Neato XV-14 Robotic All-Floor Vacuum @ Costco B&M for $199

Quote from Dealzcat : Short answer you need both: Run Neato first then run Roomba

Why? I'll do one or the other, but not both. And if Roomba's battery last longer than Neato, that's a pretty big black mark on the Neato that means I'm sticking with Roomba.

no go in TX
no sale in at state

Quote from gaijin4life : Anyone with experience using this compared to a Roomba 5xx series? This thing sure is ugly, but how does it clean? Also, is it using crappy NiCads like Roomba, or is it using longer-lasting Lithium-Ion?

The neato is smarter but doesn't have the side brush to get all the way to walls or baseboards like the roomba, so the Roomba is my preference.

I bought a neato on the last deal here. It runs for an hour or two then goes back to its base to recharge. it then goes back out to finish the job. I think it does a super job and even at the $280 I paid, I feel it is well worth it.

I got mine at walmart and paid $230 plus tax and an extra $30 for the 3 year warranty. This way I will know for sure it will last me 4 years. It (the battery) lasts longer on hardwood and tile versus carpet. Either way I do not mind because it gets the job done and the dust bin is always filled with crap that I do not want to breathe in or track around the house. My floors look great all the time now.

Quote from viperblue : The neato is smarter but doesn't have the side brush to get all the way to walls or baseboards like the roomba, so the Roomba is my preference.

Thanks for the specific example. Repped+4.

Sticking with our roombas, I guess.

I've had mine for 4 days and I just stare at it going around. I guess that defeats the purpose since I should be putting that extra time saved to good use, but it's just so cool. From what I can gather, the Neato is more efficient than the Roomba as it tracks its movement better and scans the room. Anyway, all I can say after owning one is that I was really missing out and wish I would have gotten one sooner.

I may just have to pick up another for my basement.

I returned my XV-21 because of poor battery life (15 minutes) and a sticky button (kept pausing). Will definitely be buying another though once I find it at a decent price again. I will probably opt for the XV-12 and then debate on whether to get the Pet kit as an addon. We had it running twice a week, and then once every couple of weeks we just went around the base boards with the Dyson. Even then, the Dyson wasn't picking up much, so the Neato wasn't really missing anything.

Once you have one, you won't know how you lived without it.

I have two dead room as in the closet. Even when working, they a random pattern vacuum, just bouncing randomly around with the presumption if you bounce long enough you will get all of the room.
The Neato is an engineered product... It scans each room it enters , and as it goes. It doesn't sweep the same spot twice. It runs until the battery gets low, and then beelines back to the charging station to recharge... And then goes back out to finish exactly where it left off. We have a very large home, and let Neato run at 9am every M W Fr, and its all done when my wife gets home at 5pm. Each carpet in the house has perfect lines of a freshly vacuumed carpet... It looks luxurious. NEVER had that with Roomba. And the boundaries are no comparison either... Roomba was these incredibly stupid little door stops that had batteries in them that you had to across doorways you wanted to block off. They weren't cheap, and who wants to keep swapping out the batteries and turn them on and off? Neato uses a simple magnetic strip... Lay it down if you want to block something... And can even put it under the carpet so you never even see it!
The only downside is the lack of a side brush to vacuum right along the baseboard... But we find that this area doesn't really get dirty, and occasionally using the dyson for that is fine.

I want one, but the fact they're made in China just kills me.

Quote from tvip : I want one, but the fact they're made in China just kills me.

A tad xenophobic perhaps?

Quote from degsie : A tad xenophobic perhaps?

nope, but when you've seen what tech assembly plants in China do to their workers and the local environment, it's quite terrifying. I avoid anything from PRC as much as possible. No such issues with other foreign products from places like Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, South America or Europe. I'm no green freak, but it's disgusting the way they dump raw poisons out from the factories in China. Xenophobia implies an irrational fear of anything foreign. I have a fact-based dislike of goods produced in China.

By being allowed to operate in this way they undercut the ability of US based manufacturing to compete (some of our own government regs are just as much to blame, too). Every time you buy something made in China, you are supporting their business practices.

Of course it's near-impossible to completely stay away from Chinese-made products, but when given a choice, it's one more factor to consider when deciding whether or not to buy, right up there with price, quality, customer service, and merchant reputation.

It seems like about 10-20% of our food is coming from China these days as well....

Quote from tvip : nope, but when you've seen what tech assembly plants in China do to their workers and the local environment, it's quite terrifying. I avoid anything from PRC as much as possible. No such issues with other foreign products from places like Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, South America or Europe. I'm no green freak, but it's disgusting the way they dump raw poisons out from the factories in China. Xenophobia implies an irrational fear of anything foreign. I have a fact-based dislike of goods produced in China. It seems like about 10-20% of our food is coming from China these days as well....

Neato is in fact a Californian based company, and as with many US based companies they decided to move their 'dirty' manufacturing processes to China as your own local regulations would not condone the materials used to make this product. Plus the shareholders are delighted to get this stuff churned out at low cost regardless of the cost to the environment or personnel.

Quote from degsie : Neato is in fact a Californian based company, and as with many US based companies they decided to move their 'dirty' manufacturing processes to China as your own local regulations would not condone the materials used to make this product. Plus the shareholders are delighted to get this stuff churned out at low cost regardless of the cost to the environment or personnel.

like I said, it is just one additional factor just like price, quality, merchant reputation.

What's the minimum square footage your house should have before you don't feel like a lazy bastard for buying one of these? My house is below 2000 spread over 2 floors but the kids and cat make a huge mess.