I’ve got an LG microwave with a similarly complex layout, but also a “Start” button. Each time you press this button, it cooks on full for 30 seconds. We’ve had this microwave for about 7 years, and have only ever used this button, even to the extent of pressing it 10 times for 5 minutes.
That’s why I bought a microwave oven that has only 5 buttons (add 10 minutes, add 1 minute, add 10 seconds, change power / grill, start), but to simply turn it on, you hit the “Start” button and it turns on for two minutes with max power, easy as you can get.
The important thing was, when choosing the oven, that the most expensive ones actually had MUCH less controls than the el-cheapos. And it was impossible to find a good company oven with knob or two - they all must have digital controls. And yes, it’s really essential for an oven to serve as another green ghostly light in your kitchen.
Options are the sign that the vendor does not have any clue what problem the machine solves. And this knowledge is inverse proportional to the number of options.
A similar issue with digital camera’s.
If two variables on a uwave (time power) confuse the average user, try three variables in photography aperture (f-stop), time (shutter speed) and sensitivity (ISO); not to mention color temperature or focus. How many people take their digital camera off the auto setting? How many would even consider going into manual mode? We live in a point and shoot world.
That must be an american thing. I’ve never seen so many buttons on new microwaves here in Scandinavia. Mine has three buttons and a time selection dial.
if you want knobs…
+10s
+1m
Stop
No start. the thing starts when you press one of the buttons. it stops / resets /aborts when you press the stop button. you can add time with the + buttons. multiple presses for adding more of the same.
If you need more than 5 presses, put it in the oven. It turns itself off after not doing anything for some time. It powers on when you open the door of the microwave.
So what’s the problem.
As has been noted, the microwaves here in Scandinavia have simple dials – I hate them and long for the fine control of buttons. When I know that a frozen pizza is best with “2 min 15 sec”, I want to type “215 Start” instead of dialing 2:00 or 2:30 and having it under- or overdone. Control fetish? Perhaps, but it’s just as easy for me to feel that everyone else is afraid of numbers. Absolutely no insult intended since what I’d really like to see is variety. Why not offer both kinds for all markets?
And you cannot do any repairs. The light bulb burned out on a Panasonic. They use special security screws. A new bulb install was over $50.00. Just buy a new one.
Couldn’t agree more. It’s a shame we’re in an infinitesimally small minority. Ask any person on the street (or just about any of the people developing requirements on the system I maintain that’s now EOL) and they will tell you that more features = better.
I tried to explain to my wife that the fact that I honestly cannot figure out how to properly use my stove is a failure in the design of it’s controls. She knows instinctively that we (she can’t figure it out either) are the morons and that whoever designed the thing is right.
reminds me of the Windows shut down menu. it used to be just shut down… now in vista you have the option to sleep, hibernate, relax, snooze, shut down, die, feign dead, or log out.
simple is beautiful.
Another great example of this is the new cell phone voicemail systems you encounter all the time. In the old days it was “Hi, you’ve reached the phone of so and so, please leave a message after the beep.” BEEEEP. And that was it. Now instead of beep you get “To cure cancer press #1245*02 to end world hunger play jingle bells by pressing the buttons, now to leave a message, which is really the whole point of this stupid service, please wait till I’m done blabbing about a bunch of useless stuff.” BEEEEP.
There is no worse design sin than to think it’s possible to “improve” a simple interface with a more complicated one. Seriously, all I ever do is press the quick minute button on the microwave a couple of times and open the door when I feel like it’s ready.
i can’t believe a post like this generated so many comments.
to answer the question, “quick, which button do you press?”, DUH! START! I thought it would be obvious.
Last time I checked a parts catalog (a while ago!) digital keypads were much cheaper than analog controls. Maybe instead of a design issue it is primarily economic? Not that this excuses it, having no explicit design effort is also a design effort.
I love digital controls, especially when I get to enter 99 seconds and the microwave doesnt convert that to minutes. I feel like Ive beaten the computer!
Someone at my office bought us a microwave oven having a knob instead of the now-traditional touch buttons. You push the knob to start the time setting, then twisted the knob for increments of 30 seconds. It was so different that it actually comes with a voice prompt on how to operate the thing. I was thinking the same thing: “This is progress?!” Now your point about the dial makes me rethink my satisfaction when we went back to a device with “normal” touch buttons.
Worst microwave horror story:
One place I worked, if the power went out, as it did from time to time, the microwave was unusable until you set the clock! If someone hadn’t told me I’d still be there trying to heat up my lunch.
I can’t imagine what the designers were thinking.
As to repairs, a microwave is pretty dangerous if the microwave tube is started without the door closed, or worse yet, with the case off. So it’s understandable. Still a PITA about the bulb, though.
Whenever I shop for a microwave, I have one question: does it have a “plus 1 minute” button? I always operate microwaves by just pressing that one button repeatedly, and I ignore everything else.
Microwaves in germayn are easier, to “analog” controls, one for time, and the other for power. Bought a more advanced thing with a sort of toaster in it, also just the two controls… and little icons at the power regulator shows if you had microwave / comined /toast power.
Quite easy (most of the time i just use the timer).
I know models with more complicated user interfaces, a friend of mine has one of them. First thing that does not work after some time was the display and afterwards it was even for him some sort of luck to get a special program like for warming up sthg.
I personally would say that the first picture is a typical US microwave. Who else would need a special button for popcorn? 
The real problem is that people assume more buttons = more functions but a microwave cooks you can vary the power, you can vary the time… and that’s it …
So two controls, or four for up/down controls, or a number pad (10), what are the rest for!
A popcorn button is silly - which brand, how much, what packaging, and what happens when this changes next month…?
try heating up a babies bottle that requires precisely 20 seconds in one of the old analog microwaves.