There have been substantially fewer failure rates on iPhone devices than those on BlackBerry and Treo smart phones within their first year of ownership, a new study has revealed.
The study of more than 15,000 new phones by US-based Care Plan provider SquareTrade found that in its first year of ownership the iPhone had a 5.6pc malfunction rate, half the rate of the BlackBerry and one-third the rate of the Treo.
The iPhone is projected to have a 9-11pc malfunction rate in the first two years of ownership, compared with 14.3pc for BlackBerry and 21pc for Treo handsets.
Touchscreen issues were found to be 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 33pc more failures reported in the first year.
Nearly a quarter of iPhone handsets are projected to fail due to an accident in the first two years of ownership.
“Without more data, it’s impossible to definitively know if iPhone owners are at a bigger risk for handset malfunction than BlackBerry or Treo owners after the manufacturer’s warranty has elapsed,” SquareTrade stated.
“Regardless, both models forecast iPhones with a significantly lower failure rate at the end of 24 months of ownership.
“From this analysis, we can infer that iPhones are more reliable handsets than the other two smart phone models,” SquareTrade said.
By John Kennedy
Pictured: the BlackBerry Bold, reportedly not as reliable as Apple’s iPhone
