I've owned a half dozen Norelcos over the years and this is underpowered. Even in ''turbo'' mode, it struggles on my very light beard. The materials used have no tactile feel--just hard plastic that's slippery in my hand. I bought my last Norelco in 2004 and would still be using it if I hadn't ruined it attempting to solder in a new battery (thanks, Norelco). It was FAR more powerful, had the trimmer built-in, felt much better in my hand and lasted for over 14 years. I suspect I'll return this model for the much more expensive 9000 series...for something I use every day, I just don't see this one holding up. Norelco must make 20 different shavers and I don't get it. Anything less than this model just can't be much good and even at Costco, the top of the line model is spendy. For a company I've always bragged on for manufacturing great products, this shaver is a disappointment.

I had not used an electric shaver for many years, and didn't like the one I had then, as it wouldn't cut close enough, it bit the skin of you were not really careful, and it sounded like a lawn mower. I finally got tired of using the standard shaving foam and very expensive multiple-blade razors; it just took to long to shave, and made a mess in the bathroom. I saw a display of this battery-operated shaver at my local discount store, and decided to give it a chance. Was I surprised! Quick, close shaves, no mess, very quiet, and easy to use and to clean. I'll never go back to the older ways.

I bought this Philips Norelco S5290 to replace my 10+ year old Norelco 7886XL which had been my perfect travel companion for over 5 years. This S5290 has great ergonomic new design which provides an additional dimension to get to a closer shave. It also allows charging from the bottom port by plugging in with a power cord, which makes traveling possible. (Most of us takes this feature for granted, but the genius who designed the previous generation Norelco SensoTouch 3D 1255X apparently did not take charging with traveling in consideration.) However, most of the new Norelco models including the Series 9000 no longer come with an integrated trimmer! Instead, they came up with this "SmartClick" trimmer that takes up more time to swap with the shave head. Not to mention it is so easily to lose this separate piece while traveling. I'm not sure how Philips could overlook this major design flaw and still thought to put this half-completed product on the shelf, FOR ALL PRODUCT LINES. Attached are pictures indicating the degeneration of the Norelco product designs over the years.

Previous bad reviews are correct. It is a bad razor it plucks the hairs not shave. It is painful. And dose not get all the hair.

Disappointed in my new Norelco Shaver 5200. I have always loved Norelco's but for this being a new shaver, I have already replaced the heads but still do not get a good shave.

I bought this razor because I was dissatisfied with my Braun Series 3 shaver, which took many passes to cut properly. This razor shaves no better than a foil shaver I have, and at twice the price!

Although I'm a long term Norelco shaver user I do find this shaver to be faster than previous models. Important . . . I had to use this shaver for a week or two before I realized the increased speed and close shave.

This shaver does not seem able to handle more than a day's worth of beard growth. Leaves lots of hairs uncut, and takes a long time repeatedly going over the same area.

This shaver is awkward to use...it's an inch longer than my previous Norelco shaver for no apparent reason, and therefore more difficult for travel, and the grip is too far from the head.

Does not work...waste of money....