Enjoy FREE Access to IBD’s remium Content Can't access my account I am a current subscriber and need to register. I am not a current subscriber and want to register for a free membership.Try 4 weeks of IBD Digital Premium and get instant access to exclusive stock lists, proprietary ratings and actionable stock analysis. Current subscribers register here. Storied British vacuum-cleaner maker Dyson on Monday released its first robotic vacuum in the U.S., aiming to take a piece of the market iRobot (IRBT) dominates with its Roomba machines. IRobot stock rose 0.6% to 38.14 on the stock market today, despite the new competitive threat. IBD'S TAKE: IRobot stock has an above-average IBD Composite Rating of 63, but it ranks No. 7 within the IBD Household Appliances-Wares industry group. For more details on iRobot stock, visit the IBD Stock Checkup. Last week, iRobot CEO Colin Angle downplayed the threat posed by the new Dyson 360 Eye robot vacuum cleaner.

He was asked about the Dyson product on a conference call Wednesday with analysts to discuss second-quarter results. Dyson launched its robotic vacuum cleaner in Japan about a year ago and has "failed to achieve anything but low single-digit market share performance" there, Angle said. The Dyson 360 Eye is a first-generation product that is too tall to get under furniture and has challenges cleaning larger rooms, he said. Still, Angle said he is "respectful" of Dyson and believes it will spend a reasonable amount to promote the product. Those marketing efforts might actually help iRobot by raising awareness of the robotic vacuum cleaner category, he said. "We're taking them very seriously," Angle said. "But our confidence is very high that we'll remain the market leader and that we can continue to command the very significant market share position we enjoy today." The Dyson 360 Eye promises "twice the suction of any robot vacuum," but costs $999.99. By comparison, iRobot has four Roomba vacuum models starting at $374.99.

The most expensive model, the Roomba 980, costs $899.99. In the second quarter, iRobot beat Wall Street's expectations. It earned 17 cents a share on sales of $148.7 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 10 cents EPS and $148.1 million in sales. The Bedford, Mass.-based company also raised its guidance for sales and earnings for the rest of the year. IRobot is now focused solely on the home-cleaning robot market after selling its military robot business and exiting the corporate remote-presence robot business. In addition to Roomba vacuums, it sells Braava mopping robots, Mirra pool-cleaning robots and Looj gutter-cleaning robots. IRobot Hopes To Clean Up In Floor-Mopping BusinessThe Roomba 630 is a fully functional robot vacuum equipped everything that you need and will clean floors effectively.It does this for around half the price of top of the line models.This would be a good first robot cleaner by very busy individuals who would want to outsource cleaning tasks.

The Roomba 630 much like the 760 up to the latest 790 model, is designed to clean various types of debris such as pet hair and dust on hardwood, linoleum, carpet and other types of indoor flooring but unlike newer models it doesn’t have a HEPA filter nor can it be scheduled.vacuum cleaner jualEditor’s note: Ever since iRobot released the 630, they’ve since improved their robotic vacuum prodict line and have released the 700 series, the 800 series and the latest – the 980 (now with WiFi connectivity and lithium battery).cordless upright vacuum cleaners reviewsFor those looking for automated help on cleaning their floors but aren’t willing to spend extra $$$ on premium features, this robot is a good alternative if you don’t mind the limitations.dyson vacuum cleaner switch

Editor Rating Bare Floor  Carpet  Pet Hair Removal  Ease of Use  Overall  Price It has the same 3-step cleaning system found in the 700-series robots but remember that the motorized brush found in the newer models have been redesigned so that less hair is wrapped around it. The two brushes counter rotate and act as a broom that pull hair off floors.plete specs can be found here.One thing to take note about iRobot vacuums is they move in a random pattern, so if you’re planning to watch it vacuum it can be frustrating.Since it has only one virtual wall and can’t be scheduled, your best bet here would be to let it clean one room at a time.Use the virtual wall on the door so it cleans the whole room thoroughly and not get lost.Though it can clean more than one room without assistance, it may miss some spots doing so.Some consumers noted that it tends to bump into furniture repeatedly and cause some damage on them.One workaround for this is to put some padding around the sides to act as a cushion.

