Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update (January 2015) Microwave is now dead. After 3 years of moderate use the microwave began acting erratically. The microwave would stop running after 3 seconds or only run on 'Popcorn' mode, etc... for about one week before it finally quit running entirely. I've knocked my rating from 5 stars down to 2 stars. I expected more than 3 years of use from a microwave that was hardly ever tasked with anything more challenging that reheating food on occasion. It was a very nice microwave while it lasted which is why I'll leave the review with 2 stars (maybe I was unlucky), but I can no longer recommend this unit. I'm leaving the original review and yearly updates in their entirety below for the sake of information and posterity. However, I do NOT recommend this microwave. ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** (Original 5 star review) We're a family of 4 with two little ones. We don't actually "cook" with microwaves too often, but primarily use our microwaves to heat veggies, reheat left-overs, etc... With regards to our needs, the Panasonic NN-SD681S has met and exceeded our expectations. Coming from a 900 Watt microwave I think our favorite feature is just how much more quickly this 1200 Watt microwave accomplishes its tasks. Steaming vegetables takes about 1 minute less than with our previous microwave. Heating a beverage takes less than a minute now. I will say though that steaming can really kick up alot of moisture inside the microwave. It gets moist to the point of being fairly wet, needing a towel dry. I've not used the sensor reheat feature on any microwave before this one. Frankly I expected the sensor reheat to be something of a gimmick. However it does an outstanding job of reheating food thoroughly. As a test I reheated a plate of chicken, potatoes, and veggies together and was surprised how each item was more or less 'appropriately' reheated. Only a couple of instances over the past few months when something was a little cooler on the inside than outside after a reheat. As a parent of young children I appreciate the child lock feature. Which is a code that when entered sets the microwave into an unresponsive, stasis mode. Enter the unlock "code" to reactivate. The child lock is easy to use, and as long as your kids don't learn the "code", it should keep the occasional, or habitual button masher from accidentally turning the microwave on when you're not looking. This unit is loaded with a variety of features and settings. Some of which may not be familiar to all users. Fortunately Panasonic provides a pretty straightforward users guide that does a good job explaining the various features and their functions. Wireless users be aware, this microwave, located in about the center of our 600 sq ft first floor, decimates the wi-fi signal for the entire floor when running. Music, movies, downloads, anything that requires a wireless signal stops shortly after we begin using the microwave. Changing router locations (located on the 2nd floor) did not help whatsoever. Not a deal breaker, but those whose smoke/CO2 detectors are interconnected via wi-fi should probably make note of this. I'd guess this is a potential problem for most microwaves, so I won't knock Panasonic for this. Unfortunately this microwave does not have the best alert/reminder system. It beeps 5 times after finishing its cycle. That's it. I haven't noticed it providing any follow up warning of completion beyond that. Our previous unit had a steady, 4 second beep and would beep every couple of minutes thereafter until it was opened. A much better system in my opinion. Other thoughts. It turns out that no light when opening the door isn't such a big deal for me. The blue LED screen is easy to read. Stainless steel is a very sleek and modern look, and it does pick up prints easily. This unit is a space saver compared to similar units. Coming from an all push-button microwave, I appreciate the retractable knob control more than I thought I would. Looking at the whole picture in terms of price, features, and performance, and I feel the NN-SD681S is a solid value and would recommend it to anyone currently in the market for a microwave. Update (April 2013): The microwave continues to perform well after more than a year of moderate use. We barely notice it's there, which is a testimony to its effectiveness. Two things I have noticed: 1. It's loud. Forget having a conversation with someone across the room when this thing is on. Though given that we don't run it for more than a few minutes at at time (boiling veggies for example), it's not a big hindrance to us. 2. The door release button does require some effort/force to open. As a parent of younger children that's actually a plus for us. However I can see where some users might be turned off by that. Update (March 2014) Just a quick update to verify that the microwave is still going strong after more than 2 years of service. A reliable microwave with no problems so far.