Review (5/5): Pretty amazing...
I've been using this razor since it arrived, approximately 2 weeks ago, and thinking long and hard about the score I'd give it. I actually intended to give it 4/5, the reason being that, while it's an excellent razor, the price point is rather high. In the end, though, I'm so impressed that I really need to give it a full five stars in spite of the price, with the caveat that you may want to take a look at one of the less expensive, stripped-down models; this one is the flagship, but all the models should be similarly excellent (please bear in mind this is the only one I've used).
And excellent it is. While my feelings have already been summed up in the opening paragraph, read on for similarly styled (but moderate) hyperbole.
I've never gotten such a good shave with an electric razor. Norelco does recommend that you give the razor a full 21 days of your time exclusively (i.e. not shaving with anything else) before making a judgment. I haven't had the luxury of giving it a full 21 days, as I need to get my review in; however, I've already adjusted to it so well that I can't imagine going back to my old razors. It will only get better as I get more used to it, although I'm perfectly satisfied at this point and unsure if it could get any better.
Not only do I use it to shave my face (which is obviously what it was designed for, and it does a great job), I use it to shave my head. It's not going to give you as close a shave as a traditional razor, but it's also not going to scrape against your skin like a traditional razor. You'll also save money on shaving cream (the only extra expense is buying a new razor "head" for it yearly, the price of which I am uninformed of). It works "dry". This is nice for me, as it takes a lot of cream to shave both my face and my scalp, and it does, in fact, do a decent job on my head. It's a little stubbly, even right after shaving, but honestly the only thing that would do a better job would be a blade, and that's a difficult way to shave (I was previously using a Headblade). If it can shave a head, where my hair was very thick, I imagine it would be adequate for even the bushiest of beards, and, again, it's designed for faces, not heads.
If you look at the features list, you'll see that this model is full of bells and whistles. Truthfully, they are mostly extras you could live without; the lower-end models would likely be just fine, so I strongly suggest examining them as a money-saving alternative. The meter that shows you how many minutes of the charge are remaining is sort of handy, the icon that lights to remind you to clean it is somewhat useful, but to say they're necessary would be a grave overstatement. In fact, the "wash me" icon lights up after basically every use, so its necessity is particularly dubious. (As a side note, it's marvelously easy to clean.)
In the end, the product does receive my highest recommendation. I think if you tried it out, you'd be pleased, and even if you had to send it back and didn't like it after three weeks via their guarantee (it does take time for your skin to adjust), there would be little time/money wasted. I would, however, encourage you to check out the lower-end models. Ultimately, even the high price point wasn't enough for me to downgrade to four stars. I'm normally quite critical.