239 of 252 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Norelco's Best Yet, July 21, 2007
This review is from: Philips Norelco arcitec 1090 Men's Shaving System (Health and Beauty)
I have shaved exclusively with electric shavers my entire adult life. A bit of a ritual, but I always buy the new top of the line Norelco as soon as it becomes available. I currently have the 9195XL and the James Bond Spectra shavers. I pre-ordered this on Amazon and was anxious to get it as it clearly is a major departure from Norelco's typical styling. It arrived completely dead which I thought a bit odd, but charging it was the another first. No cord plugs into the bottom, it has two small round electrical contacts the size of ball bearings, one on each side. It charges in its stand or the travel case, a nice touch. The new head arrangement pivots FAR more than any prior model and it really hugs the contours of your face and neck. It is relatively quiet, shaves VERY fast and very close with no irritation. It is also extremely easy to clean. Each cutter/comb assembly hinges up, but remains attached to the head making it very easy to rinse out without worrying about the cutters and combs separating from one another. Since the whole head assembly must be replaced to get new cutters, I suspect that part will command a premium. The protective head guard will not come off until you physically remove it, another Norelco first.
Negatives? Price, depending on your perspective. The trimmer is worse than useless. it is quite small and mounted at an odd place in relation to the cutting head making it especially awkward to use. I use a separate beard and mustache trimmer as I have never found an electric shaver to have a good one.
Bottom line: this is Norelco's best shaver to date...at least for my face. It also comes with a 60 day money back guarantee, so you risk nothing by trying it....which you definitely should.
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96 of 100 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Could be better considering the price, November 11, 2007
This review is from: Philips Norelco arcitec 1090 Men's Shaving System (Health and Beauty)
Intro:
My first electric was a Norelco. Once it died I switched to Braun and while the cleaning system seemed attractive at first I got tired of spending on the cleaning solution. I then got a cheap Remington which is pretty decent for the price (around $40 I think) and later got a Panasonic ES8097.
My favorite razor was the Panasonic. It offered a superb shave, cleaning was fast, easy, and cheap. The wet shave was pretty useless, though, and the battery was terrible. I have to recharge it once it indicates an 80% charge. This started a few months ago at 40% and keeps climbing each month. This is why I decided to get a new razor.
Arcitec 1090:
This is a good electric razor, but it has some notable drawbacks:
- Trimmer
- Only cordless use (although the battery is supposed to last long). For the price, I would have preferred the ability to keep on using the razor once the battery dies in a few years.
- Limited range of motion (as mentioned in other reviews). My older Norelco "hugged" my jawline and chin much better. Norelco boasts about "optimum skin contact in curved areas" but when shaving often there's not enough contact in some areas. Contact is great on the cheeks and neck.
- No wet shaving. I prefer dry shaving, but the option would have been a pleasing addition for such an expensive razor.
- Price. It's a nice razor, but not $240 nice.
On the positive side:
+ Great shaves with very little initial irritation. After using it for a few days there was no irritation at all.
+ Fast shaves
+ Comfortable
+ Low maintenance
+ Easy to clean. No need to purchase additional cleaning supplies. One can use the small brush provided, rinse under hot water, and/or submerge the head in hot water with a bit of soap and turn the razor on.
+ Nice display which is not ON all the time.
+ Charging stand and pod. The pod is a bit larger than the razor itself, but I did not find it inconvenient when traveling.
+ Fully charged in one hour
+ Seems to be well constructed. Originally I had purchased a Remington F-720 designed by BMW. As soon as I took it out of its box I was disappointed. It felt like a cheap toy. I returned it and got the Norelco instead.
The 1050x, 1060x and 1090x have slightly different features but the razor itself is essentially the same. One can download the manual and compare them. I chose the 1090 since the price difference with the 1060 was minimal where I bought it, and I liked the idea of being able to see exactly how many minutes of battery I had left. I was lucky to find a place that had them on sale, and additionally I had received a coupon for a 30% discount in my purchases. I am very happy with this razor, but I would never pay $240 for it.
Conclusion:
Overall I'm very happy with the Arcitec 1090X. For the price, I think that Norelco could offer a better product. I'm glad I found a great deal on mine, otherwise I would have chosen a different razor probably similar to my Panasonic.
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44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A huge disappointment, March 3, 2008
This review is from: Philips Norelco arcitec 1090 Men's Shaving System (Health and Beauty)
This is my third high end Philips/Norelco shaver in the past 10 years. I bought this arcitec 1090 with high hopes that it would do an even better job than my previous 8894xl.
I'm sorry to say that after 3 months of using it almost every day... I consider this a step backwards from the 8894xl. In their quest for a really cool design, and I have to admit it does look really good, they have lost sight of the fact that it actually results in a worse shave.
I find myself having to cover the same ground many more times than in the past and have to concentrate much more to check for missed hairs and spots that I have to go over even more. Also, the statement that the new design improves the ability to shave your neck is not true, I think it is also worse in this regard.
My advice, dont bother with the cool Arcitec design, buy the top of the line traditional Philips/Norelco model instead.
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