Philips Viva Collection HD4928/01 2100-Watt Induction Cooktop, Soft Touch Button with Crystal Glass (Black)

FIRST.. a note: Amazon needs an hour to upload my 5min video, so i dont know if it will appear in my review. I bet many of us have many useful and practical suggestions for Amazon, but they do not seem to care.
SECOND .. Small heads up: a) This cooktop can handle only cookware with base dia (actual flat contact with induction plate) of 12CM to 20CM. b) Stir frying is always better with open flame i.e gas/wok/high flame outdoor burners etc. Saute on this cooktop will be just OK. c) Cooktime, heat transfer, temperature control all depend more on the cookware you use on this. The economical ones on Amazon wont give you best results. d) Do not leave cookware on the stovetop, remove after cooking(heat and weight issues). You can utilise the residual heat on the plate to warm up ghee or butter in any flat bottom dish after you turn power on cooktop off. Turn off mains only after fan has stopped and residual heat light goes off.e) If you like soups, like me, slow cook for 1hr (not possible on gas) to extract max flavor.

THIRD..the REVIEW: It starts with a big thanks to the manufacturer,seller,delivery agency,Amazon and all those anonymous support staff who made it possible for my new baby to be delivered home. RetailEZ , tyvm. I look for your name now and will pay extra to get same item from you than from others. Last time, i ordered an oven to arrive 2days before a kid’s birthday, they did not deliver it even though it reached the local delivery point and I was a PRIME member at the time. This time, i’m very happy.
About the cooktop… 2100W is very good. You need all the power you can get to try to make good stir fry on induction. Used 1200W earlier ocassions, stuff just gets boiled with hardly any caramelization. Preset MENUs… excellent. Manual, slow cook and pressure cook tried out, work awesome. SLOW COOK and Pause features are a dream for those who like to slow braise. NOISE LEVELs….decently low. good volume of indicator sounds and tolerable induction sound even at highest power. CLEANING… easy to wipe clean, liquids do not get into electronic or hard to clean crevices. A simple soft absorbent cloth kepty handy will go a long way to keep baby’s face nice n shiny. EASE of USE… controls are simple. IF in doubt, just press MANUAL, then adjust power/temperature with +/- buttons, standby like with gas stove. 2 or 3 times of cooking and you will get the hang of it. VALUE for MONEY… If this is the same Philips company that made my mixie, this cooktop will probably run till parts reach the end of their useful life. I’ll be happy if i can use this for five years and save up to buy the next new tech cooktop that comes along.
SUMMARY: Just buy it. This review is after 3 days use. But i have used induction cooktops a lot. I would recommend this one to my friends.
p.s: Video did not upload. Used to wonder why videos are so short in reviews, now i know. Anyways, it was a 5 minute video demo on a litre of water boiling in Amazons Solimo 3 litre dutch oven with induction base, it took 4.5 minutes to raise 24degC water to a bubbling boil.ty an good day.

This is my 3rd purchase of this Induction cooktop by Philips. I got 2 of these in Oct 2017 and both are working good so far, without a single issue. Earlier it was for my relatives but this time requirement came from my own kitchen. So without any second thought, I ordered this one, owing to wonderful past experience with the same product.

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🎁 INSIDE BOX
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→ Induction cooktop
→ Safety leaflet
→ User Manual

Cord length: 1.5 m approx
Max power: 2100 watts
Warranty: 1 Year

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➕ PROS
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1. Stylish & durable cooktop for the kitchen.
2. Works great with lots of preset options for cooking.
3. Works with a good range of iron/magnetic base cookware, bottom diameter 12-20cm.
4. Every mode has an accompanying led indicator above the button.
5. Manual mode in any induction is kind of a blessing to have full control over the cooking process.
6. Many preset modes can also be adjusted as per the required temperature and cooking time.
7. +/- can be used to adjust both temperature and timer.

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➖ CONS
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1. The only thing I miss here is a startup kit, which Philips if it includes, will be a fantastic addon.

Still it’s a 5-star ★★★★★ device for the price point.

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PANEL & BUTTONS
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Upper Row L-R
1. Manual button
2. Roti/Dosa button
3. Gravy button
4. Residual heat indicator
5. Digital numbered display
6. Stir fry button
7. Slow cook button
8. Pressure cook button

Lower Row L-R
1. Temperature button
2. Timer button
3. Decrease button
4. Temperature and power indicator
5. Increase button
6. Pause button
7. On/Off button

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USAGE TIPS
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→ Use utensils with induction base only. Normal steel utensils also work but are very less efficient. Aluminium ones won’t work here.
→ The glass plate gets hot during usage. Handle it with caution. The residual heat indicator remains on to show the status of heat.
→ The plastic body surrounds the glass and even the control panel is plastic made. So make sure to handle hot utensils carefully avoiding contact with the plastic body. I had my induction’s control panel zone deformed due to this.
→ Keep vents clean and have sufficient space around induction, for it to have proper forced air circulation. It’s an important process to keep the internals cool as its all electronics inside.

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IMPORTANT ADVICE
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▶ Never ever let liquid spill on the induction. It’s the major cause of failures in these cooktops. Water or liquid seeps in through the joint of the glass and control panel and damages the electronic circuit there.

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🏆 VERDICT
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Philips goes by the name and never disappoints wrt quality and performance of the product. That’s my experience so far with a range of Philips products.

▶ In 2k+ range, this one is recommended without any second thought. Philips also has another model with further attractive looks and touch interface, but that costs 1k more for nothing extra in terms of core features.

▶ Getting a cheaper one is not recommended as you face a lot of issues and generally these devices are not easily serviceable. So to avoid trouble, get a good one. I have tried many different brands like Havells, Prestige, Pigeon, etc but the experience was not good. I even got them repaired 4-5 times but now all are lying in the scrapyard.