Not a bad shave....as long as there's battery life
Pros:
better shave than my old Norelco;
washable under faucet
Cons:
no battery life gauge AND cannot be used corded;
pretty colors (who cares!?)
The Bottom Line:
Having no battery gauge AND not working corded is a simple design flaw that should not have been overlooked.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I got a pretty good deal on this razor; $74.77 from my local Target store.
I got it after first purchasing one of Norelco's "Cool Skin" razors which I exchanged because it did not have a trimmer and because the manual explicitly stated that it would NOT function corded.
The first thing I did after getting the 7616X razor home was to read the instruction manual. It did not explicitly state that the razor would not function corded. Naturally when the batteries died on Monday morning, I come to find that the cord supplied with the razor works only to charge the batteries, and it in fact DOES NOT function corded.
This is a design flaw, pure and simple.
The razor does not feature a battery life gauge, AND does not work corded. This means that you don't know when the batteries will fail, and when they do, you can't simply plug the razor in and finish your shave. You are forced to "quick charge" the batteries which takes an additional 6-10 minutes and only gives you about 3 minutes of additional shave time. 10 minutes can make a big difference during the morning commute.
Furthermore, I don't know why Norelco chose not to adopt more current advances in rechargeable batteries such as Nickel-Metal Hydride, or Lithium-Ion. Instead they relied on the Nickel-Cadmium batteries, which suffer from "charge memory" where if the batteries are not fully run down before charging, they will not stay charged for as long.
The batteries in my last Norelco razor (also Nickel-Cadmium) lasted only about 3 years, and now will not hold a charge for more than 30 seconds...BUT I've been using it as a corded razor for the last few years with no problem at all!
One of the reasons this razor was so inexpensive is that it is an "obsolete model" as described on Norelco's website; no specifications about this razor can be found except for a list of accessories. Since I threw the box away, I cannot simply return it to the store for a refund. I am planning on taking advantage of Norelco's 60 Day Money-Back Guarantee, which appears to be relatively hassle-free, though a bit time-consuming.
On their website, Norelco profiles a total of 15 models of dry razors, and 3 models of wet razors, and all of them have subtle functional differences between them (and are colored beautifully). Make sure and take your time, do some research (read reviews too!), and write down model numbers before making your purchase so you know exactly what features you want make sure the model you choose has those features.
