Flawed, has problems, maybe next year. Get a Rocky or Mazzer Mini instead.
Positive Product Points
Assuming you get one that works, it seems very capable of very nice grind quality. The portafilter forks seemed just right for the most part, but you may need to lift it a bit to prevent spillage. The oversized trunk of a chute on the front does a pretty good job of preventing a mess. The timer can be useful if you don't vary your bean type and dose size.
Negative Product Points
After purchasing the grinder I found a lot of instances of continuing problems relating to the timer board. Supposedly it had been fixed a while back so that's why I bought it in the first place. But days later I hear about another person where it shorted out, not a good sign.
The chute/snout/funnel the grinds go down seems to have quite a bit of static. Every time I opened it some grounds would come out and down inside the machine via four holes in the top that seem to serve no purpose other than letting grinds fall inside onto the timer board directly below.
Burr life is questionable, I did not open it and take a look but other people on the forums have said they do not appear to be of great quality. Probably more of a problem in light commercial use though.
The timer adjustment is terrible. You need to keep a small screwdriver by the grinder as that's the only way to adjust it. It is turned on by a small red button next to this timer adjustment hole. If you change bean type and grind type frequently, this will get really old, really fast.
Detailed Commentary
I think I've covered it all in my positive and negative points. I ended up returning the grinder because they seem to be discontinued until they work out these design flaws. I just didn't feel comfortable owning it wondering how long it'll hold up or maybe I'll be one of the lucky ones.
It did do admirably as far as grind quality goes. Certainly more than enough to choke my rancillio Silvia. Very nice and uniform.
Maybe the new model will be better next year, but for now I'd stay away. I gave it a 6 overall because despite the flaws it stil did grind well. Usability isn't good in my opinion because of the timer. You need to always be adjusting it with a screwdriver and that is just terrible design for a home product. In a commercial setting it would be fine because you don't need to change this very often. I guess you could say this is a light commercial machine with too many hard edges and some design flaws. I'll be getting a Mazzer Mini instead.
Buying Experience
Gomez Coffee is a great store it seems overall. They understood my concerns and let me get a refund on the grinder. They also stopped selling the grinder because of quality concerns. It's too bad they don't sell Mazzers.
