Review (5/5): Phillips arcitec 1090
I bought this shaver in June of 2008. I wanted to give it a good test before writing a review.
I originally wanted a Braun shaver with a cleaning station but never having owned an electric shaver wanted the option to return it if it did not perform well. Amazon - as described in the product detail - would not accept a return of the Braun with a cleaning station because of the alcohol contained.
I bought the Norelco instead because of the opportunity to return if it was no good.
When I was a kid, I could not wait to have a beard - kept looking in the mirror for signs of life from my whiskers. My mother laughed at me and said that I would hate shaving some day. I hate shaving and I hate worse standing in front of a mirror every morning applying shaving cream, dragging that blade across my face and sometimes cutting myself. I had done this ritual every morning for 40 years - time for a change.
With the Norelco, I can stand in front of the TV and shave while watching Fox News in the morning. No shaving cream, no water no blood. I can wander through the house and shave, I can go outside and shave. Ride in the car and shave? - sure, no problem.
There are no problems with the Norelco battery. When the display says zero minutes (I have always run it to zero before charging) I put it in the charger and in about an hour I am good for up to 85 minutes of shaving time - recently I've noticed that shaving time on the display has dropped to less than 85 minutes - maybe 76-78 minutes - after a full recharge. This is probably to be expected with the number of times I have recharged this thing.
Motor, switch, display and charger all going strong.
Shaving heads last me about a year. I did change out the standard head for an RQ12 head last year based on reviews at Amazon. The RQ12 head provides a better shave than the standard head and still provides a good shave after almost a year of use.
I clean the head periodically by partially filling a cup with 92% alcohol from Walmart and running the head in the alcohol for about a minute or two and then rinsing with hot water. Cleaning station? I don' need no stinkin' cleaning station.
All in all this has been a good purchase for me. When it finally dies maybe in about 5 more years, I'll get another Norelco and carry on.