105 of 109 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Happy., July 11, 2010
This review is from: iRobot 44001 Roomba Vacuum-Cleaning Robot (Kitchen)
I just sent my roomba 440 off on its first assignment, clean my 750 sq ft apt! I am surprised at well this little robot is cleaning the floor, its no deep clean mind you but its picking up a ton of stuff! I have already emptied the bin twice. On the down side the roomba has gotten stuck about 6 times now, so i would recommend that you watch it carefully the first time you use it, plus it will let you know with a chime when its stuck and gives up on freeing itself. The run time is about 1 hr, which is enough time for this roomba to go over my entire apartment twice, at the moment its headed back into my bedroom for the 4th time. Just died! Ran from 8:10am to 9:21am. I can't wait to give it another charge and set it free before i head out for work in the morning, after i fix its little favorite places to get stuck.
Pros:
-Obviously cleans so you don't have to.
-Highly entertaining!
-Picks up lots of stuff from the carpet/tile/vinyl
-**Cleans under places i haven't seen since i moved in.
-Cheap at $200 considering what this thing actually does.
Cons
-Doesn't self dock for recharging like other robots.
-Doesn't perform well in high traffic areas.
-NiCd battery may provide the power this thing needs but come on! its 2010, this thing should have lithium batteries. NiCd wears out fast, its heavy, they are a battery that has a great memory(BAD thing!, remember to always store roomba with no charge and never half charge the battery).
All in all im happy with its performance, but you should never expect miracles.
*******EDIT*******
I was so happy with the performance of my Roomba i cleaned it and took it back to target where i was given a full refund (love target!). I went to frys electronics to get the newer nicer model (Roomba 560, $350) and was ecstatic to find that they had it on sale for $269, that made my night. On sale through 7/15/10. I only upgraded because the battery lasts longer (4 rooms), it docks itself for recharging, and of course scheduling. I was filled with geek pride when i was at work today, looked at the clock and realized that at that exact moment there was a robot at my apartment vacuuming the floors for me, i expected to come home and it would be stuck somewhere but, well, not exactly... it had gone into the bathroom and accidentally closed the door on itself, on the upside the floors in my bathroom are spotless.
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's a Very Love Hate Relationship, August 30, 2010
This review is from: iRobot 44001 Roomba Vacuum-Cleaning Robot (Kitchen)
I got my Roomba for Christmas the year before last and once I got over my initial hurt feelings about getting a vacuum as my big suprise, I really loved it. It did an awesome job of keeping our floors clean and was able to get under pieces of furniture which were really hard work before. I have two dogs, a cat and two small children and it was able to handle that. I had just had my second child and so the roomba was such a help, when nothing else was getting done, the floors still always looked clean. I think it's a great appliance for anyone who has just had a baby. I also really appreciate it when we have guests over as I could be cooking or whatever else while the floors were getting vacuumed, it feels like an extra pair of hands. I do need to use our old vacuum to go around the edges of the carpet every month or so.
Unfortunately after 5 months it stopped working. I contacted customer service who were really slow and would email every couple of days to get me to try different ways of getting it to work. I would email them right back to let them know that hadn't worked and then wait a couple more days to get another suggestion. After a couple of weeks of that they sent me a new one. It worked for a couple of months then the battery failed. We replaced the battery and since then it's been very hit and miss. We've replaced the battery again but it goes through spells when it doesn't work, then inexplicably works again for a while. You get so used to not sweeping or vacuuming manually that when you have to do it it feels like a huge imposition!
While it's worked I have absolutely loved it and can't believe that everyone doesn't have one. I would honestly say it saves me about 3 or 4 hours a week. I just really wish it had worked better for longer. That said I am absolutely going to get a new one soon!
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34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
They Die Fast, July 31, 2010
This review is from: iRobot 44001 Roomba Vacuum-Cleaning Robot (Kitchen)
I love the concept. They just aren't reliable enough for me. I went through 3 in 3 months. The first one had a bad battery. The second one started going in circles after 2 weeks. The third one stopped picking up dirt. The gears that turn the brushes stopped working. Never figured out why. I generally have a very clean home. So, it wasn't operator error. I still want one... but I want one that is going to last. I was happy with the cleaning it did. They are kind of noisy. They bang into everything in order to change direction (at least until they learn the floor plan). I loved the remote, the docking station that it parks itself in when it needs a charge. Irobot, I still have all the accessories. It's time you pony up and make them so they last!
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