Overall, how reliable is the MBP?

[BrickbookPro]

On my first MBP, it is running below average when compared to other laptops (Gateway and Dell). After about a month the heat was warping the slot drive shut so I had to bring it in. When I got it back I found that they had broke the battery charging circuit so I had to bring it back in.

If it lasts another 3 years without troubles I'd be willing to say it's more reliable... We shall see.

The one thing that is different--the customer service. They all speak English without an accent (which is helpful when that is your first language). With Dell, they all had thick accents which I had a hard time understanding. With gateway, after 90 days you can only chat with them on web chat (THAT SUCKS). If I have a problem with my Mac (warranty related) I can just call them up and they'll speak to me.

 

[mystik610]

On my first MBP, it is running below average when compared to other laptops (Gateway and Dell). After about a month the heat was warping the slot drive shut so I had to bring it in. When I got it back I found that they had broke the battery charging circuit so I had to bring it back in.

If it lasts another 3 years without troubles I'd be willing to say it's more reliable... We shall see.

The one thing that is different--the customer service. They all speak English without an accent (which is helpful when that is your first language). With Dell, they all had thick accents which I had a hard time understanding. With gateway, after 90 days you can only chat with them on web chat (THAT SUCKS). If I have a problem with my Mac (warranty related) I can just call them up and they'll speak to me.

This is what separates Apple from their competition IMO....the ownership experience and customer service. Being able to walk up to an Apple store and have someone take care of you in person is a big plus IMO. As annoying as the Apple store kids can be sometimes, they're always eager to help, and I can appreciate that.

From a reliabiilty standpoint, Apple is not much better or worse than their competition....everyone is running practically the same hardware (intel chips) anyhow, so we shouldn't expect to see too much difference in terms of reliability.

I think a lot of people use the terms "build quality" and "reliability" interchangeably, but there is a pretty distinct difference. A product can be well put together, and still be unreliable...I mean look at Mercedes vehicles. Impeccible attention to detail from a design and performance standpoint, but horrible reliability.

 

[thinkinblue613]

This is what separates Apple from their competition IMO....the ownership experience and customer service. Being able to walk up to an Apple store and have someone take care of you in person is a big plus IMO. As annoying as the Apple store kids can be sometimes, they're always eager to help, and I can appreciate that.

From a reliabiilty standpoint, Apple is not much better or worse than their competition....everyone is running practically the same hardware (intel chips) anyhow, so we shouldn't expect to see too much difference in terms of reliability.

I think a lot of people use the terms "build quality" and "reliability" interchangeably, but there is a pretty distinct difference. A product can be well put together, and still be unreliable...I mean look at Mercedes vehicles. Impeccible attention to detail from a design and performance standpoint, but horrible reliability.

All computers are capable of having bad parts or parts going bad. Just like what mystik said, customer service from Apple wins by a mile or two from other companies. As long as its not deliberate and you're under warranty, you'll be taken care of. They care about our loyalty... Not only do we give them money, but we're also walking advertisements. This is why I still buy Apple stuff because every time I've gone to them at the store or over the phone, they've exceeded my expectations with fixing my problem.