• CNet, Tuesday, September 21, 2010 12:18 PM

For the seventh consecutive year, Apple has bested all rivals in the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index, with a score of 86 out of 100. What's more, its Apple's highest ranking since the annual survey began in 1995. "The real story is how much further ahead of its peers Apple is in this area," writes CNet.

"Most of the rest of the field (Acer, Dell, HP, and others) is tied with a score of 77, while HP's Compaq brand is ranked 74." In all fairless, all of the PC makers improved their scores this year, but it didn't help them catch up to Apple much. Indeed, Apple's nine-point lead is now the largest lead any company has over its competition in any of the 45 categories that the ACSI study surveys, notes CNet. Apple's success in customer satisfaction is attributed to a lineup of products that is broad yet "connected," a extremely controlled retail experience, and what CNet calls its "particular brand of leadership."

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