Russell Hobbs Brita Glass Kettle RHK550

Great concept, but in practice it's frustrating – I bought this kettle because my last one was glass with a blue light, which I liked aesthetically and this one was the only model available also with a blue light. It was reduced from $149 to $79 at Harris Scarfe. However when I got it home... 3 problems: ONE, this kettle takes ages to fill (the instructions say "up to 2.5 minutes") because the water must seep through the bulky filter. Filling must be done in 3 stages; TWO, the kettle holds about a third less water than similar kettles because of the internal space taken up by the filter and housing; THREE: it's recommended to change the filter once a month. So a year's filters will cost almost double the purchase price of the kettle... every year! SOLUTION: remove the filter and housing from the kettle. The instructions say CAUTION! DO NOT USE THE KETTLE WITHOUT THE FILTER IN PLACE - IT MAY SPIT BOILING WATER. Of course it doesn't! This manipulative warning annoyed me so much it prompted me to write this review. My fridge has a filtered water dispenser and I fill the kettle through that. A far cheaper and quicker alternative is to buy a Brita jug and filter to fill your kettle with filtered water. As a normal kettle this functions satisfactorily. The filter feature is an appealing but inconvenient and expensive gimmick.