Review (4/5): So far so good
Update 20/02/10
After a year and a half of good service my HQ7140 would not start even with the cord plugged in, unless I left it connected for a couple of hours...Obviously not an option when you're trying to get to work. I was about to order another one, already cursing for having to go back to blades even if only temporarily; but before that I took it to a specialized shop; they opened it and showed me it was wet on the inside and told me the "circuit" was fried. I explained that I had followed the manual to the letter, cleaning the shaving heads and the hair chamber with hot running water. They suggested taking the shaving unit off when I rinse it, use only warm (not hot) water, and *not* cleaning the hair chamber with water... They essentially sold me a brand new Philips HQ7120 as a replacement to use with my existing shaving unit for a reasonable price; it looks exactly the same except it has a "Low" red light.
The interesting bit is that I had gone to them about a month ago to buy a new shaving unit and they told me the HQ9 heads would work fine with these models, not just the HQ8; the HQ9 feel even better, so much so that I would definitely buy the 8xxx series which use the HQ9... It was only when the 7140 failed that I realized just how much I depend on it and how well it has worked out - my technique still needs to improve and shaving still seems to take too long but no going back to blades for me!
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As a wet shaving refugee I didn't know what to expect; I was just tired of getting cuts everyday, and paying an exhuberant tax to the wet shaver companies; I didn't want to buy a top of the line model in case things didn't work out.
This has been a very pleasant surprise, as I'm getting close shaves with less fuss and no irritation; I beginning to get the hang of this and even the neck area is doing well.
The battery's first run lasted for 4 days, but I may be taking a lot longer than normal while I learn. The battery light starts blinking when it's fuly charged, by the way.
I have the Philips branded verion of this and it still says Made in Holland...