Side by Side Comparison of: Panasonic vs Oster

This is a great product. I especially like the sensor feature. It allows younger members of the family to use the oven without having to know exactly how long to reheat something. It's got a solid feel and a sleek look.

Excellent microwave. Perfect size. Fits standard dinner plate. Heats incredibly well and is the first microwave to defrost without cooking. Only complaint is that there is no light when you open the door. However, if you are in a well lit room this is not an issue at all. Overall excellent product and I would recommend to anyone looking for a small-mid size microwave.

Clean lines powerful heater, simple to use control. Really like it.

Read the reviews beforehand, they were OK. We've been using it for several months now and it is the nicest microwave we have ever had. The sensor reheat works great.

works well, the inverter system takes a little getting used to, certainly can cook things on a lower level

We have a relatively small counter space. This oven was ideal for our needs. The sensor feature is very convenient.

Great microwave, looks nice on my counter and have had no problems since owning.

The microwave is great. Small enough to fit in a small area, but works like a large model. Even has,a turn table for even heating

Powerful microwave. Cooks our food super quickly. And I love the stainless steal look of it. I just wish it had an easy on button. I have had it a couple months and I haven't had any issues with it.

Arrived promptly and was well packaged. I have tried about every function that it has and everything works very well. I would suggest that one should read about the functions in the Owners Manual as some are different than my last oven. Love the ability to leave the timer going while cooking something at the same time. Cooking power seems commensurate with the advertised 900W. My favorite though is the Defrost by weight function. It is dead on. Just defrosts, does NOT cook!.

I purchased this for my 92 year old father when his broke down. My brothers got him one from Walmart and he hated it and it broke after a month. So I ordered him this one and he loves it and works very easily for him, which is amazing since he has trouble learning anything new.Very happy with this purchase.

I never thought I would be giving this budget microwave five stars. I really go through microwaves and don't mind when they break after 3 or 4 years. But when my rather expensive Panasonic model broke just short of 2 years I was fed up with that brand and decided to quit paying so much for microwaves that fell short.I love this model. I don't miss the larger carousel or the huge thunk closing the door. It doesn't have quite the power but who cares about a few extra seconds. I love that it periodically reminds that I've left something in the oven. And if it breaks after two years I can afford to buy another with the money I saved. And I will buy another Oster!!

Great Microwave Oven. Only disappointment was the poorly back lit display, which is unreadable due to glare and low brightness. Wish I could see the time.

Machine looks good, works well. Price competitive.So far so good. This is the third microwave I've purchased in the last year.. A low end Sharp machine and a low end Kenmore machine both failed within three months of purchase. The first Panasonic I owned was given to me used, by a friend. It lasted about 20 years. Maybe I shoulda stuck with Panasonic.So far so good.

Works as expected, but the sensor reheat function is a bit hard to understand-- always takes everything up to sizzling/boiling. Also, it seems louder than my last one (which was a similar model but without the sensor features). Not "it's broken" loud but just... louder than I expected.

I've had this microwave for 6 months. I don't mind that light is not on when the door is open, it encourages me just to leave the door cracked until I need to use again to reduce wear and tear on the door latch mechanism.The numeric keypad seems to give problems once in a while, like the numbers 1-6 won't work and the 7-9 will. Since we normally just use the "+30 seconds" button anyways, this is not a deal-breaker, but after a few cycles, all the buttons will start working again. I just like things to either work or remain broken in a consistent manner ... hard to understand when sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.I like the looks of it, and it seems to have a deceptively large amount of capacity on the inside. It's not the Tardis, but our old microwave was roughly the same size and shape and this one seems to have a lot more volume.

Great microwave. Weird that the light doesn't come on when the door is open...only when the oven is on!

Only real complaint is that it is noisy. I honestly haven't taken the time to learn how to use the sensor feature.

Pros: Good price, small footprint with a compartment large enough to fit my needs, seems to be working fine.Cons: There's a little bit of wear showing on the start button after only a weeks' use. Some things require more button presses than they should.

