Panasonic NN-SN68KS Compact Microwave Oven with 1200W Power, Sensor Cooking, Popcorn Button, Quick 30Sec & Turbo Defrost, 1.2 cu.ft, Stainless Steel

I just got the Panasonic Genius Microwave NN-SN68KS without all the numeric buttons and you don't need them once you read the manual. This is a 1200 watt microwave with 12.4 amps so you have to have common sense and give it its own dedicated power outlet. I have mine running smooth with a common house lamp on the circuit and it's doing great. If you have an old outlet be sure to ground it with a grounding screw and grounding wire with the adapter to put it in the wall. A standard 13 amp extension cord will work if you have to use an outlet in the next room like I did. If you try and run this on the same outlet as the refrigerator you're pushing 19.5 amps and could have some issues. Same goes for a toaster oven which would be 21.4 amps which is a big no no for most common house outlets running at 15 amps max. I saw some guys review on here and he didn't know much about electricity and was having breaker issues but just needed to use the next nearest power outlet to resolve his issue. This needs it's own power outlet with maybe a common one bulb lamp hooked at the max. The food cooks awesome. It is genius!!! I love how you just have to press 2 buttons and listen for beeps to cook the food and it does everything for you. Learning to use this only takes about 10-15 minutes reading the manual. The notes are on the inside of the microwave when you open the door so you don't have to memorize 16 codes. If you properly read the manual and use common sense you will love this microwave. It is so freaking amazing and my food cooks perfect with the Genius sensor. Tips: If you go manual be sure to adjust the power settings. If it doesn't come out all the way cooked use the Reheat button and let the sensor cook your food the rest of the way for you. Works for me. Listen for the beeps and check the food if the Genius hasn't stopped cooking it yet and your Frozen Food Entree is still in there and it smells good; check it if the Genius sensor tells you there is 5:30 remaining. I checked mine and the food was done and I stopped it early. If you let it go without common sense after beeps you might overcook your food. So far we haven't overcooked anything and everything is all smiles and perfect. For some people it might seem a little overwhelming at first but if you read the manual and forums you understand the idea of how the sensor needs to detect steam and work and how it needs some of your attention sometimes when it's cooking and everything comes out great. I literally have chills and goosebumps by how amazing this microwave works and how simple it actually is to use. Never microwave anything frozen on full power or you can break the magnetron. It needs you to either lower the power or turbo defrost or use the frozen food button. I think some people didn't read the manual and freaked out. You don't need all the numerical buttons with this microwave because it is high powered with an inverter and cooks fast and evenly. That's why there are only 3 sets of numerical buttons in logical increments if you decide to cook it the old way manually without the Genius sensor. Anyone who complained is just behind the simple learning curve of a 15 minute manual read. In reward you get a microwave oven that cooks everything for you after you hit 2 buttons and don't have to guess the times. F-ing awesome. I love it. So far so good.

This is the WORST microwave we have ever had. The control panel is not user-friendly and the child lock feature is a pain in the neck. The instruction booklet is a joke. It won't allow you to customize your times; you must go in 10 second increments.

I've read about Panasonic microwave ovens for years. They are truly "different" than other microwaves, in that they use inverter technology to modulate (turn down) the microwave energy as needed to cook different types and quantities of food. In most microwaves the power is either on full blast or off. Panasonic microwaves turn down the power from a level ten down to a one smoothly and continuously. This greatly eliminates hot and cold spots in food, cooked and uncooked, ensuring that everything is done evenly and to near perfection. I use mine for popcorn, and it cooks it to perfection with its pre-programmed popcorn button. This unit has a sensor that monitors both heat and the humidity given off by food so that its computer knows exactly where everything is at during the cooking process. A list of pre-programmed selections are printed right inside the door, so there's no hunting for the manual to tell the unit what you're cooking. It has a novel keypad, in that there are actual "real" buttons, with a tactile feel rather than the plastic pads that most microwaves have, that often become troublesome as the unit ages. Also, there are only three buttons for entering the coooking time, a 10 second button, a one minute button, and a 10 minute button. If you want 20 seconds, you press the 10 second button twice, if you want 30 minutes, you press the 10 minute button 3 times, and so on. At first this took some getting used to, but I've gotten to like it very much. This frees up space on the keypad for other presets which are very helpful. This brings me to my only complaint. The labeling of the keypad is in VERY small print, and because it is black letters printed on a silver background, it makes it quite hard to read without turning on a bright light. I am so pleased with everything else on this microwave, I've learned to work around this issue. Physically, this unit is much smaller than my previous unit, but it is still plenty big for everything I want to cook. The upside is that it takes up much less room but still cooks at a full 1200 watts, which is the maximum allowed for a household microwave oven. The interior is finished with a charcoal color, which unlike white, shows almost nothing, so it looks clean all the time. I have to remind myself to clean the inside, because nothing shows. It also has an interior LED lamp, which could be a little brighter, but does illuminate the interior well, and should last the life of the microwave. I've purchased some microwave accessories (available here on Amazon), a small grill for making paninis, grilling steaks or hamburgers, and even hot dogs, and a roaster that does everything from steaming vegetables to poached eggs, baking muffins, chicken, and they work great in this microwave. All in all I would highly recommend this microwave to anyone looking for a compact high power unit that does a great job on anything you would ever think of cooking in a microwave, and even things you normally wouldn't.

It works, (more importantly it fits in the space) but the design of this model is insane. Buttons vs a keypad with preprogrammed times (10 min, 1 min, 30 sec) and arranged all higglety pigglety-no sense of order at all. And the child lock-while necessary, is difficult to disengage (we have no kids) because the buttons are so hard to figure out-and all the keys needed to disengage it have to be pressed within 10 seconds. Same for a few other features. Still has “Popcorn” (useless) and categories like Entrees and Breakfast and “Grains”. For the money, go with something else so it’s more “Plug & Play” and you won’t encounter a learning curve. I figure this is more of a ‘workplace’ microwave than one for the home but it’s fine. We had limited choices due to post Xmas timing of the old one dying and severe depth limitations.

I bought the built in kit to replace my kitchen aid microwave oven, which broke after 10 years service. This one is a lot higher quality and feels more high end and expensive. But the total price is cheaper than the lower quality predecessor. Usability is not that high as all other classic microwaves, still the last century technology, no blue tooth, no control from cell phone. But ver smooth to feel and operate. I believe this is the same oven as the dirt cheap Panasonic one offered at Costco, only this one has the real key/buttons compared to a flat keypad. Real key is harder to clean though, only feels more expensive, and can be more reliable than a flat control pad.