Close to Perfect
Quite a while back my Remington Microscreen needed the screen replaced, and for a few dollars more than the cost of the screen I bought Norelco's bottom-end cordless.  It was under-powered, seemed like it was always at the end of the 30-minute shave time, and didn't cut well at all.  All of the people I know who use a Norelco love them, and said that in Summer you won't get the razor burn on your neck you get with a screen razor, so I bought the 8894XL.<br />The shave is good, and when set to the softest setting the heads easily hug your face.  (A firmer setting caused some razor burn, noticeable in hot weather only.)  It's amazingly quite and powerful, shaves quickly, and cleans up easily.  It doesn't shave as close as the Microscreen, nor as well my dad's corded Norelco of 15 years, which he almost never changes blades on.  I have naturally wavy and very thick hair, which it misses occasionally, but is nothing to complain about.  A quick shave only takes 3 minutes; a detailed shave takes 7.  It takes some time to trim around high sideburns accurately and the area under the nose, and is useless for trimming extra eyebrow hair, all of which the screen razor does well.<br />As far as features go, they're great.  It really does charge in an hour and last 100 minutes.  I let mine go past the 0 minutes left warning the first few charges until the motor slowed regularly while shaving and then recharged it.  (It automatically turns off when the motor can't stay close to normal speed.--recharge before this.)  It lasts about 170 minutes, and the readout gets closer to the actual run time each charge cycle.  Once you set the firmness to what you want it doesn't need to be adjusted again.  The pop-up trimmer could be better, and is kind of like a plastic knife that's hard to cut yourself or anything else with, and doesn't bog the motor.  The clear LED cover scratches amazingly easily, so you'll want to keep the razor in the thin bag when not in use.  The cleaning indicator is accurate, and rinsing under hot water, blowing the water out of the inside, and drying the outside with a towel is quick and easy.  Just keep the trimmer extended until the razor air-dries completely.  I haven't heard any complaints about the battery other than online, so it may be the problem is fixed in the newer razors.<br />In summary, it's a fun razor that won't wake the family early mornings while giving you a quick shave.  There's no razor burn when the firmness is set correctly, but it also won't shave as close as a blade or screen razor.  There's no guessing on how long the battery will last, which is at least 100 minutes.
Rating: 4 stars