Rating  - Works as advertised
The product works as advertised (indeed, right on the outside of the box). Six minutes of suction, more powerful than any other hand-vac I've used. As for design - a major improvement could be made in the design for battery charging; as has been pointed out, the charge connectors are in the vacuum, not the battery.
To charge an extra battery, you need to disconnect the battery from the unit (a task that, if you're not careful, will result in scattering the various parts all over the room if your hand slips, since the battery is apparently held in by strong nuclear forces); fortunately, the plastic appears to be pretty sturdy. C'mon, Dyson, it's a battery - can't you just make it so I push a button and it slips out?
Then you have to install a new battery and charge THAT in the vacuum. Don't know how long the charge on a spare would last out of the charger, but if you kept one charging it would add six minutes to the cleanup time. Suggestion: market a spare charger/battery combo and that would resolve the short battery life issue....
Rating  - Just a horribly engineered product.
I don't usually go back later on and add any reviews of the products I own, because I don't usually feel it necessary. With this product, it's so bad that even with the number of accurately bad reviews already, I still feel the need to chime in.
On the high points, it does have the easy-to-empty and easy-to-see-if-it's-full canister. So cleaning it out into a garbage can works well. The suction, while it lasts, is decent.
On the other hand...
1. Battery. The battery life leaves much to be desired. The product claims a 6 minute run-time on a full charge, I got about a minute out of it on first use, and roughly 4 or 5 minutes the second go round after a good 8 or 9 hour charge. The claim is that after 3 hours it should be fully charged. Extremely disappointing if you have anything remotely larger than the top of a desk to vacuum.
2. Charging. You can't charge the battery without the unit itself because the charging contacts are built onto the vacuum and not the battery. So even with an extra battery, it's just as useless, because the entire unit has to be on the charger.
3. Attachments. There's no place to store them on the unit itself or on the charging base, so they just have to lay next to it, I guess. Also, besides the two attachments for tight spots and brush cleaning, I seem to have gotten a third attachment that does nothing except extend out another inch. And it looks like it's supposed to attach to something else on the other end, but I've no idea what that might be, as it doesn't fit the other attachments.
4. Instructions. The instructions were clearly made with an international focus in mind. The 8 page 'manual' is really the same 2 pages in 4 languages, and it's nothing but warnings. It tells you nothing of how to use the product. The other book they provide is nothing but really hard to decipher symbols and diagrams. Don't get me wrong, it's a hand-vac, I don't expect a dictionary, but at least a few paragraphs on use, storage, cleaning, and what that goofy third attachment is might help. The one thing I did gleam from the warnings was that you can't use it with smaller particles or hair, which kinda makes me wonder what I'm supposed to use it on...nuts and bolts?
5. Power button. You have to hold it down continuously like a drill. Not a big deal when you figure in that it only lasts 5 minutes, but still a pain in the neck, or rather, your finger.
If you buy this at all, make sure you use a coupon and get a good return policy. I'm lucky, bought it from Bed, Bath, and Beyond with a 20% off coupon, so it only cost me 120 and I can return it without a hassle. Just make sure to save the box.
Rating  - The best handheld vacuum with the worst battery
For sheer suction power, this is the best handheld vac I've ever used. However, as much as I love my Dyson DC16 Root, I have to knock off some points for low battery life, poor ergonomics (trigger) and the high price tag.
Battery life - I've actually timed this. After 5 minutes of use, the unit shuts down. It doesn't gradually lose power like some battery-powered hand-helds; it just stops. Five minutes is not quite enough time for me to clean the floors and cloth seats of my car, which means I have to vacuum the car in at least two sessions.
Ergonomics - Overall the unit is fairly balanced and not as unwieldy as it looks. The problem is that you must keep the trigger depressed to operate the unit. If you have small hands and problems maintaining a grip (as I do), this is a big problem. Frankly, in 5 minutes of battery life, it becomes too painful for me to maintain pressure on the trigger.
Suction - We have two cats. The Dyson DC16 is GREAT at touching up upholstery, drapes, and cleaning the stairs. I can't believe how much stuff it picks up, even from an area that looks clean. It is easy to empty and clean the unit. The unit "runs clean" too - meaning I can use it without aggravating my allergies.
Attachments - hooray for Dyson for making all their attachments fit ALL their vacuums, even this handheld.
What I would change - This unit needs a longer battery life, or at least the option to have multiple batteries so that a battery could be charging while another was being used in the unit. I would love to be able to use it while it is in its recharging base so that it could switch from corded to cordless depending on need.
A tip for pet owners - While the Dyson is great at picking up pet hair, it can be slow - and short battery life means that you don't get much time to do a thorough job. When I clean a chair or sofa, I first brush the upholstery with a rubber bristle brush (the Rubba Scrubba found on flylady.net) and that quickly removes the bulk of the pet hair. I then follow up with the vacuum.
Rating - There are better products for a lot less money
This vacuum has been nothing but problems for me. The battery doesn't last longer than 10-12 minutes of cleaning. After a few months the machine wouldn't work at all. I called customer service, and she said it's a common battery problem and sent me a free replacement because it was still under warranty. About 6 months later, the same thing began to happen, but now the machine was out of warranty. Battery replacements are very expensive, more than the cost of several brand new competing handheld vacuums.
The cleaning power is not very impressive, and considering the short battery life, it is not worth the money. I strongly recommend that people avoid this purchase and find a better value.
Rating - great for hand held
I love this vacuum. Yes, the battery doesn't last that long, but 6 minutes of powerful suction is plenty for a hand held vacuum. It is not designed to clean a whole room - it is for small spills or hard to reach areas. I highly recommend it. And for bigger areas I use my large dyson which I adore.
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