TROMPYX

On Tuesday the University of Michigan released its annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) scores Tuesday for the PC industry, and Apple took the top spot for the fifth straight year. Dell was in second place, 10 points behind (85 - 75).

ACSI details for the PC industry were provided in a report (.PDF) on overall customer satisfaction, in which Professor Claes Fornell, head of the ACSI at the University of Michigan said:

"It’s hard not to be impressed with Apple. This is product extension at its best where the new products, iPod and iPhone, are helping bring new customers to existing computer products. The fact that Apple is not dependent on the Windows Vista operating system hasn’t hurt either."

You've gotten imagine that jab at Windows Vista didn't go over well with Microsoft, assuming they read the report. Of course, as we know from the "Mojave Experiment" Microsoft conducted, some of the issues over Vista are strictly based on perception. Further details from the report:

The personal computer industry suffers a second consecutive drop in satisfaction, falling 1% to 74 and losing all gains made since 2005. Apple defies the industry by moving in the opposite direction and posting its largest gain ever to 85, a new all-time high for the industry. The 8% leap puts 10 points between Apple and its nearest rival, one of the largest gaps between first and second in any industry measured by ACSI. As Apple’s satisfaction improves, so too have its sales, market share, net income, and stock price.

The industry aggregate decline is largely for Windows-based machines –Hewlett-Packard (73), Gateway (72), and Compaq (70) each sink 4%. The exception is Dell – up 1% to 75.

Click the above image to enlarge.

BTW, for those wanting to throw their iPhone 3G and MobileMe subscriptions into the trash, remember this is a survey related to computers. Additionally, it was conducted during the second quarter, too early for any iPhone / MobileMe issues to color respondents' opinions.