And will they do this AFTER the Warranty is gone?

So, If you armed these with spinning chainsaw blades and did the same with a Roomba- scheduled them to release at the same time from opposite sides of the room- which one would win?

If they killed the cat- would it at least clean up the mess afterwards- or would I need a Scooba for that? How would a Scooba with a chainsaw blade hold up against the Roomba and a Neato?


Neato does look like Roomba's evil cousin. Roomba looks cute- Neato looks like it wants to kill something.

gramasheemie wrote:Can anyone tell me if the neeto would really get messed up if it came accross a 'puddle' on the floor?

Dunno- but depends might help you.

This is rather timely.

I've owned a Roomba for the past four years or so, and in that time I ahve went through four batteries.

No matter how often it runs, no matter what charging cycle I use, no matter how often I fully discharge the batteries, no matter if I purchase a name brand APS battery or generic replacement cells... the batteries are lucky to last a year.

Meanwhile I have cordless tools with batteries that are a decade old and still work perfectly fine.

The sad part is I'm not alone. I have two relatives who each have Roombas and they have suffered the same fate. I have checked Internet forums and found the same elsewhere... the batteries just won't last. Plus, when it comes time to replace them they cost around $50, so basically you can expect to pay $50 a year to own a Roomba.

In addition to the battery issues, my Roomba gets stuck on top of heat registers about twice a week, and it gets stuck in a corner or up against a rug around twice a week too. The Roomba just isn't smart... it just wanders around and hopes to get lucky.

Because of these flaws, I wouldn't suggest anyone purchase a Roomba, and I'd be really tempted to try the Neato instead. My mother has one and they swear by it... the thing scans the room, vacuums line by line in a pattern, and then finishes. No need to worry about it missing a spot, no need to worry about it backing itself into a corner.

Time will tell is the Neato does a better job in the battery department, but considering I've spent close to $200 on batteries for my Roomba thus far, I'm not about to give them another chance.

How long will one of these last before it's laser overheats and it's processor blows from having to constantly remap due to overly interested dogs and preschoolers?

It cool to see how far this technology has come in 10 or 12 years. When I was in the Army, I had a chance to work with General Dynamics Robotics Systems on the initial DARPA autonomous vehicle development.

They just had to bring out the robot vacuum. In. For. One.

I bought one of these from amazon about 1.5 years back. The vacuum is quieter than normal vacuums but loud enough to be bothersome during TV watching. The battery life will drain with use over time. I run mine twice a week for 1.5 years. However the device will charge itself so its not that big of a deal. I have by downstairs as one giant floor plan approx. 1,000 sq ft charges once halfway through. The rubber brushes on the bottom do wear after about a year use and need replacing. Neato replaced my free after the first year because I complained about the warranty. The rubber brushes are only $20.
The dirt bin should be emptied after each use, but thats not very labor intensive. Took it to my parents house to clean their floors and Oh My Gookie! they looked clean but the vacuum gathered so much dust/hair/microdirt. Traditional vacuums probably work a little better, but if thats what you are looking for you should be looking into robotic vacuums. Favorite part is coming home on Monday after work and seeing the nice vacuum lines and then on Friday before the weekend.
I would suggest it.

Between this and a Roomba... there is no comparison.

I purchased a Roomba 5xx from Costco thinking it would help take care of the in between vacuuming maintenance. I had it a week and it would only clean one part of my living room floor bc it thought the black circles on the rug were edges and it was about to fall off. It went back and that was life.

Then I saw this on woot (xv-11) and picked one up (actually ordered on hsn, bc it was $50 cheaper with cashback). It is truly an amazing piece of equipment. Maps the room and does its job. Does my entire first floor~900sf in about an hour. I am amazed at the amount of dirt and dust this thing picks up everyday, and that's with a dyson that gets used once a week.

Noise is something people have pointed out. It does mildly resemble a small jet spooling up in the other room, but it's worth it. With the scheduling feature, we run ours during the night and since all bedrooms are upstairs, if I'm up and it's on, I can barely notice it. Good for during the day when at work if no one is home too.

Also, if it hasn't been pointed out, no difference between the xv-11 and xv-12 other than color and maybe accessories. When I ordered my 11 on hsn, neato called me up and said they were out of stock on the 11's and if I'd be ok getting the 12, I think I prefer the lighter color anyway.

Awesome little robot, now if it could just do stairs...

