http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/iphone-reliability-study-11-2008