Tablet Reliability and Satisfaction: iPad Comes Out on Top

Reliability

When the tablet family whose market share exceeds 50 percent receives better-than-average marks on all four reliability measures, the best the other tablet makers can hope for is to break even. Asus, Motorola, and Toshiba managed that feat, each garnering four marks of average in a field where no other tablet maker could equal Apple on any criterion. Considering the competition, it's a bit surprising that only two vendors got stuck with more than one subpar score: Dell got bopped on two counts ("any significant problem" and "overall satisfaction with reliability"), and HP took it on the chin three times (the same two as Dell, plus ""severe problem").

For Tablet Reliability, Nothing Beats the iPad

BRAND	Problem on arrival	Any significant problem	Severe problem	Satisfaction with reliability
Apple
Asus
Dell
HP
Motorola
Toshiba
Acer
ViewSonic
SAMSUNG

Better than average Average Worse than average

Ease of Use

If the iPad and iPad 2 have any weakness in the area of ease of use, it relates to Internet browsing. On that measure alone, Apple slipped to an average mark in our survey; on the other five criteria we asked about, our survey participants lauded it to the skies with which it is so familiar. The beneficiary of the opening for Internet browsing was HP, which collected a better-than-average rating on that measure only to turn around and boot the advantage with worse-than-average marks for "tablet setup" and "overall ease of use." Ultimately, four other tablet manufacturers slipped ahead of HP in our ease-of-use rankings merely by being average in all respects: Asus, Motorola, Samsung, and Toshiba.

Muddling along with multiple negatives and no positives on the six ease-of-use measures were ViewSonic (three worse-than-average scores), Acer (four), and Dell (four).

iPad Is Easiest to Use, Owners Say

BRAND	Tablet setup	Internet browsing	Music/video playback	Syncing data	Typing on touchscreen	Overall ease of use
Apple
Asus
Motorola
Samsung
Toshiba
HP
ViewSonic				N/A
Acer
Dell

Better than average Average Worse than average

N/A = Too few responses to rate company on this measure.

Features

A worse-than-average rating for Apple tablets? It happened--in our features measures, on the criterion of "available ports"--and as a result, practically every other tablet maker snapped up a coveted better-than-average score for "available ports." But Apple sailed through the remaining eight measures with exemplary marks, once again leaving the small fry swimming desperately in its wake. The best of the also-rans on our features markers were Asus (with two better-than-average ratings, including an Apple-matching mark for "warranty"), Motorola (at plus one, thanks to the "available ports" positive and a bunch of average ratings), and Samsung (which actually flubbed the ports opportunity but compensated with the only better-than-average mark for "display quality" besides Apple's).

The other vendors saw their moment of "available port" glory obscured by shortcomings in other areas, culminating in a bottom four hampered by multiple worse-than-average ratings: Dell (three), HP (four), and Acer and ViewSonic (six each).

No Tablet Touches the iPad in Owners' Satisfaction With Features

BRAND	Battery life	Touchscreen responsiveness	Quality of video/stills	Design	Display quality	Operating system	Overall speed	Warranty	Available ports
Apple
Asus
Motorola
Samsung
Toshiba
Dell
HP
Acer
ViewSonic

Better than average Average Worse than average