Goosedude wrote:I would get this if I hadn't already found a great place to get affordable ROOMBA replacement batteries.

I have read that the best combo is to have a NEATO and a ROOMBA.....

HI ! Possible to share ?

If I buy a Neato, can I setup a "play date" with someone that has Roomba?!

gftitan wrote:If I buy a Neato, can I setup a "play date" with someone that has Roomba?!

Reginald (the Roomba) is always looking for new friends!

gftitan wrote:If I buy a Neato, can I setup a "play date" with someone that has Roomba?!

Just be warned- if your Neato mates with a Roomba the offspring will be considered mutts- and you won't be able to get any subsequent generation registered with the kennel association.

yrguide wrote:LASERS!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pw5sDsjCio&feature=player_embedded

Night vision video of the Neato laser mapping a room.

That video has a better demonstration that the product video! Which, by the way, did anyone notice that in the demo for setting times, the buttons showed that the white printing was wearing off...oops!

Does anyone know how this works on tile? We have no carpet at all...lots of furbabies, though :=) I've been considering an automated vac for a while, coz to keep our floors fur-free, we'd hafta vacuum non-stop, 24/7! But, I'm wondering if we'd burn out the motor.

Need a Roomba? Craigslist!

How well does this clean near walls or floor objects?

After watching a video or two, and looking at the design, it looks like it would not be able to clean in corners and seems to give floor objects a bit of clearance.

Nice review relative to the Roomba (mentions the noise) http://gizmodo.com/neato-xv_12/

Would it be unethical of me to buy two of them so they could fight each other?

We got one of these on Woot last time around and are very happy with it. The first one died, but they were very good about sending out a new one and even cross shipped it for free!

The new one works great. I love coming home and seeing the vacuum lines on the floor knowing it just saved at least 1 hour of work.

I will probably never go without owning one of these again. It has really been a "Game Changer" for me.

If I have any complaints it would be that occasionally it can get a little confused and keep going towards a corner, then turning around over and over. It will eventually find its way, but it's strange how the last time it did that spot it was fine, but this time it got lost.

sundaypostman wrote:How well does this clean near walls or floor objects?

After watching a video or two, and looking at the design, it looks like it would not be able to clean in corners and seems to give floor objects a bit of clearance.

There is definitely a bit of clearance around things, but not much more than a normal vacuum. Sometimes we quickly sweep stuff out of the corners before it runs, but that is not really that necessary.

fig4159 wrote:Does anyone know how this works on tile? We have no carpet at all...lots of furbabies, though :=) I've been considering an automated vac for a while, coz to keep our floors fur-free, we'd hafta vacuum non-stop, 24/7! But, I'm wondering if we'd burn out the motor.

It really excels on hardwoods and tile, more so than carpet. Having a dog that sheds all the time, I wonder how we ever felt clean without this thing. We have it run at least 2 times a week and it picks up pretty much everything on the floors each time. (with the exception of a few corners.)

It is not as good at picking up hair on carpet. Our Dyson really kicks its butt in that department, but it still does better on carpet than the cheap vacuums we have had.

The robots are coming to take over humanity!

Does it recognize open stairwells??Evidently doesn't have virtual walls as the Roomba does..

In for one...been wanting a Roomba for years - after reading reviews on this unit I decided it was a better fit. A bit discouraged about the corners not getting cleaned. I have a lab who sheds a ton, and it always seems to end up in the corners. I hope I didn't just purchase an eBay sale.

Will the initial laser scan blind my yorkie?

fig4159 wrote:Does anyone know how this works on tile? We have no carpet at all...lots of furbabies, though :=) I've been considering an automated vac for a while, coz to keep our floors fur-free, we'd hafta vacuum non-stop, 24/7! But, I'm wondering if we'd burn out the motor.

It works great ... we have tile in 4 areas that our XV-11 cleans ... it has enough suction to pull stuff out of the grout lines.

woodcrafter22 wrote:Does it recognize open stairwells??Evidently doesn't have virtual walls as the Roomba does..

Yes, we have an open stairwell ... it's almost comical to watch it run right up to it and stop suddenly, "look around", and then go along the edge.

Thanx so much for anwering..

cntrysngr72 wrote:In for one...been wanting a Roomba for years - after reading reviews on this unit I decided it was a better fit. A bit discouraged about the corners not getting cleaned. I have a lab who sheds a ton, and it always seems to end up in the corners. I hope I didn't just purchase an eBay sale.

