A new study has found that Apple's laptop computers come in behind rival manufacturers when it comes to reliability, with HP coming in last.The study, conducted by warranty supplier SquareTrade, used 30,000 individual laptop units and compared the reliability of devices from nine brands. It found that about 33% of all laptops are set to fail within three years of use, a rate that exceeds the life-spans of other devices.

Given that the typical laptop endures more use and abuse than nearly any other consumer electronic device (with the possible exception of cell phones), it is not surprising to see such high failure rates," SquareTrade said.Asus and Toshiba beat out rival manufactures Acer, Gateway and HP as the most reliable brands, while Apple came in fourth place. About 5% of laptops surveyed failed in their first year.Given the high failure rates of laptops and sizeable difference in reliability by brand, reliability should be a concern for consumers shopping around for the best deals," SquareTrade said.