Lighting Up Your Dirty Secrets

This new cordless vacuum cleaner is relatively affordable and has something its competitors doesn’t — lights.

- Celine Tan

When did vacuum cleaners get so sexy, and become something we actually look forward to reviewing? It all started with the Dyson V8, with its sleek design and light and cordless power cleaning. Suddenly, vacuum cleaners went from clunky suckers you lug around the house to swishy electronic magic brooms you can breezily flit around with. And now that other electronic brands have hopped onto the cordless bandwagon, consumers who can suck up the higher price tag of a cord-free sucker are never, ever getting back together with a traditional vacuum cleaner.

We reviewed the new Philips SpeedPro Max Stick Vacuum Cleaner FC6823/61 recently, and let’s just say we didn’t want to give it back. Here’s why.

1 It’s $699, which is cheaper than other cordless vacuums on the market. Market leader Dyson, which is still the most sought-after brand, is selling its V8 model at $799, and the newer Dyson Cyclone V10 at $899 to $1,199. The Bosch Unlimited cordless vacuum is $1,399. We’ve only tried the V8, and while the cleaning power of the V8 and the Philips SpeedPro (it uses the PowerCyclone 8 technology) are comparable, the Speedpro has something the Dyson doesn’t have, which is…

2 An LED nozzle which reveals all your dirty secrets.