Panasonic Countertop with Inverter Technology and Genius Sensor Microwave Oven, 1.2 cft, Black

This is my third microwave in 10 years. The last two being expensive over the range type that didn't last, I decided to stop wasting money and try this cheaper this countertop model. It is plenty large enough for anything I want to heat: a casserole, a plate of leftovers, etc. The noise level is normal, somewhat loud. What impresses me most is its strength for a 1200 watt microwave. My other microwaves were higher wattage, but this one heats much more quickly and evenly. My favorite feature is the child lock, press a button to lock, and small children can't turn it on. Press 3 times to unlock. Easy and effective. I have owned it several months, and have yet to read the instructions. All the functions are simple and intuitive. My only complaint is with the timer function: when using the timer alone, it only beeps a few times and stops. If there I leave the room for a moment and the timer goes off, I don't hear it and because it doesn't require any button pressing to silence it, I occasionally don't realize that time is up. This has led to slightly burnt items in my oven a few times. No big deal. I can use an egg timer for that purpose. Overall, I think it was a good purchase and I would buy again.

I love this black box.IF YOU LOVE YOURS TOO, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!!!!Reasons why:-Very well sized for counter tops, does not take up a lot of space and packs a huge punch.-Very lightweight, compared to other, heavier transformer-driven units.(@23 lbs.,am elderly and is kinda easy)-Buttons respond well with reasonable pressure.-Good full array of common use up-front one touch buttons.-Powerful internal vent fan.-VERY powerful and efficient!!!! example= 16 oz cup of water goes to very steaming hot @99 seconds at full pwr. ANY food goes to very hot quickly. Advise to read user manual. Advise to first use minimal time and TEMP CONTROL 1-10 prudently to get "FEEL" for unit using cups of water to find out how hot. Once found out on one's own, future use is a happy thing, NOT regrettable like other users report.-Unit DOES NOT hum on/off, working according to power setting, is one-long steady noise same volume and pitch, is inverter, not transformer.-INTERNAL LIGHT=(xmas tree/nightlight/incandescent) is on when cooking, on when open door, off when off or unit done cooking.-BEEPS= 5 when done, no muting-DOOR= Press big release button and it opensuse with care and enjoy.

I bought this microwave because it has a sensor, which works as I expected.. Put in a plate of cold food, press Sensor Reheat, and no matter the quantity of food it will heat it up the right amount of time to get the right temperature. Some other microwaves have a Reheat button, without a sensor, but just gives a set amount o time, which is useless. Reheat used to mean it had a sensor, but apparently now you have to look for the word Sensor.It also has a Sensor Cook button which I don't find useful. You have to press a number 1 through 12 after pressing the Sensor Cook button, for different kinds of food, as listed in the manual. If you don't have the manual, it is useless. The screen does not tell you what the codes are, nor is it printed anywhere on the oven. Even if you know the number, you still have to adjust for the amount of food, so what exactly is being sensed is not clear to me.Others have complained about the light not coming on when you open the door (it goes on only while it is cooking). It does not bother me as I can see inside well enough when I open the door, and I like I can leave the door open to air out the oven, without a light burning. You need the light while it is cooking to check that something is not overflowing.Regarding the door opening mechanism, I would prefer a handle, as it gives your hand a larger target area - an 8 inch long handle - to shoot for when opening compared to the 2 inch x 1 inch rectangle. But it is not a deal breaker. The mechanism itself is fine. I find that it opens and closes smoothly without much effort, unlike some other reviewers here who complained about that.I am looking forward to using the Keep Warm function. That sounds useful.I like the simple numbers to set the time. I have gotten used over the years to press 11, 22, 33 seconds and so on, fine tuning the amount of time while minimizing the button presses. Some microwaves today you cannot do that - the numbers are for number of minutes, not seconds - but not for this microwave. There is a One Minute quick start button. It would be nice to have a 10 Second quick start button, and also to start immediately without having to press Start.Overall I am happy with this microwave. The Sensor Heat works as I expected. Because of what I think is a redundant Sensor Cook button and the lack of a handle, I took off a star.

If you're one of those people that stop the microwave at one second before it beeps, but tend to forget to clear the one second off the screen when you're finished, don't worry. This microwave will clear any input time after several minutes so that there is no evidence that you were up at 3 a.m. making popcorn.Overall, the microwave looks great, works well, and is easy to use. It arrived in a large, protected (with foam) box and was in great shape. Food is heated evenly, all of the buttons work fine. The "door open" button works great (unlike some other microwaves I've owned in the past—you'd have to press it extra hard, sometimes the button would stick).My only complaint is that the microwave is quite loud when it's running. Even our old 15-year-old microwave was quieter than this one. Even still, it heats food more efficiently than our old microwave (which is the whole reason we purchased a new one), so I still give it five stars.