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Mac vs. PC 12
Customer Support/Warranties
This really depends on the manufacturer, but the main PC companies – Dell, HP, Acer, Sony, and others – offer one-year service and parts warranties, which also includes telephone support. Apple's warranty is also for one year, but telephone support stops after 90 days, so unless you want to shell out $149-$349 (depending on your model) for the AppleCare Protection Plan extended warranty (which includes phone support for up to three years), you're on your own should anything happen to your computer and you want to get help from the comfort of your own home.
We recommend shelling out for the extended warranties for either Mac or PC as wading through Apple and pretty much every PC manufacturer's support Web sites can be confusing and time consuming, so you'll want access to telephone help at the very least. And ultimately, both PCs and Macs can go haywire in as little as three months, meaning you'll want the manufacturer taking care of any hardware or software issues with minimal complaining and persuading from you.
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Comments
5
Subscribe to commentsAnneAug 6th 2008 5:02PM
I just need to pipe in that I got a Mac Mini when they very first came out, about 4 years ago. 2 years in, I had an issue where my computer kept shutting down applications unexpectedly. Without the extended warranty and the regular warranty expired, I was able to bring it to the Genius Bar at the local Apple store. A Mac Genius worked on my computer for 2 hours FOR FREE and fixed the issue. You would not get this level of service from any of the PC manufacturers!
CoraAug 6th 2008 11:19AM
I've been a Dell user for a few years running, and they offer extended warranties and support for limited parts and labor, however over the phone tech support does cost extra. It always has.
However, warranties are now becoming more affordable for longer periods - basically, you can go longer between having to buy a new computer. My current notebook (a Dell Studio) has a 3 year warranty.
Another cool thing I've noticed: some companies are offering theft coverage in their warranties. Pair that with the biometric fingerprint reader, and the GPS chip to help locate your machine should it be stolen. Nothing is theft proof, of course, but it does give you some piece of mind when on business trips, especially when you get sent to a hotel that doesn't offer an in-suite safe.
bobiAug 6th 2008 1:29PM
My Dell desk top included a 4 year warranty with phone tech support and in-home service. It was well into the second year before anything went wrong. They replaced the modem and the motherboard under warranty and one guy spent over two hours in my PC eliminating a file that was locking everything up. While he was in there, he cleaned up a lot of junk that was slowing things down and helped me with keeping it clean.
I am so thrilled with Dell, I'll most likely buy more of their PCs and be sure to have extended warranty coverage.
GalleyAug 6th 2008 1:55PM
My 24" iMac arrived from Amazon.com with a bad SuperDrive. Apple sent me a link to a pre-paid shipping label i could print out. I dropped off the package at the local Kinko's/FedEx, and the replacement iMac was delivered exactly 24 hours later. Wow!
JessicaAug 14th 2008 2:16PM
If you have a macbook or a macbook pro you can always take them to an Apple store to have on of their specialist help you with your problems.