Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have owned the original Kill a Watt for several years and find it to be a wonderful device with a few exceptions, however, the new updated unit is terrible. The first and most important problem is that the display is not viewable unless you get down on the floor and use a flashlight. LCD displays have angles for best viewing and this one as most others are usually below the horizon of the display - so best contrast and readability occurs if you are looking up at the display from beneath it. In addition the mask for the display cuts off the top and prevents readings from any normal position. Secondly the enunciators (labels that tell you if it is volts or amps) are tiny - so you not only need to get down on the floor with a flashlight but you need reading glasses as well to know which parameter the numerals represent. I am fully cognisant of the fact that there is a memory and you can pull the item out of it's receptacle for a more convenient and better lit area. But where do you find one of those - no one places recepticles over head or at eye level that I know of - they are all about 1 foot off the floor. In addition the instantaneous reading of current (= not the electrical term) watts, or current volts, or amps is not memorized and pulling the device out of its working recepticle obliterates any instantaneous factor readings taken when you were measuring the device. There are certainly many better ways to do the display - for instance locating the display on the top of the unit facing up. In addition a backlight could be added. And the parameters could be larger and clearer. In that way all you would have to do is bend down to find out your information. I also find the menu system and toggling a big nuisance. The older unit was much easier to use. Each button had its own function. The readings were clear and straight forward - what you pushed was what you got. Now the menu and toggling system is obtuse, and time consuming. In addition in my unit the press switches did not work correctly - with sometimes nothing happening and other times it would jump three pushes with just one touch. A last criticism is that the display should stay on when the unit is out of the wall. A small watch battery should be able to provide years of a nice contrasty display. To sum thing up - I am very dissatisfied with its viewability and readability. It is very inconvenient to use. I am also dissastified with the logistics of the menu system - as it is haphazard and very poorly thought out. And I am dissastisfied with the control buttons which are intermittent and jumpy. I will be returning my unit.