SquareTrade Warranty Blog

SquareTrade Adds Leading Electronics Retailer Crutchfield to Growing List of Retailer Clients

 


We’re proud to announce Crutchfield as the latest retailer to offer SquareTrade. (That’s a customer service match made in heaven!!)

Pioneering Warranty Provider Extends Premium Service Offering to Established Catalogue and Online Retailer.

Digital Camera Failure Rates: Which manufacturers are most reliable?

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Are you in the market for a digital camera? In an effort to keep consumers more informed about the reliability of the products they buy, we periodically publish the results of our research on repair rates. (You may recall our previous studies on Laptops, Game Consoles, Smart Phones, etc.) Our analytics team just completed another extensive study on failure rates, turning their attention to data collected on over 60,000 digital cameras purchased since 2006.

The results are in! So, which models are most reliable? Highlights are below but be sure to check out the full study.

On average, 10.7% of digital cameras fail within two years, and 15.6% are projected to fail within three years. Accidents account for slightly less than 40% of camera failures More expensive cameras are more reliable than less expensive models, with cameras over $300 being significantly more reliable than under $300. For Point-and-shoot cameras under $300, Panasonic cameras had the lowest 2 year malfunction rates (5.3%), and Polaroid and Casio had the highest malfunction rates (11.9% and 13.0%). For DSLR Cameras, Nikon and Canon were equally reliable.

The study found that 11 percent of digital cameras fail in the first two years of ownership. Of these failures, 6.6 percent come from malfunctions while another 4.1 percent experience damage due to accidents. When the data from the study is projected out three years, 15.6 percent of digital cameras are expected to experience some sort of failure – either accidental or a malfunction.

Your task, should you choose to accept it: Changing an Industry!

On a mission to change an industry: As you know, SquareTrade's mission is to empower consumers with a choice. As such, we're known for doing a lot of things that break the status quo, setting us apart from those other pushy, pricey warranties.

One way we go about this is by finding innovative ways to use technology to save you time, money and energy. Which means, if you like a challenge, live to instigate change and love to take the initiative, you're our kind of people!

Put your problem-solving hat on! During recent interviews for the newest members of our engineering team, we gave them a fun creative challenge: 

• We gave them each a box of legos, a web camera, laptop and rubix cube. 
• Their task was to develop an algorithm to solve the rubix cube in 20 moves or less. Points for speed but reliability was essential.

The result? The world's fastest lego speedcubing robot!

OK, so I'm just kidding about the test we gave our new engineers. Sort of. We didn't give them the rubix cube challenge, but...

CBS reports: SquareTrade Customers Avoid High Pressure Warranty Sales

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Are warranties worthwhile or just a waste of time?  CBS 19 (WOIO-TV) and CBS 5 ConsumerWatch (KPIX-TV) took a closer look at extended warranties, exploring the pros and cons. Is there a way to avoid the high-pressure warranty sales? Check out these videos - sure you can relate!

CBS 19 recommends SquareTrade to avoid high pressure sales tactics & get a "square deal." (Feb. 8, 2010)

Sue Kwon of CBS 5 Consumer Watch says avoid pressure at checkout --
get half the cost of traditional warranties with SquareTrade. (Feb. 4, 2010)

Gadget fans vote: Top 10 Super Bowl tech ads

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It's the Monday after the big game which means it's time for one of my favorite past times - breaking down the highlights of the Super Bowl's best ads!  It's one of the hottest topics of conversation around the office water cooler and it certainly has twitter and facebook abuzz. But, here's an interesting twist for fellow gadget fans...

Over the weekend I came across a poll in Computerworld, highlighting the Top 10 Super Bowl Tech ads, since 1976. As Computerworld's Valerie Potter points out, "technology companies have a long and illustrious history as Super Bowl advertisers." So far, Apple seems to be holding a comfortable lead as the best Super Bowl tech ad:

The Apple "1984" Super Bowl ad (1984) which introduced the Macintosh Computer to the world.

"No "top 10" list of Super Bowl commercials would be complete without Apple's iconic "1984," which introduced the vibrant new Macintosh computer to a sterile, gray, corporate dystopia inspired by George Orwell's 1984. And yet it breaks all the rules of Super Bowl advertising: It's not funny. It's not cute. It's not fast-moving. It's not heartwarming." "But, wow. Just ... wow." - Valerie Potter, Computerworld

So, what's your #1 pick? If you haven't already, be sure to check out the rest - including classics from Intel, Iomega, Garmin and Xerox! Vote for your top pick or submit one of your own. (Feel free to post your favorite video on our facebook fanpage or  join the conversation on twitter).

Google and Amazon Working on an Answer to the iPad?

