7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
Haier:New Standard for Today';s Microwaves?
Date of Review: Dec 27, 2004
The Bottom Line: affordable, nice to look at and ez to clean i would recommend it
We were using our old microwave(a very good Sharp model, which we won in a grocery lottery about 15 years prior), when some of the buttons stopped functioning. This prompted us to look for a new microwave as a replacement. So, we were looking at different models from a price range of about $50-60. Other features that we were interested in were: (1) carousel (2) digital clock (3) reasonably large size, no more than 1 cubic foot (4) counter-top feature. So, basically we were looking for nothing to fancy. We weren't necessarily focusing on any particular model, just something that would serve our basic needs of heating up that breakfast muffin to go on a Monday morning.
So, one day we saw an add in Benny's sales flyer, which advertised the Haier microwave with a stainless steel body and all the features which were looking for, previously stated. It was priced at $49.00, which was discounted from $60. This seemed like an incredible bargain and definitely caught our attention. Needless to say, we went to store to take a look at it. At the store, I checked to make sure the Haier had the features which I wanted. The price was good so I decided to buy it.
What do you love about this product?
Overall, I would say that I am pretty satisfied with this products. We have been using it for the past 3 years,and we have not had a major problem yet. There are some major advantages to this microwave which I would just like to highlight in this section to discuss.
1. Stainless Steel- Since this is a counter-top microwave it is very easy to clean. Usually, I just clean it with a moist paper towel and some water. I don't use anything else for the outside. For the inside, I usually clean it with some dishwashing detergent. Oh, but back to the steel. It looks really great and…it's shiny!
2. Alarm: Whenever something is done being heated, the machine beeps to remind me to get my food out. I really like this feature because sometimes I am in the other room and I totally forget about my food. But, when I hear the beeping, it reminds to get and get the stuff. There are some disadvantages to this feature which I discuss later.
3. Digit Buttons are BIG and EASY TO READ WITHOUT MY GLASSES.
4. Power Settings: There are ten, to give us a wide range of temperatures to which we can heat our food. Our old microwave(sharp) had only 3 power levels.
5. Size: more than enough to heat up a 2 person dinner.
There are some things which I find a bit annoying about this product. I am not talking about major functional defects, just some pet peeves of mine and the family.
1. Coloring of the Display Digits- In this microwave, the digits are a light green/yellow color. This makes a bit difficult for me to see. This is a big annoyance in the morning, with the sun shining brightly and digits reflecting of the sun shine. The screen becomes very blurry and hard for me to notice the actual from the other corner of the kitchen. It doesn't matter if I have my glasses on or not because the coloring is so light that it blends with the sunshine. Our previous microwave(Sharp) had a dark, green, neon color which could easily be seen by all of us, from any part of the kitchen and any time of day. If you think that we are just blind bats who cannot see, the same trouble occurs to our friends who come over for a get-together(oh, and they have 20/20 vision!).
2. The Door-Simply put, it doesn't open as smoothly as our old Sharp Microwave used. You have to kind of jab at it and hold the door button until it opens.
3. After Heating: Usually after heating, there is quite a bit of moisture built up within the machine, and this tend to cloud up the clock. So, usually we just keep the door open a few minutes after heating up an item. It just takes a bit of time for me to do this. On top of that, I have to remember to close the door to microwave before I leave the house.
4. When I am done microwaving something, the machine will continue to beep until I take the heated food out the microwave. I
don't have a problem with the beeping "reminder". But, until I take the food out, the display will read "END", and not display the
actual time. On the one hand, it is good to have a constant reminder to take the food out. Still, I would like to have the time
displayed so that I am not punished for immediately taking the food out.
Price, size and basic features were what we were looking for and we definitely got what we wanted in the Haier microwave. If you are looking for a good, affordable and reasonably sized microwave then this one is for you. If you like shiny steel, then this one is for you too! So far, no problems and I am glad for that.
