AppleCare vs SquareTrade

You just bought a shiny, new, Apple i-something.

You're pretty excited! But your wallet is light. Your new gadget has set you back a pretty penny.

And now, a little voice is telling you that you need a warranty.

Protect that investment!

Do you listen? Or ignore?

The decision is yours.

To make the right choice - you need to ask yourself a few questions.

And be honest with yourself.

• How do you treat your stuff? Do you tend to break things? Lose them?
  
• What would you do if your new iPhone, iPod Touch, Macbook, or iPad 2 broke? Can you afford to replace it? Are you willing to do without?
• Are you technically savvy or do you call in to Apple for assistance a lot?
  

... you need a warranty.

If you tend to break stuff - you need a warranty.

If you lose stuff, you're out of luck. So money spent on gadget insurance is probably better spent elsewhere.

When it comes to protecting your Apple gadgets - the major players are AppleCare, Squaretrade.com, and Best Buy.

Other companies may offer protection as well - but these are the ones that I am most familiar with.

Best Buy only covers devices purchased at their stores. So that might not even be an option for some.

AppleCare covers defective items and technical support. If you tend to call in for help often - this will be important to you.

Squaretrade warranties cover defects and accidental damage (for some items this is an additional cost). If you are clumsy - then consider this product.

The major differences between Squaretrade and AppleCare are the accidental damage coverage and the phone support options.

You need decide what is right for you.