Cordless
     Rechargeable Shaver
Philips Norelco 7310 and 7340 Men's Shavers
Philips Norelco 8240XL Men's Shaving System
Philips Norelco 9160XL Men's Shaver
Philips Norelco Arcitec Men's Shavers
Philips Norelco BG2020 Men's Bodygroom
Philips Norelco Facial Trimming Systems
Philips Norelco Hair Grooming Systems
Philips Norelco Moisturizing Shaving Systems
Philips Norelco NT9110 Nose and Ear Trimmer
Philips Norelco Speed-XL 8140XL Men's
     Shaver
Remington Men's Shavers
Wahl Beard and Mustache Trimmers
Wahl Hair Kits and Trimmers

Reviews

Philips Norelco Facial Trimming Systems
Philips Norelco sells a bewildering array of facial beard and moustache trimming products:

* T980 Turbo Vacuum Trimmer (pictured)

* T765 AccuTrim Beard and Mustache Trimmer

* T770 Accu-Vac Beard and Mustache Trimmer

* T780 Rechargeable Vacuum Trimmer

* T970 Accu-Vac Beard and Mustache Trimmer

Of these, the top-of-the-line T980 is by far the most popular. Here is a product description:

The Philips Norelco T980 Rechargeable Turbo Vacuum Trimmer is equipped to conveniently deliver a superior trimming performance. A powerful vacuum delivers suction power, while hair deflector captures hair for no clean up. A transparent hair chamber makes it easy to see when the trimmer needs to be emptied for optimal performance. A turbo power switch boosts cutting and fan speed by 30-percent for significantly increased suction power. Revolutionary SteelWave self-sharpening blades ensure a precise and even trim every time.

Other features include 9 lockable length settings, rechargeable battery, and cordless operation for maximum freedom of movement. The Trimmer also comes with a contour following comb and a specialty mini-beard trimmer attachment, allowing for precise trimming of beard line, moustache, and sideburns.

SteelWave Technology - Philips Norelco's revolutionary SteelWave self-sharpening blades ensure a precise and even trim every time. No Mess! The powerful vacuum with hair deflector captures cut hair for no clean-up. Ergonomic design means T980 is easy-to-use with complete control for the most comfortable trimming experience. The Clearview hair chamber makes it easy to see when the T980 needs to be emptied for optimal performance. The T980 also comes with a charging adaptor and cleaning brush.

I have not been able to find online any independent, objective reviews of the T980 (although a video review is here). However, sales sites like Amazon.com have numerous reviews from actual users, and these are often quite perceptive and can be very helpful to potential buyers.

Here is an excerpt from one of some 250 reviews - most favorable - at Amazon.com:

This unit is light, easy to operate, rechargeable and has precision blades that cut evenly. The extra attachment for fine detail works well and I don't get cut using it. The vacuum attachment works well even when it's not on Turbo and I personally think it's very quiet. It's unrealistic to think a mechanical device in this price range won't make any noise at all. If that's your expectation, you might want to use scissors. However, this product gets the job done much quicker and the sound is not annoying and unlikely to wake up someone else on the normal setting.

The flexible blade housing pivots smoothly and covered the contours of my face very well with an even cut at several different lengths. While it's difficult to get close to the nose because of the larger size of this unit, I don't see that as a big deal because with the smaller precision tool you can do this quite easily with a moustache comb if you are not much for completely manual operations. This little bit of extra work probably took me under 30 seconds.

Overall, the design of this unit is well thought out and it is quite attractive. The holding space for clippings is pretty big and unless you have a thick beard, you probably won't have to change it until after several uses. The battery also lasts about 30 minutes on Turbo and you can use the plug-in adapter after that if it runs out.

And here is another:

I wonder if all these reviews are pertaining to this particular model, some reviews don't sound like my unit. I find no real problem with mine. Nothing is perfect. It is a bit bigger than my old small Wahl, but it has more features that require that. The vacuum works great, which alone makes my purchase of it worthwhile to me; in the past the sink always had a lot of nasty looking hairs all over it.

I've never had mine switch length setting on me, as some people describe, I don't see how it could. I think the adjustable length feature is really great, it accommodates about 'any' length beard, and eliminates all the extra little clip-on guides you have to keep track of. I gave up on trying to take the top off but it doesn't matter as there really is no need.

* Get the latest price on the Philips Norelco T980 Turbo Vacuum Trimmer.

September 25th, 2008