Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware
Win a Square Trade accident-coverage iPhone warranty from TUAW
Two weekends ago, Diet Coke was accidentally spilled onto my MacBook Pro Keyboard. The machine, a Core Duo 15" that was among the first of the Intel Macs rolled out, suddenly didn't work the way it used to. Luckily, damage was restricted only to the keyboard: caps lock, shift, b, h, and num lock didn't function. Not being able to type the word "butt" was a pain in the "utt." While I've since repaired the keyboard -- on my own, thanks to iFixit's instructions -- it made me question, again, the value of an extended warranty. Had the damage been worse, I may have had to get a new machine.
While AppleCare is certainly compelling for many (phone support and timely repairs of manufacturer defects by Apple-authorized technicians, among its values), its defect is that hardware repair coverage is restricted to manufacturer defects. And in my case, even if this had been a new machine still under AppleCare, it wouldn't have been covered. So, if you accidentally drop your iPhone in the toilet (it happens) or if, while looking up your Tiramisu recipe in MacGourmet, you happen to spill Kahlua all over your MacBook, you won't be covered by AppleCare.
While researching third party extended warranties, I stumbled upon Square Trade. In addition to covering manufacturers' defects, Square Trade's warranty covers accidental damage. In effect, it's a warranty with an additional safeguard for dings, drops and drenching.
Although the Square Trade warranty covers accidental damage, consider all your options before proceeding with a purchase -- Is it worth its cost? For example, claims for accidentally damaged items (as opposed to manufacturer defects) require a $50 deductible. In the case of the MacBook and MacBook Pro, this narrows the price gap between AppleCare and the SquareTrade price.
And in the case of the iPhone, the Square Trade price inches near the AT&T subsidized price of the device. In addition, unlike Asurion, which provides similar services, Square Trade doesn't protect against loss or theft. However, Asurion's service doesn't cover the iPhone.
As risk is ultimately an issue left to the owner -- i.e., whether the protection from a cost or service standpoint is worth it when weighed against the cost of the warranty/insurance plan -- the question of whether its cost is justified will vary on a case-by-case basis. If you feel that you're not accident-prone and can fix your device for less than the cost of the warranty plan, then you're better off without one. Conversely, even if you can fix any malady, you may realize that your time is valuable and that it's better spent elsewhere. To this question, we're each left to our own devices.
Square Trade will be giving away five free iPhone one-year warranties to TUAW readers. Here are the rules and a link to the obligatory legal statement:
- Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
- Your iPhone must have been purchased within the last 30 days (proof of purchase required), or the warranty it can be applied to a future iPhone purchase if you don't already own one.
- To enter, leave a comment below describing the worst self-inflicted damage you've ever caused to one of your devices.
- The comment must be left by Friday, October 30 at 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time.
- You may enter only once.
- Five winners will be selected in a random drawing.
- Prize: One Square Trade iPhone warranty (worth up to $144).
- Free warranty may not be resold and has no cash value.
- Click Here for complete Official Rules.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
Jo Oak said 1:10PM on 10-23-2009
Well it is kind of small but is the reason I will be purchasing the iPhone. I had another cell phone and was carrying a glass of water and the phone upstairs from the kitchen when all of a sudden my dog came running down the stairs and my phone went smack into the water. Now it does not work. Oh Well .. I hope i win!!
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Chris G. said 1:12PM on 10-23-2009
I left a phone on the roof of my car once when I went for a drive. Didn't drive far and was able to backtrack to find it, but not before it had been run over by a I am sure a bunch of cars, trucks, SUV's, and tractor trailers.
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Zack said 1:13PM on 10-23-2009
Sounds interesting, and it'd be nice to have some additional coverage for my future iPhone purchase.
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f.duane said 1:13PM on 10-23-2009
I dropped my phone from the fire escape, two stories. Went downstairs to pick it up, powered it on, and called my wife to tell her she didn't have to kill me. Nice.
By the way, I took out a personal articles policy on my home owners insurance. It covers all risks and insures my phone for the full 600 dollars it would cost to replace it without extending the contract with AT&T again.
