Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This Braun 340S-4 is so much better than my previous Braun shaver. The older version (5776) was flimsier. Compared with the older 5776, the construction of the 340S-4 is superior in every way. The Cutter-Foil Cartridge is solidly designed albeit expensive. The 5776's Cartridge was a mess and the trimmer kept disconnecting from the main body of the shaver. I am glad that Braun fixed this in the 340S-4 model. I shave every day, and I shave my full head, not just my face. I find this Braun 340S-4 to be very comfortable, close shaving, well made and non-irritating. I have nothing to say against this shaver, but it IS on the pricy side. I do have to rework some areas of my head and face to get the shave that I want, but I so far have not seen any shaver that did better. I get three shaves from a single charge which is better than the 5776 did, but I miss the fact that the 5776 allowed me to shave while charging, which the newer 340S-4 does not (it will not charge & shave at the same time). Beware, if you sometimes fail to charge your shaver, you may get half a shave. There is a red warning light though, and you probably have a full shave left even when it comes on, but do not ignore it. The engineering of the 340S-4 seems well thought out and built to last, but only time will tell. I got about a year and a half to two years of life from my previous Braun shavers. The feature that spells certain death for the Braun shavers has been the hinge-joint which allows the shaver head to swivel as you perform you shave. It eventually breaks rendering the shaver useless. This doubtful advantage has been thankfully removed in the 340S-4. From past experience, I have noticed that recharge life will gradually shorten over time until the shaver becomes next to useless as well, unless you can recharge while shaving. This is normal for any rechargeable battery, but there is no way to replace this battery in the Braun shavers, so this may be the new Achilles heal of the 340S-4. I do not miss the black carry case of the older shavers because the carry case was poorly designed anyway and would break into two pieces at the flimsy hinge. Also the case would soon warp so that the two halves did not properly align after only a few months of use. This 340S-4 does not have a carry case at all but rather a plastic head cover which is one piece and pretty much gets the job of protection done.