The SHARP Name Never Lets You Down!

I’ve owned several products made by Sharp over the years, and have never been disappointed with any of them. My Sharp microwave is no exception.

The overall study design is accompanied by several handy features, and a touchpad that’s labeled well and very easy to understand. The heavy glass turntable rotates both clockwise and counter-clockwise, and the glass is practically unbreakable-- believe me…I’ve dropped it and smacked it against things many a time!

The Touchpad Features Are:

· "Express Defrost": You simply choose the weight of the item to be defrosted and it automatically enters the time and power level for you.

· "Minute Plus": Handy when you want to quickly add a minute or two to the time you’ve already entered. Just touch the pad once for each extra minute you want to add.

· "Popcorn": Simply choose the bag size of the popcorn (regular or large), and the time and power are set for you.

· "Beverage": Great for reheating tea or coffee; just pick the mug size (half a cup through 2 cups of liquid). The machine sets the proper time and power.

· "Pizza": To reheat leftover pizza, select the number of slices (one through 6).

· "Baked Potato": To cook up to six potatoes, simply enter the number of potatoes.

· "Fresh Vegetables": Add a tablesppon of water per cup of fresh veggies that you want to cook, and choose the number of cups on the touchpad.

· "Rice": Settings for one-half through two cups of cooked rice.

· "Dinner Plate": Great for reheating precooked foods. Settings range from regular-size portion to large portion.

· "Pasta": For reheating either fresh or canned pasta with sauce. To heat pasta without sauce, simply use the "more or less" option.

· "Roll, Muffin": Choose frozen or fresh, one to six pieces, and the machine enters all settings for you.

· "Frozen Main Dish": Enter the number of ounces, from 6 to 16.

· "Frozen Vegetables": Enter from one to six cups of frozen veggies to be cooked.

The Other Features Include:

· "Multiple Sequence Cooking": Some foods may require different power levels for varying amounts of time. With this feature for example, you can start a roast cooking at 100-percent power for a few minutes, then switch to another power for a few minutes, and then a third power for the remaining cooking period.

· "Minute Timer": A timer that counts down your choice of minutes without cooking anything. Great for timing items in your regular oven.

· "Pause": Allows you to stop the oven between stages to stir or turn foods over, and/or to change power levels in mid-cycle.

· "Auto-Start": To begin cooking your food at a designated time of day, simply enter the start time and power level, then the stop time.

· "Safety Lock": Great for households with small children. When the safety lock is activated, none of the touchpad keys will function, and the display reads "lock".

· "Audible Signal Elimination": If you don’t wish to hear any of the machine’s "beeps", you can use this feature to shut all sound off.

· "Demo Mode": A handy little demonstration of all cooking operations and features.

The interior and exterior surfaces of the unit are very easy to clean, and operation is extremely quiet. The output power is 900 watts, and the outside dimensions are 24 inches wide by 18 inches deep, and 13 inches high.

Personally, I can’t think of any other feature that Sharp could have added, to make this machine any better than it already is!