It doesn’t clean black rugs because of the cliff detection sensor – it thinks that it’s an open air space or a cliff (e.g. on stairs) hence it stops on its tracks.Before running this robot, always clear the area of possible road blocks like wires, scattered toys or litter boxes so it doesn’t bump into them and possibly creating more mess.Also leave a 3-foot radius around the charging base so the robot won’t have trouble re-docking.Does a great job on hard floors picking up dust and pet hair but it will struggle with certain types of debris like sand or large bits of paper.On short and medium pile carpet, it does a fairly decent job for maintenance clean-ups, but it tends to struggle on thick ones.As usual, use an upright or canister vacuum for deep cleaning on occasion.It can struggle on transitioning from hard floor to very thick rugs, sometimes it gets stuck trying to go over it or it just goes around it.Some consumers have reported of it getting stuck transitioning on half-inch rugs, so if you have thick rugs better to visually check if the robot can successfully transition without getting stuck before letting it clean on its own.

When it gets stuck though it lets you know.Also if your rugs have tassels, I suggest vacuuming it separately as those tassels can get stuck between the 2 brushes.Numerous pet owners are satisfied with its pet hair cleaning capabilities so it scores high marks in this area.They were happy because it helped them keep up the amount of hair shed especially during shedding season.Nope, it doesn’t have that feature.Unfortunately, you cannot set a schedule to clean but the iRobot 650 as well as the 700-series have the scheduling feature.The manual doesn’t specify charge times but it does say that you have to charge it 24-hours on its first use.iRobot recommends to empty the dirt bin and clean its filter after every use. Filters can be washed.There are no official run times specified in the manual, but according to consumer reviews it lasts around 90 minutes.Amazon consumers were happy with the after sales service, several of them had defective units delivered to them and iRobot sent them replacement robots for these defective items without too much hassle.

It comes with a 1-year warranty on robot plus a 6-month warranty for the battery.In Amazon, it got close to 300 reviews and out of those less than 25 were disappointed with it.Over 200 were happy with their purchase stating that it freed up time for them to do other chores in their homes.Mothers with little toddlers were particularly happy with this convenience especially on how this robot helped them clean up messes their kids made.Pet owners were also satisfied with the performance of this product as it did a very decent job in picking up pet hair on hard floor and low pile carpet. It will struggle though on thicker rugs and carpets.Among the complaints was its tendency to get “lost” on large open areas and getting stuck under furniture.Another complaint was its tendency to bump on furniture repeatedly causing some damage but to others it wasn’t much of an issue.The overall consensus though was positive with happy owners coming home to cleaner floors and spending less time manually vacuuming their homes themselves.

As of today, only 19 people left a review in the iRobot store and most of them were positive.Consumers were satisfied with its ability to pick up dirt especially on hard surfaces, and it with a press of a button it cleans their floors while they do something else.Some even mentioned that buying this is better (and cheaper in the long run) than hiring a house help to vacuum the floors for you.The complaints I found here had to do with it being noisy, inability to clean stairs, reliability issues and not areas under furniture.One of the few places that sell this is Amazon but from 3rd party sellers.Though an older model minus the premium features, it still is a good floor cleaner. This product would be great for busy folks like parents who would like some help in doing menial tasks like vacuuming and focus more on taking care of their kids.People with disabilities would also benefit from this as it they don’t need lug a heavy vacuum around to clean their floors.Take note though of its limitations – it doesn’t have any HEPA filtration so allergy sufferers may want to invest in a few hundred dollars more on a robot with this feature and it cannot be scheduled which isn’t a big deal because all you have to do is press the clean button and it’ll do its thing.