It does get into the corners, but as was mentioned by boxoman, there is a bit of a clearance right along the baseboards ... maybe half an inch or so ... more noticeable on hardwoods than anywhere else ... hair will get sucked up, but if you don't sweep or dry-mop for a long time you will see a dust pattern in that area.

ok i'll bite. thus ending my 5 year relationship with 4 different roombas (including a free replacement)

nikohernandiz wrote:Would it be unethical of me to buy two of them so they could fight each other?

What? No! Put that stuff on the web! INSTANT FAME.

woodcrafter22 wrote:Does it recognize open stairwells??Evidently doesn't have virtual walls as the Roomba does..

as ggrote stated it does recognize stairwells and goes right to the very edge without falling off...

this product does not use any virtual wall lighthouses that you have to keep putting in your different rooms or door ways, as this unit uses laser mapping it only does 1 room at a time and is smart enough to know to not go onto another room until it finishes cleaning the room its in, unlike the roomba that randomly cleans which requires virtual walls to keep it cleaning one room at a time...

It is also important to note the product does come with "boundary markers" which is a magentic strip that you can place under carpet or furniture.

the boundary marker will not allow the neato to pass through it, it will go up to it and clean around it but not pass through it...

it would be a good idea to put this boundary marker in certain areas of your home that you don't want it to clean. For those of you with pets that go to the bathroom inside your home on papers you will find this feature most useful :P

Great timing. My wife and I just bought a house and were looking for something like this to assist in the upkeep day to day life.

Wow. Talk about a quality post. Thanks!

I'm soooo close to biting on this, had Roombas for years and finally need a new battery (again).

Question - my cat is a freak for laser toys and flashlight beams .... will she be able to see the initial laser scan, or was that video strictly a night-vision thing?

Question - again pertaining to cats, this one about cat toys, little fur mice and catnip sacks, etc. I try to pick all that stuff up before vac'ing and/or setting the Roomba free - would this thing suck one of those up?

Looks like it's a bit taller than my Roomba which barely fits under the kitchen cabinets, so I'll probably have to sweep that out.

Thanks,
~me

Oh and for Uber Hacking Dorks like myself:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/29/neato-xv-11-robot-vacuum-gets-its-very-own-open-source-lidar-hac/

I have a Roomba 530 that I bought off woot in 2008, it still holds a charge just fine and is run 3x a week. Recently it's brush motor burned out and I bought a part on ebay for $30 to replace the brush assembly. I have the aerovac bin and have no problems with dust or dirt left behind (with a kid and 3 cats). I don't like it at all for carpet since it just pushes the dustbunnies off the edge of my area rug.

Anywho- the distinct advantage a Roomba has over the Neato at this point is that I can get parts for cheap on ebay and I can service it myself.

In for one.

The Humans Are Dead!

Warning: PG-13 Language

Does anyone know how this handles dark carpets? My Roomba quit whenever it hit the black carpet.

Hello all. Been waiting on woot getting one of these for a long time (not a fan of the Roomba's chaos theory regarding motion). For anyone who has had a unit, how is the customer service from Neato once the warranty runs out? I will be buying a unit but that will be helpful to know. Maybe adding the Squaretrade warranty will be a good thing...???

chimpsnest wrote:Question - my cat is a freak for laser toys and flashlight beams .... will she be able to see the initial laser scan, or was that video strictly a night-vision thing?

No, it's not a visible light laser ... probably IR ... and it's not just an "initial scan" ... the laser is constantly scanning while the unit is operating.

chimpsnest wrote:Question - again pertaining to cats, this one about cat toys, little fur mice and catnip sacks, etc. I try to pick all that stuff up before vac'ing and/or setting the Roomba free - would this thing suck one of those up?

Nope ... it'll just push them around like the Roombas do, unless they are flat enough, in which case it might run over them ... but as long as there aren't long strings attached it shouldn't hurt anything.

chimpsnest wrote:Looks like it's a bit taller than my Roomba which barely fits under the kitchen cabinets, so I'll probably have to sweep that out.

The chassis is very similar in height, and can get under a standard cabinet toe-kick ... but the turret is taller and does cause the XV-11 problems sometimes ... for example, it will sometimes get under our futon couch from the front and try to get out on the sides, but the turret will hit the side supports of the couch and it has to turn around ... the frame of the futon is black, and I don't think the laser bounces back well off black objects.