Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm giving this Crock-Pot entry into the multi-cooker field five stars, with a couple of caveats. First of all it's not quite up to the build quality of the Philips HD3095/87 Electric Multi-Cooker, which I also had the opportunity to try out and review. The control panel is where this is most evident.The Philips panel has an easy-to-clean smooth solid surface and a white backlight. This Crock-Pot multi-cooker has buttons that have a small gap around them that could accumulate grime over time and a blue backlight. And the panel display on the unit we received has a lighter colored blob in it (see the picture I uploaded). Incidentally, the Crock-Pot cooker display stays illuminated through the whole cooking cycle. This may not be maximum efficiency, but it's handy for checking remaining cooking time as you walk by. But with that aside, there's a lot to like about this multi-cooker. The controls are more simple and intuitive with the Crock-Pot cooker. The Philips controls are a little tricky, which makes it easier to make a mistake like setting precook time instead of cooking time. The Crock-Pot cooker holds six quarts, where the Philips holds about five. Since the Crock-Pot cooker control panel is mounted on the front instead of the top, the cooking pot is larger---a full 8 by 11.5 inches, and over 4 inches deep. The Crock-Pot inner pot will easily hold an average size family dinner chuck roast in one piece, whereas the roast may have to be cut into pieces to fit into the Philips cooker. Both the Philips and the Crock-Pot inner cooking pots are non-stick and removable. But the Crock-Pot has large handles that makes removal and carrying it around much easier. And the Crock-Pot lid can remain on the inner pot while removing and carrying it around. The outer dimensions are about the same. The Crock-Pot cooker takes up about 12 by 14 inches of counter space. But it has a shorter power cord than the Philips---only about 27 inches long. Another Crock-Pot advantage over the Philips (in my opinion) is its large glass lid. It's practically a picture window. The Philips has to be opened to check on cooking progress. The Crock-Pot manual leaves a little to be desired. I thought it could be clearer. For example, one could get the idea that "roast" setting can only be used with the included wire rack like an oven. That supposedly leaves only "slow cook" and "steam" and "bake" modes to try to cook a traditional pot roast in 2 to 4 hours. We tried it out though, and found that traditional pot roast (without the wire rack of course) cooks great on "roast" setting at a set temperature of 240 degrees. The "slow cook" mode only has two settings---high and low---and they are about the same as a conventional Crock Pot. In other words, it's about 6 hours to cook something on high, and 8 to 12 hours on low. There's a lot to like here. And at this writing the Crock-Pot multi-cooker is almost 50 dollars less. That's something to consider when making your choice.