This affordable microwave is perfect for smaller apartments or limited counter space. Stylish metal and black trim is a nice complement to most kitchen decor. But most importantly, it cooks, defrosts and warms up things affordably.

Doing a fine job so far, except if it's a small container and I out it in the middle it will not heat it as fast as if I put it in the edge. But for its price, and its quality of materials, great microwave. Recommended ;)Doesn't make any strong noises, it looks awesome, good size, nice control panel, etc.

Overall, a fantastic microwave for the money. Only criticism is the feet which, not being rubber, slide across non-coarse surfaces like countertops.

Bought it for our wet bar to avoid 2 flights of stairs to the kitchen every time. It's quite roomy for its size and although economical, has the looks of pricier ones. The display is large and bright enough to read from a distance. Overall quite happy with it.

It works great and has been handy to have in the kitchen. However, I would caution it is probably best suited to just warming items or making popcorn. Not enough power for properly cooking some frozen dinner items. This has only 900 watts, which is fine for most things, but 1100 watts is needed for many frozen foods. Just buy according to your needs.

So far so good for the past three months.

nice microwave, but it claims to not cook food during inverter turbo defrost. not true in my case. heats quick tho..

I only just received this and it does seem to do an excellent job of being a microwave. However, it does NOT have the keep warm feature advertised. Also the one touch buttons are totally misleading. This has the dumbest set of control features I ever came across. That's why I deducted two stars. If you want the lowest power setting (range 10 down to 1) instead of pressing Power 1, you have to press the power button 9 times. Similarly, if you want to use the sensor program to cook potatoes (option 7) you don't press Sensor 7, you have to press the Sensor button 7 times. As a professional software designer myself, I would fire the person who created this nonsense.Now I have to see how durable it proves to be. Some worrying reviews here of early demises.

Works well, does not have the warming feature that was stated on website.

I knocked two stars off for the display, The viewing angle on this thing is just awful at anything other than a head-on right angle. Even in pitch darkness, the display's own illumination manages to scatter enough to make the display look like all bars are fully illuminated. Imagine an alarm clock that looked like it reads 88:88. I'm 6 feet tall, and have to bend in half to read it on my countertop. My 5 foot tall roommate still has to hunch over to read it. I can read it just fine if I'm sitting at the table, though - I guess that's alright, since I can keep an eye on it while I wait.The awfulness of the display can't be overstated - Unless you have this microwave directly at eye level where you install it, it may as well not be there.This microwave is louder than I expected, and seems to vibrate considerably - It's enough to make my toaster on the opposite side of the counter (and opposite side of the kitchen sink) vibrate and rattle audibly.Aside from the noise profile and display, I'm very happy with this microwave. I'm on a diet, and eat a 100 calorie tiny bag of popcorn daily. My previous microwave would manage to burn the bag, nevermind the popcorn inside, before most of the kernels popped. This microwave hasn't burnt the popcorn yet, which is impressive if you've ever dealt with the single-serving bags before.

ONLY SHORTFALL IS THAT THE INSIDE ONLY TURNS ON WHEN YOU ARE USING THE ITEM. MY OTHER PANASONIC MICROWAVE ALWAYS LIT UP UPON OPENING THE DOOR. ASIDE FROM THAT IT WORKS WELL!

The feet on the back of the microwave are not rubberized, so it tended to skid around when the door opener was pressed. This was remedied by a non-skid mat underneath. Other than that, it works well.

This microwave runs fine. Knocked one star because the control panel is totally flat so there is no tactical indications for the 'buttons.' To add insult to injury, the panel is printed in black on a grey field, so one cannot see the 'button' locations in dim light.

It's alright. Buttons are hard to press at times. We just use it for basic heating, none of the special features. Heats fine. It's pretty load, can here it from across the apartment.

