I don't think that shiny is an advantage for kitchen appliances!

With extra impetus provided by being burglarized, we seem to be doing a lot to stimulate the economy this winter. My partner was annoyed at difficulties (which I could easily manage) with our microwave and came home one evening with the Panasonic NN-SD697S. I was not consulted about the choice, though I know that the primary criterion for its selection was that it was the smallest microwave the store sold (which is not very small). In that we like the Panasonic plasma-CD tv that I bought, the company name perhaps bolstered the choice.

Though not the buyer, I am that fabled epinions beast, a "real user" and will report on my experience of the product below.

It looked quite Oakland Raiders: silver and black. No doubt, it looked sleek in the store. Unfortunately the silver (actually, stainless steel) is a fingerprint magnet. The fingerprints can be wiped off, but I don't remember ever wiping off our old microwave.

We never cook anything in the microwave. We defrost some foods, heat water and soybean milk, reheat leftover foods (though not the kinds that come out soggy--God invented toaster ovens for reheating pizza slices, etc.), and occasionally pop microwave bags of popcorn.

I was accustomed to buttons for time. I was especially partial to 78 and 98 second settings. The Panasonic NN-SD697S has a dial and I have had to switch to one minute and 20 seconds or one minute and 40 seconds. I have managed to adjust and my right hand has mastered the twist to 1:20. (I haven't tried it blindfolded, but am confident).

The Panasonic NN-SD697S fits on the microwave shelf. I think it is still bigger than what we need (24"x14"x19.5").

It has a child safety lock, sensor cook, sensor reheat, and an "Inverter Turbo Defrost Pad." I was intrigued to find out what that might be. I can't say that I have unpacked the name, but what it does is defrost food by weight (in hundredths of a pound). I don't usually know how much frozen leftovers weigh, but for frozen food coming from packages with a weight listed this is very precise (even if the user isn't!).

The user manual (in English and Spanish) includes a chart to convert ounces into tenths of a pound--and a lot of tips that those who have never microwaved before might find useful. It had never occurred to me to use the microwave to separate slices of bacon. To date, my fingers have done this just fine, but I have melted butter ineptly in our older microwave(s) and the next time I try it, will set the power to 6 and the time to one and a half minutes.

The NN-SD697S only open 90 degrees. This is not particularly a problem for me, but my previous one opened wider, and I think that doors for microwaves should.

I should care about how energy efficient it is, but I don't know and don't care. Bad me! But, since it is not used for cooking (long durations), maybe not too bad.

The tray that slowly turns comes out and some day will be washed in the dishwasher.

Other than showing fingerprints too easily, what I don't like is that even if I open the door before the five beeps that announce the time I programmed has elapsed, it continues with the beeps. (Five seems excessive, three would suffice, or one slightly longer one.) Also, a minute later, if the door has not been opened, if provides a noisy reminder. Getting something (say heated soybean milk) out of the microwave immediately is not a high priority for me. I am well aware that I have left cups of various kinds of liquids in the microwave long enough for them to have cooled (OK, sometimes overnight!), but I liked being able to ignore that it was done. The beeps are so irksome to me, that I don't know what happens if one ignores the second announcement. I know that it completes all five beeps, though.

Am I lazy and/or idiosyncratic? Perhaps, but I do have the time set, which is more than many users of electrical appliances (including those able to record tapes and discs from tv) ever do.

© 2007, Stephen O. Murray