Customer Reviews

Vornado FA1-0007-06 Zippi Desk Fan, Black

5 star:		(109)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

Contrary to the negative reviews here, I couldn't be more pleased with this fan and will highly recommend it others. The first person that saw it now wants one too!

This is a "personal fan" for those that want some pleasing and gentle air movement to keep them cool; it's not a Vornado air exchanger. I have a Vornado fan and it is not something I want blowing on me all the time, nor is it something you can ignore. Those seeking to cool their attics look elsewhere.

If you look at the pictures you'll see that it's small, it has cloth blades, and it doesn't take much thought to know you won't be clearing a room with it. Have you ever found yourself fanning yourself with a magazine or newspaper? If so, you know that it feels pretty good and that's what this fan does, it provides a gentle and pleasant breeze on the low setting and a much stronger breeze on the high setting. Again, it's a "personal fan" designed to provide air movement for individuals, not rooms, groups, or crowds, and it does it extremely well.

The benefits to this fan are:

1) It's almost completely silent. Read in bed, carry on a conversation, or work peacefully at your desk all without being disturbed by fan noise. it has two speeds and the low speed is almost imperceptible. I mistakenly left it on last night because I couldn't hear it.

2) Cloth blades mean you can touch it, or your kids or pets can, without harm.

3) It's very small and folds up even smaller. you can travel with this if you want because it will fit in your suitcase. Try that with a larger Vornado.

4) They look great! I got the black one, but now I want one in all colors just for fun. It's a very stylish and fun little fan.


The negatives to this fan are:

NONE. It's a wonderful fan. Great job Vornado!!!!

Again, I couldn't be more pleased and it was exactly what I hope it would be. Thanks to Amazon for making this available at a great price!!!!!

I don't write many reviews (I know I should) so it takes something pretty special to make me take the time to do it. This fan is pretty special. I use the user reviews to decide on almost every online purchase I make. I took a chance on this one since it had several poor reviews, mostly based around amount of air it puts out.

I have to say, they must have been using it for some other purpose than a desk fan. I am in IT and have at any given moment 3 computers running on my desk in my cube creating a stifling amount of heat. I have had a cheap mini-fan on my desk in some form or another for years. After my last one died (probably my 5th) I decided to see if there were higher-quality desk fans out there that were sturdier and less noisy.

I found the Zippi and it delivered. I love this fan. Every morning when I turn it on I think, "Man this is a great fan". Since it showed up on my desk four other geeks in my cube-farm have also gotten one and they are equally as pleased. I never would have imagined being such a huge fan of a... fan; but this thing is absolutely ideal for anyone looking for a high quality, quiet desk fan that puts out plenty of air to move it all around the cube.

I usually have it pointed right at me on low (high is too breezy).
If you are looking for a desk fan, look no further and order it!

Just got our new Zippi and are very happy with it. I'm not so keen on the name, but the fan is classic Vornado...innovative, high quality, and above all an air-mover. This little fan is for my wife's desk at her workplace. It's perfect for that setting. Very, very quiet with 2 speeds and a completely adjustable fan head for any blowing angle. Keep in mind that this fan doesn't create the wind-tunnel vortex that other Vornados generate...after all, it is a small fan intended for small spaces. But the unique cloth/nylon blades move more air than I thought they ever would. And the 'blades' completely collapse along side the fan motor housing when you fold the housing into the stand, so it is very compact. The blades are also competely safe to the touch on low or high speeds. It also looks very nice. We have the platinum model and it does have some style. It works exactly the way it should work for the purpose intended. And they put a 3 year warranty on it! Vornado has another winner with this fan.

I own several of the Vornado Circulators; they are awesome!!! The Zippi is not a Circulator, but rather a compact personal fan. I'm disappointed with the many Vornado owners who are comparing the Zippi to the circulators.

The Zippi is a completely different offering!

It excels at what it is: A Personal, Portable, Powerful, Compact, Silent and Super Cute Fan:

It is Personal because it is meant to be sitting in front of its master faithfully fanning him or her.

It's Portable, because it will fit even in a personal briefcase or even a purse.

It is Compact as it folds to become the size of a softball.

It is silent: Speed 1 is totally stealth, while at speed 2 you can barely hear it.

It is powerful as it provides a gentle but solid breeze in stealth mode (Speed 1); or a strong breeze at speed 2.