Standard size microwave, sleek look, works well. Would give 4 stars, but it arrived with a significant dent in the right side panel. It can't be seen from the front, so I'm not worried about it enough to send it back. Though, I halfway wonder if the low price was meant to reflect damage, like an outlet store, and wasn't mentioned in the description....

Really good for the price, but I can tell not top quality in comparison to microwaves I have owned before.It looks good and worth the price. Just don't expect it to be top quality.

This is a simple functional microwave, nothing fancy. Can't control beverage settings -- 1 cup is one full minute plus which makes the coffee scalding hot so have to watch. Lacking certain settings, like "soften", and the defrost settings are pretty primitive. However, it does the basics and that's all I wanted, and has a small foot print which suits my small kitchen.

My main complaint about this otherwise decent oven is it's hugely noisy fan. That's a disappointment because such a powerful fan is both unnecessary and intrusive.I will add a comment about "Inverter Technology", which uses electronics instead of a transformer to generate the high voltage needed for its magnetron. When a transformer technology oven is set for half power it cycles on and off, whereas inverter oven runs continuously at half power. Inverter technology saves weight, but makes zero difference in cooking or thawing. It shameful marketing hype for Panasonic to claim that inverter technology "delivers delicious flavor, and defrosts faster".for even cooking and delivering delicious flavor and Inverter Turbo Defrost for quick defrosting

I have only had this a couple months and the light in the display does not work.

What microwave doesn't have a light that comes on when you open the door? It lights up when it cooks, but when the door opens is apparently asking too much. Our POS Hamilton Beach that we paid about $60 for that this replaces had no trouble with what I would have assumed would be as standard as having a door. Or a plug. And at a hundred and seventy dollars? I thought this was such a basic feature that the idea of checking the specs to see if it was a function never even entered my mind.Oh, and the digital display is hilariously awful. From any angle other than straight on, all you see are eights. Our microwave sits on our kitchen counter, a fairly typical location for a microwave one might think. If you want to be able to read the display, you have to either back way up or bend down to the point of being almost eye-level with the display.At this point, I don't even care how well it prepares food. These two stupid issues are enough to make me hate it. But the cost of returning it makes it not worth it.Panasonic makes good products by and large so I'm not letting this turn me off from the company but this particular product is just plain stupid.

I wish I can give more stars because ot was. Great price but it cooks so unevenly. I have microwavable foods md it my other 2 microwaces at my moms house it cooks perfectly. This one one half is overdone and half raw. So disappointing because I only opened it when it was too late to return

Doesn't have quick buttons so you have to type the entire time out then press start, also, the door button doesn't open the door. You have to hold the button and then open the door with your other hand. Only worked for 1 day before the door began to "stick"

My microwave was beautiful. Worked fine for 2 months. Now it will arar up, run, and shut off within 3 seconds no matter what setting it is in. Ister used to be a super reliable brand. What happened??

Product worked great....Only problem is that the covering for the key pads is already coming off. After 2 months of a 4-person OFFICE use, i.e. maybe 3 times a day

When I got this stuff, the contral panel is almost separated from the body. I was so shocked!!! It is unsafe! What's more, reheating dishes would make things extremely dry! I don't know how to deal with it and this is my first time buying an electrical equipment at Amazon. I feel so disappointed and the stuff is so disappointing! One thing to make me a little bit comfortable is that it can run like a normal one.

Ordered ~10/21/13 and stopped heating ~12/20/13. Used daily, but not excessively. Timer, lights, display works, but no heat. Less than two months and not working properly, I wouldn't recommend this product

Stopped working correctly. Shuts down after a few seconds. Its two months old!

Buyer beware. This microwave worked perfectly for the first six months. Then the bottom of the key pad (including the buttons for the power level, timer/clock, 0, 7, 8, and 9) stopped working. Eight months in, the "Quick 30" button no longer works. It's only a matter of time until the Start button quits, too, and then we'll have to get a new one (and try to find some way to dispose of this hunk of junk).

