Bose, Dell, Sony, Panasonic, and Hewlett-Packard are the technology brands that score the highest with US consumers, while Apple and TiVo were among the only brands to achieve an increase in consumer trust, according to a new survey by Forrester Research. Microsoft along with Toshiba, Hitachi, Gateway, and LG were amonst the lowest-rated companies. Forrester also found that the results showed a disconnect between the “Apple Computer” brand and the company’s popular iPod. Forrester found that iPod owners did not appear to identify with the “Apple Computer” brand, which it said could mitigate the so-called “halo effect”, which has been cited to help drive Mac sales. Bose, which led all brands, was described as “a gem to be mined” with 10 million regular users today, but more than 17 million consumers who aspire to use the brand. The survey found that Americans’ trust in consumer technology companies is eroding when looking at results from 2003 to 2005.

http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/04/03/apple.bucks.trust.erosion/