Am really pleased with my purchase of this item. I use it most days - make porridge in the morning, cook grains like quinoa and millet to make salads for my packed lunch, steam veggies and the occasional ready meal in the steamer basket and have made some really lovely winter stews on the slow cook function. I've never managed to cook quinoa in a pan, but the rice cooker does it to perfection. Am really looking forward to experimenting further with it, and will try to make polenta using the porridge function tomorrow. if it was a bit cheaper, I'd buy another one (so that I can cook my stew and my grains/veggies at the same time). The downsides are small, but the non-stick surface of the pot is VERY delicate, mine has a scratch already and if the pot goes then I won't think its such a good buy. Also the steamer basket is very shallow, so it is not such a good buy if the steaming aspect is very important to you. However - these are small complaints, and I would recommend one for every kitchen. Oh, and it's very easy and quick to clean (non-stick surface and all that!!).
Just to update- I have now have this product for four years and it is still one of the best kitchen purchases I ever made. The bowl still works well despite me dropping it on the floor and denting it out of shape. I did enquire at that point how much a new bowl would be, and it was exhorbitant, but managed to knock the bowl back into shape by deliberately dropping it on the other side. Still couldnt recommend this more, which I think is unusual after four years use!