AppleCare has two main components: the extended hardware warranty, and the ability to call Apple for three years about software or other issues. I'd like them to separate the two benefits. The hardware warranty should be cheap (or free, as some have posted); the software phone line can be very useful after updates, when you try something new, etc.
Hardware durability: legislators are not engineers; hard drives, for example, even if manufactured correctly, will fail; some will last for decades, others fail in a few years. In a laptop environment, failures occur more often (hence, AppleCare is more expensive there): more heat, absolutely more device shock, more dust, everything bad for moving parts. So what is the expected "durability" for a hard drive? Probably NOT three years, especially since the component only coast about $100.
It's a complicated issue, but in the main, I agree that uniform warranty coverage for relatively expensive items should be the norm, even here in the US. That said, Apple doesn't keep their warranty terms a secret; if you don't like it, buy something else. If you must have a Mac (iPod, iPad, whatever), just include AppleCare in your pricing decision.
Eddie O
Hardware durability: legislators are not engineers; hard drives, for example, even if manufactured correctly, will fail; some will last for decades, others fail in a few years. In a laptop environment, failures occur more often (hence, AppleCare is more expensive there): more heat, absolutely more device shock, more dust, everything bad for moving parts. So what is the expected "durability" for a hard drive? Probably NOT three years, especially since the component only coast about $100.
It's a complicated issue, but in the main, I agree that uniform warranty coverage for relatively expensive items should be the norm, even here in the US. That said, Apple doesn't keep their warranty terms a secret; if you don't like it, buy something else. If you must have a Mac (iPod, iPad, whatever), just include AppleCare in your pricing decision.
Eddie O