I bought one of these several months ago after following the discussion on Woot. Couldn't be happier. I have never enjoyed vacuuming. About as rewarding as cleaning ashtrays.
My downstairs includes 7 rooms and a hall. I have carpet, areas rugs, hardwood floors, laminate and elevated thresholds. We have one cat and one dog, both shedding.
We call Neato our "little fellow." He is programed to work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He cleans for an hour, returns to his charger for an hour, works another half hour and is done. I empty the bin, which is generally full,
On Tuesdays and Thursdays I turn him loose upstairs. Three bedrooms, a bathroom and a hall. Takes about an hour. When he is done, he returns to the spot where I first placed him.
Noise? No more so than the vacuum cleaner.
Effective? You betcha.
Time? These are hours I can use to do something else.
Problems? Neato doesn't like the long fringe on two area rugs. They are also a problem for the vacuum cleaner. I flip the fringe under the rugs before Neato gets to them. Takes two minutes, tops. Big deal.
A bonus --the hardwood floors shine when he is done.
And, he's fun to watch.
One of my best purchases.