Consumer Reports BuyingGuide 2010

Ratings

and

Reliability

CONTENTS

Product Ratings

19O

4-year CONSUMERREPORTS index

295

Buying Guideindex

299QUICK GUIDE

Air conditioners

191

Cell phones

193

Computers, desktops

196

Computers, laptops

199

Computers, netbooks

203

Cooktops

205

Cordless drills & drivers

207

Deck stains

2O9

Digital cameras, point & shoot..

210

Digital cameras, SLR

216

Digital picture frames

218

Dishwashers Z20Dryers

224

DVD players

230

Flooring

234

Gas grills

236

GPS navigators

238

Lawn mowers

241

Lawn tractors

245

Monitors

247

Paints, exterior

249

Paints, interior

251

Printers, all-in-one

253

Ranges

255

Refrigerators

261

Smart phones

268

TVs, LCD,.,

J....271

TVs,

Plasma

279

Vacuum cleaners

283

Wall ovens

287

Washers

289

190

CONSUMER REPORTS BUYING GUIDE 2010

PRODUCT RATINGS ANDBRAND RELIABILITY

T

he product rating and brand reliability information thatfollows is designed to help you zero in on the model youwant to buy. Start by reading the general buying advicefor the product you're interested in. The page numbersfor these reports are noted on each Ratings page. Thenturn to the Ratings chart to get the big picture on performance.

For some products you'll find fullRatings charts that inciude every cur-rently available modei we tested. Forother products, you'll find Select Rat-ings charts that include the models Rec-ommended for mosi people pius modelsthat we designated as Best Buys. TbeSelect Katings Overview explains whythese models are your best choices. TheOverview is included with full Ratingscharts as well as Select Ratings charts.Products with equal scores are listedalphabetically.CüNSUMiiR RhPORTS checked lo makesure most of the producís rated in thisBuying Guide

were

still availabie when thebook was published. However, depend-ing on how long after publication you usethis book, you may find a Ruling for aproduct that is no longer available. Or,you may not find a Rating for a modelthat is avaiiabie because it hadn't beentested as of publication.

Besides

checking tor similar models,

yi)U

tan also refer to the brand repair historycharts for some products. Most productstoday are pretty reliable, but some brandshave been more reliable than others.Every year

we

survey readers on repairsand other problems they encounter withhousehold products. From their respons-

es,

we derive the percentage ofa brand'sproducts that have been repaired or hada serious problem. The reliability graphsthat accompany the Ratings give brandrepair rates for 16 product categories.Our findings have been consistent overthe 30-plus years we've surveyed brandreliability, though Ihey are not infalliblepredictors.A brands repair history includes dataon many models, some of which may havebeen more or

less

reliable than others. Andsurveys ofa brand's past models can't an-ticipate design or manufacturing changesin its new model-s. Still, you can improveyour chances of getting

a

trouble-free prod-uct by getting a brand that has been reli-able in the past.Product categories inciude appliances,such as washers and ranges; electron-

ics,

such as computers, digital cameras,televisions, and DVD players; and powerequipment, such as lawn mowers and trac-tors. Note that repair histories for differentproducts are not directly comparable.

AIR CONDITIONERS

191

AIR CONDITIONERS

!-ine cooling performance is a given. Top-scoring room air conditioners are alsoenergy efficienl and reialively quiet. An air conditioner's air direction matters moreil your window is not centered in your room. Check the Airflow left and Airflow rightin the Ratings for this information. Below are Select Ratings.

Brand & model Price Overall score Test results

•c—

-eis

±i

glu leaed

model.

=

s <

g

0 100 f Ä^ p I

F

I

G IVCI E

~ -

5,000

TO

6.000 BTU/HR. (Cools 100 300

sq.

ft,)

FriedrichCP06EIO

!

Sharp AF-S60PX

Frigidaire

FAÄ05BP7A

©

0,000 10,7 21

. 36 58

©

6,000

10.7 22 '

3-1

2^.

36. 467,000

TO

8.200 BTU/HR. (Cools ^50-400

sq.

(Lowe's)Kenmore76081 1

9.800 TO 12,500 BTU/HR. {Cools 350-650 sq. ft.)Q

Kenmore

7510!

1

Q Kenmore

. 1

Has

slideiHJt Chassis.See report, page 55.

21

Ratings Key ©Excsilent ©Verysood OGood OFalr •PoorD CR Best Buy These models olter ttie best combinador» of perfomiance and price. All are recommended.pi Recomrnencled These are hisl>-pertormingmadets that stand out.