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Hrmmm....are things just heating up? With the start of the New Year, a number of  tablets were announced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Already, there was talk that Tablet PCs were perched to steal the spotlight from netbooks. Then came the official unvieling of Apple's iPad.  Now, there are rumors flying about Google stepping into the fray, pointing to a series of mockups and early concepts for a Chrome-based tablet PC. Meanwhile, Amazon is also said to have acquired touchscreen startup Touchco with plans to merge it with its Kindle Hardware division.

So, what might this mean for the future of media tablets? According to a report from analysts at ABI Research, we'll likely see four million media tablets shipped this year and "a rise to 57 million units by 2015, prodded along by the iPad." I'll admit I'm a bit of a gadget geek and may eventually be included amongst those tablet owners. But, working for an industry-changer like SquareTrade, what I find particularly exciting (and far more important) is that companies like Apple, Google and Amazon have a proven ability to push the industry, driving constant innovation:

Multi-touch for Nexus One but not other Androids?

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With Google's announcement Tuesday, Nexus One owners were informed they would soon be receiving an over-the-air software update which will enable multi-touch for various applications. Other updates would address some of the problems with the Nexus that many of you reported earlier - including a general fix to improve spotty 3G connectivity.

Are fellow Androids left behind? I'm sure that this will be warmly received by Nexus One users as it will enhance browsing and navigation through photos and maps with pinch-to-zoom technology. But, I can't help but wonder how Droid, Hero, Cliq and other (potential) Android owners feel. The multi-touch support is possible but absent from many of these fellow Androids. It's not clear why that's the case but there's plenty of speculation... Google, up until yesterday, left multi-touch off its U.S. Android phones, presumably in deference to Apple’s multi-touch patent. - ZDNet, Jason O'Grady Rumor has it Apple requested that Google avoid multi-touch back when the companies were cozy, but Google may no longer want to comply now that the relationship has soured. - PCWorld, Jared Newman Within minutes of Apple pushing iPhone 3.1.3 Google began pushing out an Android update to Nexus One users. Hmmm. Timing's a little suspicious, but we'll chalk it up to coincidence. - ZDNet, Jason O'Grady Where does that leave you - still waiting for your update? What's your reaction to the timing of the Nexus One multi-touch update? Any current Nexus One owners already download and test it out? Feel free to sound off in the comments below or join the conversation on twitter. Oh, and on the note of waiting: if you're a current Nexus One owner, you should be on the lookout for a message in your phone's notification bar prompting you to download the software update. For details on the full list of updates, see Google's Nexus One announcement.

Apple's iPad is Official! Verdict?

Update (January 29, 2010): Getting an iPad? SquareTrade is pleased to announce the first and only extended care plan available for Apple's iPad tablet with protection from drops and spills.

"Tabletless. Plz help!" Apple fan spotted at Yerba Buena with signs pleading, "Will Tweet 4 Press Pass!"

It's official! With Apple's announcement this morning, the iPad is no longer mere rumor or speculation. Of course, you'll have to wait until March to get your hands on one. Miss out on the live coverage? Check out the video clips below. Apple.com is also live now with official iPad specs. Sound off! So now that the actual specs are out, I'm curious to hear your verdict. Leave a comment below or join the conversation on twitter or facebook.

Apple's newest creation to be revealed!

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As always, there's much speculation about what Apple has up its sleeve. Rumors have been flying about whether the company will soon unveil a tablet which may have (not-so-)secretly been in development for several years. Today, Apple made it official!  We now know when and where Apple will be unveiling their "latest creation!"

Amidst numerous rumors and speculations, Apple sent out invitations this morning which teased people to "Come see our latest creation."

The highly anticipated event will be held in San Francisco at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts next Wednesday morning, Jan. 27th - just a couple blocks down the street from SquareTrade's Headquarters!

Will we finally be introduced to what speculators have been calling an "iTablet" or "iSlate"? Regardless, I'm prepared to be dazzled by Apple and have these rumors put to rest (so we can start speculating about their next innovation)!

Mum's the word for now, but stay tuned!

As usual, Apple seems to be keeping a lid on confirming any other details so be sure to check back for further updates.

In the mean time, feel free to share your speculations in the comments below or join the conversation on twitter. What do you hope to see Apple unveil next week?

SquareTrade Fans - Be first to check this out!

We have some very exciting news to share! We couldn't wait for the official announcement before sharing the inside scoop with our fans on Facebook and Twitter.

Want in on our little secret? If you haven't already, hop over to SquareTrade's Facebook Fanpage and find out about one of the cool projects we've been working on.

What do we ask in return? Give us your feedback!

Want a hint? Well, even if you don't have a ____, you probably know someone who'll be giving or receiving one as a gift...and they'd probably love you for telling them about this. 

But, first we need our fans to give us feedback. So check it out and let us know what you think!