After a year of subpar performance (kept shutting off - no fault of home wiring), it finally gave up yesterday.

It worked fine for one year, but after owning for 13 months, the inside lit up and side panel fried while heating up some mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving day. We weren't using metal or any questionable materials. Very disappointed in the short life of this microwave. No support from Panasonic after 12 months.

I had this product 45 days when it stopped working. It was too late to return through Amazon so I went directly to Panasonic. First of all it was difficult to navigate Panasonic to find out what or how to get it fixed. When I did finally get to an operator (who was less than friendly), she said the local servicer is a company named Colortronics located about 50 miles away. I sent Colortronics an e-mail and left a voice message. It has been 7 days and I still haven't heard back from them at all. We decided to take the defective microwave to our local electronics recycle center and have it trashed. In the meantime, after being without my microwave for more than a week, we bought a new one from a local store. I am very disappointed in Panasonic for not providing adequate warranty coverage and just won't make that mistake again.

Bought two of these, and only one is left working, the other broke within 3 months...ridiculous... It's powerful but if one doesn't last then it's not worth it. I would not purchase again and would advise you not to. Even a cheap one would be better than this one!!!!

Ordered this microwave and received it fast and on time. Set it up in the kitchen and thought all was great. Went to use the microwave for the first time and it doesn't work. Makes a loud buzzing noise, gets hot on the outside and smells like it's gonna catch fire. Immediately went to Amazon for a return, which has never been a problem in the past. Don't know what is going on but it has been five days now and it hasn't even shipped. Perhaps I just got a bad one. Either way I am very disappointed with Amazon for the length of time this is taking. Meanwhile, stuck at home with no microwave. Will update when and if I finally receive the microwave and it is in working condition.

My first purchase almost started a fire you replaced it however this morning it thru sparks inside the oven and thru sparks again this is beyond dangerous and the won't return or replace

BUYER BEWARE: This product was shipped double boxed, with no damage to the shipping boxes.However:1 It has 2 dents on the left side2. Glass was pushed to far right exposing the inside of the left trim.3. Major scratches to the bottom left of the door near the glass.4. Screws on bottom right appeared to be screwed in to far.Disappointed that this was probably a bad refurb. However, Amazon provided a 30% (partial) refund. I would have asked for a full refund / replacement, but I am dropping my daughter at college and we don't have time to mess with replacing. Product still works fine, its just banged up.

Microwave defective upon arrival. Upon plugging in and using, would not heat up. Called Oster technical support who was very nice, and after running a few tests over phone declared product broken since it wasn't heating. Had to package back up and send back to Amazon for refund. Will not order product again.

****PLEASE DON'T PURCHASE****This looks good thought it was a great price, however it randomly comes on and then doesn't shut off !!! I'm returning this back to Amazon its truly a piece of junk ! Shame on Oster for a horrible device.

The first one I received had the wrong glass plate for this model. It was nice to get a real person when I dialed the help number in the manual, but it turned out they don't carry the plate as a spare part. I had to return the whole microwave to Amazon, but the process was so simple, UPS even came to my house to pick it up. It was disappointing to get something that didn't work, but Amazon's return policy made it as painless as possible.The replacement works like a dream and even cooks more efficiently than my older higher wattage model.Update: June 14, 2014This model appears to have at least one major design flaw. As another reviewer reported, the oven arced with a loud blue POP underneath just as my mother closed the door on her instant oatmeal. I immediately unplugged it. Fortunately, we've recently had our kitchen redone with new circuits, wiring, and GFI outlets, so we didn't have the catastrophic problems another user had. Out of curiosity, I plugged it back in and everything appeared to work, except the food didn't cook. This indicates to me the arc was in the magnetron itself. Could be extremely dangerous if you have older wiring. I'm looking up recalls now, but all I'm finding is more reports of the same electrical problems on different models.I would NOT recommend this product to anyone. For the record, although Amazon is great for returns and such, I'm not expecting any help from the manufacturer.