Couldn't decide between this iron and the T-Fal Ultraglide Diffusion, so I took them both home and tested them out. This one heats up quickly, with an audible beep when it reaches the correct temperature, and did a nice job with the ironing, but I ended up taking it back because I liked the T-fal one better.
The Black and Decker sole plate was a bit small and didn't glide quite as well as the T-Fal one. The iron felt a little too heavy compared with both my old iron and the T-fal, but some people might like that.
Although the water reservoir is theoretically see-through, something about the colour made it hard to see how much water was in it. I also didn't like the placement of the fill line. The instructions tell you to tilt the iron when filling it, but it was a bit awkward to make sure you were holding to the correct angle so that the fill line was horizontal. I didn't like that the fill cup they supply is nowhere near big enough to fill the reservoir, although I noticed that I didn't have to refill it during ironing, like I did with my old iron. I tried out the self cleaning function before I returned the iron to the store and didn't think it was much good at all. Water and steam is supposed to come pouring out of the vents, but it only sort of dribbled and I ended up opening the fill cover and dumping the water out that way. The digital readout was very clear, but the little wheel you turn to set the temperature was not the easiest thing to manipulate. I also wonder how long the digital technology will last sitting on top of a steaming iron.