I did some research and decided to go with the PT730. It was getting good reviews and has a good battery life with the Lithium Ion battery. I also liked the fact that you can use it with the battery, or by plugging it into an outlet. This model also has the flip up trimmer which I wanted. It also has the ability to be cleaned by rinsing it with water. My previous shaver was brush clean only, so I was interested to try out this feature.
I got The PT730 at Target for about $50. It is about the same price online. Upon opening the package, the razor looked nice, not too expensive, but not too cheap either. It comes with a charger and a brush. They recommend charging it for 8 hours before you use it which I did. I found that the charger makes a hissing noise when it is plugged in which I thought was odd. It almost sounds like air leaking out of a tire.
Once charged, I tested it out. Pressing the button on the front turns it on. I found it to be pretty quiet which was nice. However, when you pop up the trimmer, it makes a lot more noise. I found the rotary blades to be quieter than my previous razor, but the trimmer is louder.
Next I tried shaving with it. I found the blades to cut ok. Honestly, I was expecting more. I thought it would cut a lot better and closer than my old Norelco, but really there was not much noticeable difference. I was surprised because this one has fresh blades while the old one has 7 year old blades which are also the old style. I also found that the way the rotary blades are set in, the edges around it protrude out, so shaving under the nose for example becomes a little difficult because the edge hits your nose. Overall the shave was ok.
Next I moved onto the cleaning process. The shaver heads flip up and you can use the brush to clean it out and then rinse it with water. I found the inside to be a lot deeper and more spacious than my previous Norelco. On one hand, this is good because there is more room to collect the hair, but on the other hand, it makes it much more difficult to clean. First I tried the brush. It did not work very well at all. It is pretty much impossible to get in there with the brush to clean out the hairs which are at the bottom. Next I tried the water method. This worked ok for the top and got out most of the hair, but there was still some at the bottom that would not come out even after the rinse. I found this pretty disappointing.
After the wash they say to let it air dry. The directions say not to even dry it with a cloth or tissue as this can damage the blades. I find that hard to believe that a cloth or tissue can damage metal just by dabbing it. Anyway, I let it air dry. I found the water clean method to be messy and less desirable than a dry clean with the brush. I also am weary about the long term effects of exposing the device to water even though it is made to be washed with water.
I will try it for a week and see if my opinions change. They do offer a 45 day money back guarantee, so if I still don't like it, I may have to see what other models they have that I might like better.
Update 10-22-13
I have been using the razor for a month and although I still feel the same way about it as mentioned above, I have decided to keep it. The battery life is very good. I have only had to charge it twice so far. Shaving under the nose is still difficult due to the wide border on the razor and cleaning all the hairs out is still difficult even with the water. If I was to buy another one, I would probably go with the line under this one that does not have the water cleaning. That one is less expensive and cuts just as well.
Update 5-23-16
I have had the Norelco PT730 for a few years now and it is still working pretty well. I recently put a new set of HQ8 Replacement Heads on it as recommend to keep the cutting blades working well. I expect it will still be good for several more years.
I agree with u it's pretty quiet, produces OK shave, and very comfortable.
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