Hamilton Beach Smoothie Smart Blender with 5 Speeds & 40 oz Glass Jar, Black (56206)

For some time now we have been making due with our cheap, old Oster blender. Don't get me m wrong, we've had it for a good 110 or so years now and it's still kicking, it just doesn't do what we want it to do very well, and the motor tends to make that unpleasant "hot" smell after its been running for minute or so.And so I set out on the search for a bit of an upgrade, planning to spend $80 or so. Honestly, I had no idea household blenders could get so expensive. The Breville Hemisphere Control Blender seemed like a really well thought out, quality blender, but at $200 it was more than I had budgeted for at this time (maybe later though!).I had looked over the Oster beehive beehive blenders, but a lot or reviews seem to complain about excessive noise, the drive shaft coupler breaking, and lower quality compared to older models.The Cuisinart blenders all seemed to have pretty lackluster reviews, so that left we me Hamilton Beach, since other brands sell higher end models.One thing I noticed about Hamilton Beach's models were that several of them seem to have a lot of the same features ("wave action" tempered glass jar, lid with pouring spout, and 700 peak watt motors). At that point it came down to price, the number of buttons, and aesthetics.I'll be honest, part of my criteria for a new blender besides better performance was something I wouldn't mind looking at on the counter. Our white Oster was always in the cabinet since it was at odds with our black/stainless appliances and had a very bland base design.To that end I found the 58148 Power Elite to be quite ugly and cheap looking, and while the Wave Crusher was better, it reminded me of a cheaper looking Breville or Kitchen-Aid. This model on the other hand looks sleek and contemporary, with some bright work added the top of the base and the keypad.It was with the some trepidation that I purchased this model, as the identical looking 56205 model is rated pretty poorly, but while this 56206 has few reviews, they are better. It also seemed to be reviewed favorably be Cnet, who noted it outperformed a $200 Cuisinart in their comparison. Plus for $44 it was well under budget, and thus was selected.Unboxing revealed sleek base. It's plastic, but it feels like good quality, well modeled plastic. I like the faux brushed metal ring on the base (its pretty convincing), and the touchpad. Its much easier to clean up VS conventional buttons, as spills can to get stuck between the buttons and they are a pain to clean. I also appreciate the retractable cord. The spout lid, as I soon learned, is a great idea and keeps pouring from being a mess. The lid itself fits snugly with no chance for leaking, and has a closeable vent behind the spout. All assembled, it looks right at home with my other appliances and nice enough that I don't mind leaving it out on the counter.As soon as it was ready to go I put it straight to work. First up was some icy protein shake consisting of chocolate milk mix, peanut butter, granola, blueberries and ice. First thing I noticed is that it essentially liquified the ice I had put in there, and had to add more to get that nice slushy constancy. I don't get how people have problems with it crushing ice. For a first try it came out pretty good. i found a couple bits of ice that wouldn't fit in the straw but not too bad.Next test was a frappe. We love making thick milkshakes and frappes. With the Oster is was always a case of having to add a scoop or two a a time, run it, remove the jar, shake it/push the contents down, replace and repeat until it could finally blend on its own. With this blender however I had no need to do any of that. I made a Frappe using milk, ice cream, blueberries, a banana, frozen strawberries, and a bit of sugar. I pressed the milkshake button and it did the rest on its own. It is impressive to see the contents of the jar actually circulate up and down the sides of the jar, so the "wave action" isn't just a gimmick. This came out fantastic. Everything was perfectly and quickly blended in about 30 seconds to a nice, smooth, thick, consistency. just like the shop at the college I went to made!This morning I decided to try making a smoothie. The main gimmick of this blender is the "smart smoothie" button, which is supposed to be a fully automatic was to blend the perfect smoothy. I followed the suggestion the the manual for making one: 1 cup of milk, 1.5 cups yogurt, 2 cups fruit (frozen strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries) and some sugar. Pressed the smoothie button and let it do its thing. Sure enough, by the time the cycle stopped it was all blended together. I decided that I wanted a banana in it for extra sweetness, so I plopped 2 halves in and pressed the milkshake button for 5-10 seconds. It came out so smooth and creamy, just like a smoothie should! It had no problem blending the frozen fruit up.Tonight I made a good old fashioned thick chocolate milkshake. Several scoops of ice cream, some milk, and chocolate malt. This time it took several pulses and a jiggle of the jar (didn't have to pick it up and shake it though) to get things going, but once the blade caught the ice cream it went to town. The Oster would take a lot longer and often times by the time enough milk was added for it to blend everything it was a rather thin shake. When I did managed to make it thick it tended to be chunky. This blender on the other hand, took less than a minute, and the shake came out smooth and delightfully thick.We also tried that protein icy again, having a better feel for the unit, and the second time it came out much smoother, like a slushy, with no ice chunks.Cleanup is easy. I rinse it, add some hot soapy water, pulse it for a few seconds, then gently scrub the jar and the lid.So far we've used it 6 times in two days. As of right now I love this little blender, and while it may not be able to make peanut butter, it certainly does a great job a blending drinks. Hopefully it lasts for a long time, but as of right now I'm very pleased with my purchase and it easily earns 5 Stars.

Use this every day! works just as well as the fancy expensive ones!✭✭✭✭✭ - I love this product. it meets or exceeds my expectations and is great quality. I would recommend this to anyone.✭✭✭✭ - I like this product but it’s is not perfect. The quality is good and is as described, but it could use some improvements. I would recommend this to friends and family.✭✭✭ - This product is okay but it could be better. The quality is acceptable but it could use some improvements to make it better. I would recommend this to friends and family but advise of my thoughts about quality.✭✭ - This product did not impress me at all. It either does not work as described, is of poor quality, or is just not what I was expecting it to be. It might be okay for some people who are just looking for something cheaply made or inexpensive to purchase.✭ - I do not like this product. It is either very poor quality, a waste of time and money, or did not arrive in a timely manner. I would not recommend this product to anyone as it does not meet the quality standards of anyone and should be removed from amazon.I have received this product at a discount or for free for my honest review. I believe that every person may have a different experience with a product and maybe someone could benefit from my honest review. I will not give out 5 starts for a product just because I got it for free or for cheap.

I purchased this blender specifically to make smoothies and that's all I have used it for. It works great, although a bit noisy, but it does not take long to blend smoothies so it's not a huge issue. The best feature is the one-touch smoothie button which takes all the guesswork out of blending. They turn out perfect. Buttons are easily visible on the front, with good contrast. Other good features are the removable pitcher bottom, which allows for easy cleaning, and the no-drip spout on the lid. The blender fits easily on the counter with good clearance for the cabinets above.

Horrible product.Doesn't work in india,Fake promises of refund made but not fulfilled.Please don't buy it as it is not compatible with Indian voltage.

Fabulosa licuadora es mi favorita ....mis batidos quedan fabulosos asi sea con frutas mega congeladas, me dio el resultado deseado.

Me gustó mucho, es muy poderosa y los acabados son muy buenos y cómodos al tacto. Estoy muy feliz con la compra.

una muy bonita licuadora de muy buena calidad y sobre todo muy economica gracias yo la recomiendo ampliamente el comprar aqui es muy bueno

Excelente tiempo de entrega, pero la descripción dice que el cuerpo es de "acero inoxidable" y en realidad es de plástico. Dejando de lado este detalle, la licuadora funciona bien.