I needed a blender so I did what I always do when I need something... I came to Amazon to read reviews. I stumbled across the Ninja. (I had no idea it was an infomercial product because I haven't watched TV in over 10 years.)
The reviews were incredibly positive, so I bought it in May of 2011. I bought it mainly for smoothies but have used it for many different things. Here are the pros and cons...
PROS: I like that the motor goes on top. It's very easy to store in a cabinet and doesn't take up too much space. The blades are ridiculously sharp! (They don't call it "Ninja" for nothing!) My first day with it, I sliced my thumb almost to the bone! Sharp blades are great on a blender... when you're careful!
CONS: Smoothies don't come out very smooth. Not even bananas. The constant pulsing is necessary only because the company used plastic parts where they should have used metal. Plastic parts can strip if directions aren't followed. I haven't stripped mine because I follow the directions, but the whole thing could easily be avoided by using better quality parts. But, products are rarely made to last anymore. Companies want repeat business.
The blades may be at different heights in the container but there's a reason for it. A regular blender uses a cyclone action to bring the product down to the blades, thus the product hits the blades. With the Ninja, the product just swirls around, not up and down. Even though the blades are at different heights, not all the product comes into contact with the blades unless you pulse on and on, over and over again. It's needless and annoying. To clean the blades, one stick must be twisted and pulled from a shorter stick. This puts your fingers hazardously close to the blades, just asking for your fingers to be sliced and diced, especially when the stick takes a little extra effort to separate.
Also, the seal on the pour spout is NOT tight. I have to put a towel over mine so it doesn't spurt out while I'm mixing things. And the top part of the blade stick (the plastic part that should be metal) that rests in the motor head (which should also be metal) gets dirty from what your mixing, causing the motor head to need to be cleaned. The whole point of the motor being on top was so that it stayed clean.
Overall, it's just okay. It's not the worst blender I've ever owned but it's certainly not the best. I wouldn't buy another one.