Keep the manual!

Sadly, my old Sharp quit. I went to Lowe's to buy another Sharp brand microwave since our family had been so pleased with the last one. It was so easy to use, it worked perfectly and lasted ten years. I was amazed at how cheap microwaves are these days and I was additionally pleased to find a Sharp brand in stainless steel that packs a 1000+ watt punch for about $100.

It was too good to be true.

This Sharp is not user friendly to say the least. My old one had reheat buttons that used sensors and you literally pushed "reheat" and it did just that, perfectly. This model has far too many steps. For instance, in order to reheat soup, touch reheat, then #2, for soup, then #2, two more times for 2 cups, then start.

Aren't microwaves suppose to make cooking simple?

This one is my old microwave's evil twin.

I honestly can say I hate this microwave. The only reason I kept it was that when I returned to find a more comparable one to the old Sharp, it was impossible. The larger, more expensive Sharp that also "seemed" as though it was comparable was 2" too large to fit into our custom cabinets.

To look on the bright side, this microwave was cheap and does look good in my kitchen. And, if you keep the manual handy, you can actually use it for more than reheating a cup of coffee and popping popcorn. It will defrost, cook, reheat, melt, soften and warm. Like I said, just keep the manual available and be ready to follow the step by step instructions.