I've owned 3 Norelco shavers in my life. Each lasting more than 10 years. The local repair shop who has serviced my previous 2 Norelco's noted that the new ones aren't the quality of the old. Time will only answer that question but I can state that the 7340 system sold here is a much changed version of what I have used in the past.
First the 7430 is light....extremely light. It is very quiet, something that takes getting used to. It's also the first Norelco I've owned without the comfort control setting. I was initially reluctant since on my previous 2 Norelco's the comfort control setting seemed to affect the closeness of the shave. This particular razor has the HQ8 heads. The higher priced models use the HQ9s. From my research the biggest complaint about the HQ9 head is that it seems to take more time to get a clean shave. Based on 3 weeks of use of the 7340, even without the comfort control, not only do the HQ8 heads shave as fast as my older Norelco's but the shave is also closer.
This shaver also allows the use of water to rinse the heads clean. This is a major advantage over my older Norelco's since I use a pre shave product that can cause the blades to need frequent cleaning. Now the after shave rinse to the head assembly keeps things much cleaner without having to disassemble the heads, which was what I previously had to do.
On the negative side the razor is delivered bare bones. No case to store or transport it in. It won't fit even my older cases. My previous Norelco had a battery gauge which allowed me to know when to recharge the shaver. This razor has a charge indicator but its only purpose is to indicate when the shaver is being charged and that it has reached full charge.
My older Norelco's would slow down as their batteries started to fail. This one just stops when the voltage falls below certain level. Obviously not a good thing if you have no available AC outlet at the time. To get the best battery life you do need to let the batteries run down. If you constantly plug it in to keep it "topped off", you will be replacing batteries on a more frequent cycle. Note that this service normally must be done by a service person since the batteries are soldered in. In past experience I got at least 4-5 years service out of one set of batteries.
Overall this is a good lower cost Norelco. It's Chinese made so from my stand point I will have to wait and see if it holds up as well as my former shavers that were Holland manufactured. Philips Norelco 7340 Men's Shaving System
I bought the shaver from Best Buy for $52 three weeks ago. I'm 63 and have been using Braun shavers for the past 25 years because I felt they gave a closer shave than Norelco.
This Norelco, which although is made in China, seems very well made. It is remarkably quiet and comfortable, a pleasure to use. After three weeks of getting my beard accustomed to the shaver I can say it seems to shave reasonably close and gets all the hairs - something my Braun had a problem with.
I just completed a test, shaving half my face with the Norelco, half with my old Braun (not in the best shape), and after judging my beard the next morning, the Norelco easily won. It's not as close as a blade - by 5 p.m I notice a stubble, but considering how easy it is to use (and washable) I really can't complain! an excellent shaver at a reasonable price.
[It's now Dec. 2010 - 2 years later - and it shaves every bit as good as when I bought it. I use it every day and I have probably an a little less than average beard... what can I say, it's a great shaver!]
The good: a good shave; plenty of battery life (at least when brand-new); corded or cordless use; when corded, it shaves really well even if the batteries are nearly depleted; easy to clean (the heads can be rinsed under the tap).
That said: I would have liked an indicator when the battery is down far enough that recharging is indicated, like my old Norelco had. I guess it doesn't matter, since if it stops dead you can finish up with the cord, but I still would have liked a "Time to Recharge" indicator.
The instructions say that, for best battery life, you should use it cordless as much as possible, and run the batteries almost all the way out before recharging. I'd rather have a razor I can use corded all the time, but this is the next best thing.
This is the first electric razor I've purchased. I read many reviews and decided Norelco seemed the safest bet. I chose this model because a slightly more expensive model seemed like it had the best reviews, and this razor is virtually identical for $30 less with only a couple differences:
1. Charge time of 8 hours instead of 1 hour.
2. Stated on the box that it can be used as a corded razor. Reviews stated the more expensive one could be used corded, but it didn't say so on the box. So I felt safer getting this cheaper model and it saved a bit of money.
I went with this one instead of an even cheaper model because the razor-cover-guard thing has little holes in addition to slots. The holes are supposed to create a closer shave. I wouldn't know since this is my first, but decided a closer but still safe and easy shave is best.
I considered shaving a hassle, but not anymore. I can shave while in front of my computer reading articles on the internet. Wonderful. Normally I consider time spent shaving to be a waste. And it doesn't irritate my skin unless I press very hard and repeatedly. Or maybe that was just the first times. I haven't had any irritation at all after the first week.
Everyone says to run water over the blades to clean them. I find it even more convenient to simply blow on them really hard. The stubble is a gritty dust with fairly frequent use, so it disappears on the carpet and I vacuum it up whenever I vacuum.
This is one of the best purchases I have made. No more wasting my time shaving in the mirror. No more giving myself irritated red skin on my neck trying to adequately shave in that tricky area. Yes, it works on my neck. It also catches all of the shavings, so you could shave while driving to work if you wanted to. But since it is no hassle, I don't see why I would wait until the last minute to do it. I keep it by my computer, and shave whenever I happen to notice a bit of stubble. - Shaving - Rechargeable Batteries - Electric Razor - Cordless'
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