Celebrations at the PC Authority Reliability & Service Awards 2008

Everyone from Apple to Gigabyte attended the ceremony, held this week, to determine what the Australian tech buying public think of their products and services.

The survey, covering 130 brands and over 16 categories, lets consumers have their say about which brands they love, and which they don't.

PHOTO GALLERY: pictures from the PC Authority Reliability & Service Awards 2008.

“PC Authority’s reviews are the best in the business, but consumers live with the products day in and day out,” said Zara Baxter, Editor of PC Authority.

“These awards are the ultimate finger on the pulse of consumer sentiment. Once the votes are in, we know whether a product or manufacturer is loved or hated –and we know why,” she added.

Voters rated the brands they own according to customer support, reliability, value for money, and importantly, whether they would buy the same brand again.

“We are thrilled to win the Best Motherboard award in the PC Authority Service & Reliability survey two years in a row,” said Alan Chen managing director, Gigabyte Technology Australia.

“We believe that this reflects the top notch R&D and quality control that Gigabyte puts in to our motherboard product line.

“I want to thank our business partners (distributors and numerous dealers/resellers) without whose loyalty and collective hard work this award would not be possible.

"I also want to dedicate the award to our motherboard teams in Australia and Taiwan for their hard work in continually improving the quality of our products and services, and being first to market with new technologies," Chen added.

As with previous years, voters weren't shy about praising their favourite brands, and punishing those that failed to live up to hype. Nikon, Apple, Canon, Dynalink, ASUS and Samsung were among the Award winners this year.

Notably, Telstra and Dodo Internet again received the wooden spoon in the ISP category.

“We’ve been very pleased with how well our marketshare has held up across the board in printers and cameras amid very strong competition in most categories,” said David Goldman group marketing manager, Canon, Australia.

“2008 has seen digital imaging become even more important in Australian consumers’ lives. High affordability has made advanced technology that was previously out of reach, attainable for many, and we are now seeing a creative revolution as a result of this broad accessibility.

"Notable achievements for 2008 include producing our 100-millionth digital camera worldwide, growing our value share of the Australian inkjet printer market to 32 percent from 28 percent and extending our digital SLR camera range with the entry-level EOS 1000D,” he added.

One of the biggest surprises of the night was Apple's win in the Laptop and PC categories.

In the Laptop category, Apple scored the highest brand loyalty rating of all, with 96 percent of laptop owners claiming they would buy Apple again. Despite not having the best value for money rating, Apple blitzed the field when it came to customer support and reliability.

There were a massive 18,000 votes in the ISP category this year.

Westnet customers sent in more than 6,500 votes, praising the ISP's customer service in particular. Readers weren’t shy about punishing ISPs again this year for poor form – with Dodo and Telstra ranking in the bottom of the survey results.

The iPhone was only available for a few months before voting began for our survey, yet Apple still managed to get 528 votes.

According to PC Authority readers, ASUS PDA/Smartphones are the most reliable, and have great battery life, and while the value for money rating was low, it was better than most of the competition.

Other winners included:

Best Wireless Router: Dynalink, Billion

Best Motherboard: Gigabyte

Best Online Retailer: IT Estate

Best Graphics Card: EVGA

Best Camera: Nikon

Pictured is Westnet’s Eric Cain receives the award for Best ISP from PC Authority editor Zara Baxter

Click here to see a full list of all the winners from the PC Authority Reliability & Service Awards 2008.

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