Black & Decker BLC10650H 10-Speed Blender

Indians use blenders differently - they may use it more for making curries and pastes and less for smoothies.  A lot of people from the Indian sub-continent also require to puree soaked rice and lentils.  That is not an easy task for blender because the rice/lentils are uncooked.  Just soaked in water.  I have gone through a blender every few months and just learned to accept it - they cost less than $20 at Wal-Mart.
This one came as a pleasant surprise.  I have had it for 14 months and it has been working just fine.  I have made the "dosa" paste as well as "idli" paste out of it.  I have also used it for grinding Cilantro leaves for making Indian-style chutneys.  And of course, I have used it to make smoothies.
Works fine and does all the job.  The glass jar is solidly built.  It is a bit difficult to clean the blades since they don't open and come out but I guess that is what makes it look very durable as opposed to what I used in the past.  The motor is quite powerful and of average noise decibels.
I personally have never understood why do blenders have so many buttons and speeds?  Does it really affect what you are doing? I almost always seem to use various speeds just randomly.  Maybe that is why my blenders don't last that long.