SquareTrade, a provider of warranties for electronics and appliances, recently released a smartphone reliability study. The study's results show some improvement in terms of the reliability of smartphones as a whole, as well as some impressive numbers for Apple's iPhone.

SquareTrade's latest study is a follow-up to a similar one performed in November of 2008, before the introduction of the Google Android platform. To obtain the results for its 2010 study, SquareTrade analyzed its own warranty claims from a sample of over 50,000 new smartphones. A projected 12-month failure rate for smartphones was created based on four months of SquareTrade's warranty claims from Apple's iPhone 4 owners, as well as eight months of claims from owners of Android-based phones from Motorola and HTC. SquareTrade's in-house data on RIM's Blackberry smartphone was also analyzed.  Claims filed for accidental damage, such as damaged screens, were excluded in the projections.

After compiling the data and making its projections, SquareTrade found that the newly released iPhone 4 was the most reliable of the bunch. The iPhone 4 had a projected failure rate of 2.1 percent over a 12-month period. The 2.1 percent failure rate signifies that a little over two out of every 100 iPhone 4 devices will malfunction per year.

Coming in slightly behind the iPhone 4 in reliability were the Droid and Droid X phones from Motorola's Android lineup. Both had a projected failure rate of 2.3 percent, as did the iPhone 3GS. HTC Android devices, such as the Evo and Incredible, had a 3.7 percent projected failure rate. The RIM Blackberry was significantly behind the others; it had a 6.3 percent projected rate of failure.

Although the study suggests that the iPhone and Android devices from Motorola and HTC are the most reliable, there is perhaps a more important finding. Since SquareTrade's last smartphone reliability study in November of 2008, the failure rate projections have gone down significantly for Apple and RIM products. In 2008, the iPhone 3G lineup had a projected failure rate of 5.6 percent, while the Blackberry's was 11.9 percent. Compared to 2010's numbers, the iPhone's reliability improved by 62 percent, while RIM's improved by 47 percent.  

In addition to studying smartphone reliability rates, SquareTrade also analyzed the durability of the devices. While the iPhone 4 led the way in reliability, it was also the least durable of the pack.  Approximately 13.8 percent of iPhone 4 owners are projected to file an accidental damage claim within a 12-month period. Motorola and HTC devices were not far behind, with a 12.2 percent projected claim rate for accidental damage. The iPhone 3GS clocked in at 9.4 percent, and the Blackberry was the most durable, with a projected rate of just 6.7 percent.

The reasoning for the higher projections of accidental damage with the iPhone 4, Motorola, and HTC devices is quite simple. The iPhone 4 uses a glass backing, and Motorola and HTC have large glass displays. Glass breaks easier than the plastic found on other phones, so an accidental drop of such a smartphone will be much more costly.

For more on this topic, visit the Computerworld article.

DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

More Hardware News Articles
More By wubayou

blog comments powered by Disqus