Review (5/5): Best bargain in the Sonicare line
UPDATE: 18 months later, still working perfectly.
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While there appear to be people who have had trouble with these, I have had mine for over 6 months now with no problems. I should note, however, that I took the following precautions:
1. Sealed the seams in inside of the brush-head socket end of the handle with a thin smear of silicone caulk.
2. Applied extra plumber's silicone grease (available at hardware/home center stores) to the O-ring on the battery cap.
3. After use, I remove the brush-head, so the unit can dry better between uses.
I do not know if these precautions were necessary -- but they were easy, and the unit has run faultlessly. The battery compartment remains dry, there is no sign of corrosion anywhere.
Also note that Philips offers a 2 year warranty on the device, although I am sure that the specifics of the warranty are probably annoying.
NOTE that the free batteries supplied with the unit are fairly priced -- you are better off just discarding them immediately and using fresh alkaline AAs.