A study carried out by US warranty provider, SquareTrade has found that the Apple iPhone needed fewer repairs than BlackBerry and Treo handsets within the first year of ownership. The report was based on the failure rates for more than 15,000 new phones covered by SquareTrade Care Plans.

The report said that in the first year of ownership, the iPhone had a 5.6% malfunction rate, half the rate of the Blackberry and one-third the rate of the Treo. The iPhone is projected to have a 9-11% malfunction rate in the first 2 years of ownership, compared to 14.3% for BlackBerry and 21% for Treo handsets.

Touch-screen issues were the most frequently reported iPhone problem, accounting for nearly one-third of all reported malfunctions.

The iPhone is however more prone to failure due to accidental damage, with 33% more failures reported in the first year. Nearly one quarter of iPhone handsets are projected to fail due to an accident in the first two years of ownership.

The full report (pdf file) can be downloaded from the SquareTrade website.

Source:cellular-news