Wow, I just saw one of these in Bed Bath and Beyond today. For the time being, lets leave out the prices, and compare it to the very standard Vornado desk fan I saw on the other side of the table. First I turned on the Dyson, then I turned the Vornado on to a similar wind speed. I noticed three things:

1- the Dyson is freaking loud! it was way louder than the other fan
2- I disliked the way the air flowed on the Dyson. Essentially it throws out a cylindrical tube of air, which means if you're within about four feet of the thing, you feel a circle of air, with the center not blowing on you at all. It's pretty weird...
3- the Dyson is simply underpowered. I wasn't satisfied with the airflow. I had the Vornado on its middle setting, and it was still blowing harder while staying quieter. The highest setting on the Vornado was more than twice as powerful than the Dyson at its highest setting and only slightly louder.


Okay, now lets throw the prices back in. I checked the price on the Vornado - $59. Okay, that's a little pricey for a hunk of plastic with a motor, but it's about what I expected. So what's the price on the Dyson? $299!!! What the hell? Seriously? My mind was blown, and I could not figure out who on earth would buy that piece of crap. It's very well made, but it simply fails at being a freaking FAN! Not to mention, if you didn't mind a little extra noise, there was a tiny desk fan there that cost $20 and was still almost twice as powerful as the Dyson.

The "air multiplier" is officially a stupid product.