Wednesday, March 14th 2012
SquareTrade Research Finds Customers Report iPad 2 Damage 3.5x More Likely Than iPad1
SquareTrade, the largest independent warranty provider in the world, just completed an extensive report on iPad breakage rates. Based on data compiled from 50,000 SquareTrade iPad customers, the company found that iPad 2 owners reported breakage 3.5 times as often as iPad 1 owners.Highlights of the study include:
- 9.8% of iPad 2 owners reported a failure from accidental damage within the first 12 months, compared to only 2.8% of original iPad 1 owners.
- Because the rate of accidental damage tends to happen on a straight line basis, SquareTrade projects almost 20% of its iPad 2 warranty customers to report accidental damage over 2 years, compared to 5.5% of iPad 1 devices.
- Customer data reveals that outside of accidents, the iPad remains an extremely reliable device. Minimal normal use failure rates have even further decreased for the iPad 2.
10 Comments on SquareTrade Research Finds Customers Report iPad 2 Damage 3.5x More Likely Than iPad1
The back of the Ipad 2 is not precisely the most reliable substance material to hold on to.
A case for the back is highly recommended even thought it might prove ugly it is better for the long term.
Heck i am seeing people putting a plastic case on the Macbook Air / Pro all around.
I did that for my Galaxy Fit, before putting the rubber case on it I would drop it at least once on a couple of days.... now it's rare to happen...
I was also surprised when i dropped a tv remote on it from my bed to the floor and the screen didn't scratch or break,
But I wonder if they take into account the case designs. Most third parties try to copy or "improve" upon apple's official design, with the first generation iPad that was an all encompassing case that protected front, back, and sides. The second generation iPad only protected the screen, leaving nothing to protect the rest against damage in case of an accident or as some of you have pointed out - prevent an accident from occurring by making it less slippery or something. But I don't like cases, I don't use them with my devices. My 4S doesn't have one nor do my iPads, I just don't like cases.
Personally I've never found the iPads to be slippery or difficult to hold. I've owned both and was rather annoyed that the first generation was a bit heavy to comfortably hold and operate with one hand and do anything useful like type or navigate, you always wanted to have it propped up against your leg or be sitting down in some "normal" way. With the iPad 2, it was more natural you could be laying down and not need to prop it up against a pillow or anything, lightness prevailed but I can see how that might lead to some people dropping it from where ever they are sitting or laying down.
But that's not really an iPad design flaw in my book, as with all things it is an engineering trade off that Asus, Samsung, Amazon, or any other tablet designer would have to overcome. Lightness is a good goal as it makes things more portable and more comfortable to use, but you also tend to make people more careless as things that have weight tend to give the perception of impotence. Ask a female friend, or your sister to hold her baby some time and you'll soon learn there is a right way to support it without straining yourself :p