i have had this (my first) electric kettle for a few weeks now, and have been very pleased with the performance. it boils water VERY quickly, and to a very high heat. i have even cut back my brewing time on my tea because the water is so hot. the kettle seems big, but in comparison to others, it isn't that much bigger, but the round shape makes it a less conventional fit for a countertop. the only drawback i can see is that if you accidentally hit the ON switch (which is easy to do) and the kettle happens to be empty, it would be easy to destroy the item. i accidentally hit it and managed to turn it off before much damage occured, but i did distinctly smell a slight melting plastic smell. the kettle still works well though and whatever happened, it didn't seem to affect the performance of the product whatsoever. the other thing i was a little disappointed in (has nothing to do with product performance) was that it was made in china, though that seems to be the way of things now. other than that. i LOVE this kettle. a full kettle will come to a full roiling boil in a little over 5 minutes.