I have bought this pan just recently after reading the many reviews on this site, as well as doing some research on the Commercial Hard-Anodized line of Calphalon products.
This was really worth the money and I can see how people would pay full price for it was well, since so far I haven't found a drawback to this pan.
It cleans up as easily as nonstick pans do, and that includes the inside of the lid that gets splattered when stewing stuff covered in the oven.
It heats VERY evenly, there are really no hot spots at all, and very quickly.
It may not be nonstick, but when preheated properly and with a bit of oil/butter/rendered fat, even tender meats such as lamb don't become burned onto the pan.
The meat browning is excellent, yielding wonderful deglacage, and it also allows you to brown the meat, add other ingredients, and put the entire thing into the oven. More importantly, the meat cooks so that it is browned on the outside and tender inside, as opposed to nonstick skillets that make even the better meat cuts really tough on the inside and do not give a nice brown crust at all. The hard-anodized surface of this pan seals in the juices, making even stew beef more tender than you could ever cook it after you browned it in a nonstick pan. In fact, I haven't used my nonstick pan at all since I got this one--I don't need it.
The handles don't get too hot on stovetop, but they do get rather warm with prolonged cooking. However, that is to be expected, and I haven't had a problem using them with a pair of thin potholders. They obviously do get hot in the oven, but that is to be expected as well.
Overall, a great pan. It's been sitting on my stovetop since I received it, and I have been using it quite a bit.
I will recommend it to anyone starting a new kitchen, or just choosing a first skillet to buy. The size is nice, it is large enough to make stew or other dish enough for 4-6 servings easily, likely more but I haven't tried to fill it up further than just the bottom.
Another important point--if you plan to fry eggs, I would recommend a nonstick pan instead of this one. I like my eggs beaten with milk, and that sticks really easy, so I would not trust that to any surface other than nonstick. This hard-anodized pan beats nonstick hands-down for anything and everything else, however.
If you haven't tried this Calphalon line yet, definitely buy this pan--it's well worth the money, and it is likely to become your favorite kitchen toy!
UPDATE:
I have been using this for about about half a year longer now and I am still as pleased with it as I was before. The surface has not become damaged even after extensive use (although I have not cooked many acidic foods in it, I have used it for making wurst&kraut in the oven), it has not warped, and the clean-up continues to be a breeze.
Recently I have used it to sear some sesame-oil coated scallops for a Thai curry dish, then deglazed it with coconut milk (a pretty thick liquid), and it all came together rather beautifully, with no burned-on spots or off flavors.
Another huge advantage I have noticed over time is the fact that the handles are small, and do not get in the way of cooking something else next to the pan when using it on stovetop.
I have before, and I still recommend this to everyone and anyone. In fact, I have recently purchased a second one, because I use the one I have literally all the time.