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Michael Schmitt said 3:35PM on 10-23-2009
My homeowner's/renter's insurance has been a godsend to me for my accidents. Don't spend money on something else if you already have homeowner's or renter's insurance.
ChiChad said 1:24PM on 10-23-2009
I had a log fall on my leg, in which I had my T-mobile Dash in my pant's pocket, the screen was destroyed.
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Jesse said 1:15PM on 10-23-2009
I was once enjoying a vaction in Hawaii with my 12 PowerBook. On the balcony one morning checking my email I set in on the ledge to sip my coffee. When I looked up, you guessed it, my notebook had committed suicide! It fell 4 stories to the lobby below. It was in total ruin, but to it credit it still chimed! Man what a trooper.
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Sabotage said 1:16PM on 10-23-2009
My macbook fell down the stairs, and didn't even scratch it!
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Paul Mensah said 1:16PM on 10-23-2009
I was driving and someone cut me off and I was on the phone at the time so when I suck my hand out to flick him off my phone flew out of my hand and onto the concrete highway and I saw like 2 cars drive over it so I didn't bother getting out
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NutMac said 1:17PM on 10-23-2009
I had left expensive earphones in the laundry (inside a pair of jeans). It still worked though!
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philldo said 2:11PM on 10-23-2009
I dropped my phone out of a bucket lift truck. It was only a 30 ft of so drop. ;)
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John Meche said 1:23PM on 10-23-2009
Macbook + Laptop case magnetic clasp = New hard drive purchase
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hindmansm said 1:23PM on 10-23-2009
My wife dropped her iPhone in a puddle last year and I ran over over my iPod with my car. Both still work, but it would be nice have an insurance policy. Oh yeah, there was that time my buddy was reading a blog in the tub with his iPhone and he dropped it into the water. Amazingly, it still worked afterward, but he would prolly like some insurance too.
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Jo said 1:28PM on 10-23-2009
Left Macbook Pro 17 (late 2007) on the sofa, 1 1/2 year old brother walked over, picked it up, next second I hear a terrible sound, walk over, and it's on the floor. I examined it, and at first, noted no damage.
Next day, turned out I couldn't shut it!
When closely examined, the LCD had "slid" back, by half a centimeter, disallowing it to shut properly. Then, we found a solution by rubber-banding all of its sides. And it's the one Mac I have sooo..... And I'm writing from it now.
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vinniev said 1:28PM on 10-23-2009
Wow! Could use this for sure :)
@hindmansm => You need to keep your wife and friends in check!
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michael said 1:31PM on 10-23-2009
I don't know if this counts, but last year, on Christmas day, I was making the five hour drive home so I could be at work the next morning. It was cold and I wasn't happy to be on the road. I was using cruise control and started going down the side of a mountain. To keep from riding my breaks all the way down the mountain or going too fast, I kicked it back into third gear. WARNING: DON'T DO THAT IN CRUISE CONTROL. The transmission gave a loud bang. It was worth about $7,000. I'm no longer driving that car.
If it makes it count more, I frequently played my iPhone in that vehicle.
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brightorange89 said 1:31PM on 10-23-2009
I didn't know there were other options for insuring Apple products -- I'm glad this was mentioned.
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rr4him said 1:33PM on 10-23-2009
You guessed it - phone through the washing machine. Amazingly it eventually dried out and continues to work long after it's bath! It was a cheap flip phone wouldn't you know.
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Lloyd said 1:38PM on 10-23-2009
I've taken pretty good care of my stuff so I don't have a really horrific experience to share. The closest thing to a disaster I've had was when my 120GB drive started acting strangely and I did stuff to it that made it worse (this was so long ago that I don't quite remember details--I think I unplugged it from the USB port when I heard the drive knocking and couldn't eject it). Fortunately most of my data was also on DVDs so It wasn't that big of a deal.
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Bryan said 6:25PM on 10-23-2009
When I was 10 I had a Sony Walkman. Yes the the kind that played a cassette tape and you could dial in a radio station. So I'm that old. Anyways I was getting off of a boat after going fishing with some friends and it fell in the saltwater harbor, about 15 ft down. We dived after it and soaked it in fresh water to wash the salt out. then let it dry for about a week. That sucker still worked :)
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