Quote from HARDSELL on 06/11/07 at 10:08pm:

 
HELLO HARDSELL:
 
Dyson would have you talk about it for 5 years on the Forum with nothing to show except words: Dyson speak.
 
You agreed that dyson "steered in too many directions" and lost its focus [vacuums].  I kept the PM and can post it for you and the Forum if you disagree now and/or your memory fails.  
 
Get on topic my friend.  We're talking about the IRobot robotic vacuum.  And dyson's lack thereof, despite years of dyson speak to the contrary.  We're not talking about HOOVER.  Albeit a sidebar, the thread theme right now is how IRobot upstaged dyson in the robotic vacuum market.  HOOVER never filled this Forum with idle misspeak about grandiose plans for a robotic vacuum.  But dyson fawners did and still are.  For years now.  The dyson speak about robotics is so repetitious it's laughable.   News Flash:  Saying year after year that dyson is launching a robot vacuum doesn't really make it true.  In fact just the opposite.  After 5 years and all the talk, no one believes it.  
 
Here's the truth.  Dyson has nothing to offer in robotic vacuums AFTER 5 years.  Zilch.  Nada.  Just the banter of empty meaningless words by dyson fawners on this Forum.  And dyson can't impugn the world's leading robotics company which is selling MILLIONS of IRobots every year.     
 
Carmine D.

Hello Trilobite:
 
Not bragging about the IRobot performance.  It's adequate for the purpose and usage.  And the company does not make any outlandish and false claims about the products.  I will defend the company and the products.  Why?  IRobot was the FIRST TO MARKET FOR ROBOTIC VACUUMS in the USA and at one heck of a low price.  The singlemost revolutionary vacuuming product in history.  Period.  
 
And every household can afford one, if wanted.  MILLIONS sold and still.  Can it be better?  Of course it can.  What product in its very early stages of infancy can't be made better?  (Didn't it take James 5,174 prototypes for his dyson?)  Will IRobot get better?  I think that's a safe bet.
 
IRobot is the best on the market in comparison to the others.  I don't say so.  Consumer Reports does.  Here's the review: March 2006: "The IRobot cleaned as well as Karcher (Roboclean RC3000), which costs nearly 5 times as much.  Its edge brush also made it best among robots for edge cleaning, though you still pay less for many more capable, full sized vacuums."
 
Unless and until something better for the same price and/or slightly more (the Electrolux Trilobite EL520A is about $1500-$1800 with a run time of 50 minutes and weighs 12 pounds vice the IRobot for $300 with a 70 minute run time and 6 pounds), I rate IRobot first in its class, despite the crticism and shortcomings.  And the competition has had 5 years to come up with a better robot.  
 
The problem with some of the buyers and users of these IRobots is they have high expectations for the performance.  They expect the same results as a full sized vacuum with human supervision.  Good luck.  These are high hopes.  They are absolutely and unequivocably unrealistic.  
 
It's easy for all the critics to impugn IRobot and the company when they have nothing better to compare with it.  Produce and market a robotic competitor, then let's discuss it.  
 
Carmine D.

Quote from JimB on 06/14/07 at 10:02am:

 
Hello JimB:
 
Maybe you should read in and not out of context.  Or would you like a definition of sidebar?  
 
Quote from Carmine_Difazio on 06/11/07 at 10:57pm:

 
Carmine D.

Quote from cprohman on 06/14/07 at 3:26pm:

 
Hello Carl:
 
Or maybe JimB more appropriately could have directed his admonishment to all the posters who engaged in the sidebar, not just me.  Starting with HARDSELL who was not only off topic but was off-topic on the sidebar.  
 
As far as the answer to your question, its been covered on the Forum.  You were probably on hiatus.  You snooze you lose.  
 
Carmine D.

Industry Narrative about the IRobot:
 
"The Roomba Robotic Floorvac has changed the way people clean their homes. It's the number one selling robotic vacuum in the world. Now, the next generation of Roomba's are here: the Roomba Discovery Robotic Floorvacs. The Roomba Discovery line is designed to make cleaning more efficient and easier than using a traditional upright vacuum.  
 
A Roomba vacuums most home floor surfaces including hardwood, laminate, linoleum, low-pile carpet, medium-pile carpet, tile, slate, and other hard surfaces. Roomba is not designed for shag carpet. Roomba's compact shape (it measures 3.5 inches tall and 13 inches in diameter) allows it to clean completely under beds, couches and other furniture, so Roomba cleans more of your floor than standard uprights. "
 
As I said in a previous post, IRobot does not make outlandish and false claims about product performance.  
 
And a litany of customer reviews of the IRobot (averaging 4.5 out of 5) in association with smart-reviews and amazon.com.
 
http://www.smart-review.com/reviews/roomba4210-review.html
 
Carmine D.