Product review (1 stars): Better than I hoped!! *updated*
It was packaged very carefully and arrived in great condition.

Upon opening the lid, the ice maker had a strong, plastic smell that had me really concerned that the ice would taste bad. I'm pretty picky about my ice, so even a slight "off" taste would have been a deal breaker. However, per the instructions, I wiped it thoroughly (I chose white vinegar and warm water) and I dried it carefully before using. The ice tastes great!!

The machine is very easy to use.

Initially, it made a REALLY loud noise, but that seems to only happen when the cycle first starts. It lasted a few seconds. Afterwards, the sound was like a fridge or quiet dishwasher running (unless dumping ice, of course).

I set mine to "large" cubes. The first cubes it made were NOT large. But, as the machine ran longer, the ice became a good size. Unless I just became used to it, the time between dumping ice seemed to decrease the longer the machine ran. I filled up a large mixing bowl of ice in a couple of hours. I used a half gallon of water to accomplish that. At first, I ran to dump the ice each time I heard it hit the basket. Later, I waited up to an hour to dump the filled basket all at once. It didn't melt much at all. There was enough water upon dumping the ice to cause the ice to stick together some when re-frozen. But, it wasn't bad, didn't noticeably affect the size of the cubes, and was easily fixed by gently tapping with a butter knife.

The ice has a great taste (no plastic smell or flavor) and the texture is awesome. Also, the ice lasts a long time, while in the glass. I was concerned that the hollow center would mean quickly melting ice. Not at all!! It's wonderful!

As long as this product continues to perform like this, I couldn't be happier. And, at this point, I can't see life without it. I would definitely order it again and I highly recommend it!

*****update*****
May 16, 2016

The unit has stopped working. Continually says "tray full" when it's empty. I wiped the sensors and that worked initially, but now it won't do anything. Very disappointed with the product not working anymore. Amazon issued a refund.