It is Super Cute, resembling a prop airplane motor with its exposed blades and airplane like nose cone.

Highly recommended!!!

Nice going Vornado!!!

The concept is brilliant. Create a folding, portable fan with blades that are completely safe for adults, children and pets. But now for the "sales speak".

The description states "2 speeds for personal comfort; Whisper quiet operation". Neither the high or the low speed kicks out much air; just enough for you to feel a very SLIGHT breeze. This unit is NOTHING like the other Vornado models (of which I am a big fan; pardon the pun) which move tremendous amounts of air.

When I wrote Vornado, their customer rep responded, "I am sorry to learn of your disappointment, your expectations were a little high. The Zippy is a cute Novelty Fan, not at all comparable to the Powerful Circulators we manufacture." Yet from their own website they state, "POWERFUL ELECTRIC MOTOR WITH 2 SPEED CONTROL. Strong enough to move a lot of air in a dorm room, cubicle or hotel room." That simply is not true.

Vornado makes great fans/circulators. This one would be a five star contender if the motor were two or three times more powerful. The reality is you can get more air movement from one of the small desktop fans you can purchase anywhere for less than $10 or $15 dollars.

I've had my Zippi for several weeks and it's working out well for me.

Pros: It is surprisingly heavy and has a non-skid stand so I don't have to worry about it falling off whatever surface I put it on. It is a little larger than I expected but I like the fact it's not battery-powered like other personal fans. And it generates more air than those little fans if placed the same distance away. When I'm at my desk, I dislike dead air and need a fan. But I don't want to have to put weights on top of all my receipts to keep them from blowing off my desk and the Zippi gives just enough air circulation, but no more. And it's as quiet as I had hoped. Though not silent, I tend to forget it's on.

Cons: The fan seems powerful, but it doesn't translate into as much air as I would expect from the size of the motor. I think they could have come up with fan blades which would have been more effective at pushing air than the stitched nylon strips they used. They're like tiny little narrow black pillow cases and are slightly puffy now that they've been used. I wonder if Vornado had used a blade that was more curved and single-ply, it might send off more air. But then it might injure a finger, too. Still, there are times when I wish I could crank up the air as an option, even if normally I'd use it just where it's set now.

I personally would make sure I was able to put it at least 15 inches away from me. I have mine 3 feet away. I'm not sure if electric motors are unhealthy, but why not err on the side of caution?

Bottom line: I'd buy it again. It fits right between a traditional fan and those little, useless personal fans. It handles the task. Just. If you compare it to a regular Vornado fan, it will fall short. If you compare it to those little battery operated personal fans, you'll be pleased.

Pathetically underachieving desk fan. Folks looking for a small but POWERFUL desk fan should take a look at the similar model from Brookstone's which features -- gasp -- plastic blades. That fan actually moves some air and is as quiet and compact as the Zippi. Otherwise, check out Vornado's own "Tiny Tornado" -- the little air circulator. That's an outstanding fan.

I bought this fan to use on my desk at work. You literally have to be like 6 inches from the fan to feel any kind of breeze. A few of the reviewers mentioned about two feet but no way. My expectations weren't too high but cmon if your gonna make a fan at least make it function slightly better than this. Especially if your carrying the Vornado name. Like I said I wasn't expecting something powerful just a small fan to provide a slight breeze on my work desk. This does not cut it at all. I'm giving it two stars because its actually a really cool loooking fan and its very quiet. Its a shame it doesn't perform as good as it looks.

UPDATE: I would like to increase my rating to 3.5 stars from 2. However I cant find an option to change it. After using it at my desk it does an ok job of cooling me off. When i tested it at home for some reason it didnt seem to work as well. Anyway as long as your within two feet you do feel a slight breeze. I guess for 20 bucks you can't complain. If it was a BIT more powerful it would of been great.

Fan was exactly what I was looking for - very quiet. However, after four months of occassional use, the fan died on me -- couldn't be restarted. I tried to use the warranty, but the cost of shipping was prohibitive. Note that several other reviewers had similar problems.

Great idea - if Vornado makes a more durable version I'd buy a new one in a second. But a fan that doesn't last more than four months is a waste of money.

Bought this less than a year ago and its dead already. Shipping costs are more than the cost of the item to get warranty service, negating that option. This fan was used very little this past summer. I have another Vornado that has been running for years but this model doesn't compare to its quality.