I was finally able to spoil myself with a quality shaver. Very nice machine. If you’re thinking of replacing what you have; save your money until you can afford this one. Don’t throw away your cash on any more cheap shavers, save & get this oneGreat razor! I've had two. However, this listing is not for Americans. The plug is European/EU. I had my old plug so I can still use that. But if you're buying new, you'll need a different listing that comes with an American plug.O.K., I have been shaving with an electric razors for OMG 65 years, most recently with Norelco and Braun. I used to be a redhead and apparently have thicker than average hair. The other brands had too small perforations and it would take me up to 15 minutes and several passes to finally get a decent shave. This Panasonic gives me a better shave with mostly a single pass and 5 minutes. I actually skipped a day and on the second day my beard was still better than after one day with the others.UPDATE: 2 MONTHS LATER. . . Well, I still am happy with this shaver, but have a couple of pluses and minuses. PLUSES: Almost 3 week battery life, still happy with how it shaves. MINUSES: Whoever designed the case did not communicate with whoever designed the shaving head. It seems like the head is pointing the wrong way relative to the shape of the main body. And, the main body seems to be made for staturally challenged people with small hands. I am 6'3" and wear a size 13 glove, if I can find them. For me the case/handle is too small by at least 1/3 or 1/2. Makes holding it awkward.I replaced my dads razor , same mod, of 5 years. My dad is 97, blind, and 1/2 deaf. He loves the razor , gives him a clean shave and he can find buttons to use. He also knows razor well enough to clean it himself.The first thing you need to know is that this shaver is way better than either a Braun or a Philips unit. I own the top of the range of both Braun and Philips, each costing around £200 at the time, and neither matches this unit for two reasons.(a) The Panasonic can cope with the Monday shave, without needing the trimmer, and without yanking my hair out. This was also true for the Philips, but not the Braun, which would pull the hairs out instead of cutting them. (In a fit of pique I eventually ripped out the 'yanker bar' from the Braun unit, which improved things a bit, but the closeness of the shave was never the same after I'd dismembered it.)(b) The edge trimmer is robust enough to, you know, trim. Crucially, the Panasonic can cut a straight edge. This was always a problem with the Philips unit because it can't cut a straight edge unless you replace the head, which is too much of a faff. The Philips heads also drop to bits and have to be reassembled every time you remove them. The Braun was pretty good in this regard, too.Taken together, on (a) both the Panasonic and the Braun beat the Philips, whilst on (b) both the Panasonic and the Philips beat the Braun.So why only four stars? Well, the on/off button on mine broke after a couple of months. Amazon refunded the full cost and took the faulty unit back, but the replacement cost me £30 more than I'd originally paid (probably because it was Christmas time). Products shouldn't fail like that. Probably yours won't. But that's why I'm only giving four stars.Its not my first shaver - had two phillips (one expensive Arc), two brauns (3&5 series) and I always found braun bit better for me, so I went with a foil shaver again. The budget was up to 150€ and after a lot of research I got this Panasonic Es-rf31 4 blade one, and Im happy I didnt go for the more expensive Brauns or Panasonics - it shaves clen and smooth and I get results in under a minute, while with the previous ones I never could shave in under a minute. My beard is medium thick, get no issues with cuts on the skin (never had though), nothing - smooth shave and thats all. Premium product at economical price. Buy this one - trust me.Not being in the first flush of youth I bought a foil shaver about four years ago as I had developed a tremor which left the bathroom looking like a slaughter-house after shaving. Well...it was never going to be as good as a wet shave but I got by (with the occasional sore face) but then... Then it broke and once more I trawled the Amazon pages. The Panasonic was a good price so I gave it a go. Wow! shaving is now a pleasure; close, quick, smooth and very gentle - almost as good dry as wet. The result is brilliant, am I ever glad that the 'other' make broke.This is a second-hand review as I'm acting as the mouthpiece, or fingertips, of the recipient :)He has used those ubiquitous cartridge-many-blade-disposables, and then got into DE shaving to save money in recent years (his preferred set-up being an Edwin Jagger D89BL and Astra SP/Gillette O'clock Yellows)..which he enjoyed but it takes time, a little more effort (standing over the basin, lathering, rinsing...trying to avoid nicks).20 years or so ago, he had a cheapie electric (will have to ask which) which he hated as it gave rubbish results, so he avoided them from then on! This purchase was treated with great scepticism, but he was curious to find out if electric shavers had improved over the years.He loves it and is amazed at the efficiency of this Panasonic! He says, take it slow and the results will be lovely and smooth - he's only tried a Dry shave so far (I did a post-shave check with a peck on the cheek :)).And he's impressed by the trimmer too (he suffers from that middle-aged scourge: hairy ears, nose, back of neck, you name it!).Looks like the DE razor is being quietly retired for the time being!I've alternated blade-shaving and electric-shaving all my life, and I've always bought Braun. The reviews for this Panny were so good that it seemed too good an opportunity to miss.Unfortunately, it doesn't even do the basic job sufficiently well: it fails to cut close unless you press it so hard into your face that it rips your skin apart (or seems to). Even my ancient blunted Braun did a better job.In summary: poor cut; you have to go over the same areas again and again (slow); the heads are large so access under the chin is troubled.Battery life was good though.I will never buy a Panasonic shaver ever again.