PC Authority Reliability and Service Awards

The biggest survey of its kind finds that one of Australia’s biggest tech companies is also its worst.

The PC Authority Reliability and Service Awards, the industry indicator of customer satisfaction, has come to a close. The opinions of over 8500 consumers have formed the most comprehensive insight into the performance of Australia’s major manufacturers ever published.

The survey ran for three months and covered 142 product lines available in Australia. It is truly an accurate insight into how the IT industry is viewed through the eyes of consumers.

‘The standout result must be Telstra’, said Nick Ross, architect of the survey. ‘In most cases we found that ‘losing’ products could be described as ‘mediocre’, but the only word we can use to describe Telstra’s performance was ‘dreadful’’.

According to the survey, half the respondents wouldn’t recommend Telstra to a friend. Next to Internode users, 97% of whom would recommend Internode’s service; it is truly an abysmal performance for the nation’s largest telecommunications provider.

Dell and Canon were the standouts of the awards, each walking away with three victories across different categories. Surprisingly, traditional retailers were buried under the weight of recommendations for online retailers. PlusCorp, Secret, and MegaPC were joint winners of the best online retailer category, showing that online stores are a force to be reckoned with.

Detailed information on the survey’s methodology, a full breakdown and analysis of results, the performance of the other contenders and the editorial team’s favourites are available in the January issue of PC Authority.


The Reliability and Service award winners were:

PC Award: Dell
Notebook Award: Asus
LCD Monitor Award: Samsung
Digital Camera Award: Canon
Inkjet Printer Award: Canon
Laser Printer Award: Canon
Wireless Router Award: Billion
Motherboard Award: DFI
Graphics Card Award: HIS
Hard Disk Award: Seagate
PDA/Smartphone Award: Palm
Best ISP: Internode
Best Bricks & Mortar Retailer: Jaycar
Best Online Retailer: PlusCorp, Secret and MegaPC


The Editorial Award winners were:

Most Wanted Hardware Award: Dell 2407WFP 24-inch LCD monitor
Most Wanted Software Award: Apple BootCamp
Best Web Application Award: YouTube
Technology Innovator Award: Intel
Game of the Year: Oblivion
Labs Award: PCs & Notebooks: Dell
Labs Award: Peripherals & Components: Samsung
A-List Award: Dell