Cordless vacumming, in a kind of blue.

We previously looked at another cordless vacuum cleaner in Proscenic's burgeoning range, the P11, back in April this year.

That model is still doing the vacuuming business for us, turning in a performance every bit as easy-breezy and satisfying today as it was back then.

Now there's a new model: the i10. It looks very similar to the P11 – and to many other similar vacuums, both in Proscenic's own range as well as those from its competitors – but this appears to be the ubiquitous style and silhouette of upright vacuum cleaners today.

The most obvious difference between the two machines is cosmetic: the i10 comes in an attractive metallic blue finish, whereas the P11 was various shades of classy grey with red accents. Sometimes, it's these little things that can make all the difference for some people. Blue is also the world's favourite colour, so it seems like a safe bet.

The primary technical differences between the P11 and the i10 appear to be motor power (450W vs 350W) and slightly fancier accessories and overall styling for the P11, but in real-world use there isn't much to choose between them. By Proscenic's own calculations, the i10's 350W of suction power still generates 25000pa of suction – the same as the (more expensive) P11.

Battery life is also very similar between the two models, with the P11's 2500-mAh battery array trumping the i10's 2200-mAh setup, but again, in real-world use, this only equates to a difference of 10 minutes of run time: 60 minutes (best estimate) for the P11, 50 for the i10.

Fair enough, if you have a particularly enormous or especially dirty house, or you're a professional cleaner with several premises to visit in a day, those extra 10 minutes could make all the difference. For most of us, we've lost interest in vacuuming after 20 minutes, so another half an hour's juice should be plenty.

The i10's charging station can either be mounted on the wall, so the i10 can be mounted with it, or you can disconnect the battery from the unit and charge it in a more discreet location. Being detachable, you could also have a second battery ready to go, if you've got a particularly big job on.

The i10 has three adjustable working modes: Auto, Eco and Max, which can be selected from the touch panel on the top of the filtration tank. Auto mode is, naturally, the easiest one to work with, as the i10 automatically varies its suction power according to the type of surface it senses. This is great for rooms with wooden flooring and multiple rugs of varying degrees of thickness.

Eco mode dials everything down to the lowest noise level and with minimal suction power for maximum battery life. While this may sound a bit useless, it's actually good for more delicate jobs and materials. You don't always need it to be running on full power, sucking the gold fillings out of grandma's head. Of course, when you really want to go all out, you can kick in the Max setting and feel the suction Gs.

There are some welcome smarts onboard. The LED touchscreen enables easy mode switching, as well as displaying visual feedback about battery level and any error alerts. One tap, you're off and cleaning. Another tap to change the mode, if necessary.

The i10 also has Proscenic's own 'VBoost Technology', which is how the machine can appropriately adjust its suction power when transitioning from wooden or tiled floors to shaggy rugs and carpet. An infrared sensor installed on the brush head effectively reads the room and ramps the power up or down according to what it encounters. This also helps eke out a little more battery life.

Filtration is every bit as good as most other machines on the market: Proscenic claims the i10's four-stage filtration system on the dust container will capture and lock in 99.99 per cent of fine dust and particles as small as 0.3 micrometres in size. That should be more than enough to take care of pretty much all the dust in a modern home, which is good news for anyone suffering with allergies and other respiratory diseases.

There are also three useful accessories supplied with the i10: a mini motorised brush, designed to remove dust and mites from beds, sofas and pillows; a round brush with an extension tube, to reach those high and awkward places, and a long crevice nozzle for digging into those tightly upholstered spots on sofa cushions and chairs. An optional extra is the 'Proscenic Pet Grooming Kit' (with hair clipper, brush, comb and soft tube), if you want to vacuum your dog/cat/rabbit/ferret.

Like the P11, the i10 also has LED headlights on the main floor brush, which is more useful than you might at first think – especially for underneath furniture.

The i10 is another excellent cordless vacuum cleaner. The great leap forward is the initial switch from a tethered machine to a cordless model. That's the seismic change: when you're no longer anchored by a wall socket and hampered by the length of the extension cable, you can finally reach every corner of your home with comparitive ease.

The i10 is lightweight and easy to handle and the suction power is there in controllable spades. How different it is to other, very similar cordless models on the market – including, as we said at the top of this review, Proscenic's own alternate offerings – is a separate issue and one that would require some careful cross-comparison of all the specifications.

Proscenic has done a good job of outfitting the i10 with enough power, onboard options and accessories to suit most people's vacuuming needs, so if you're in the market for a new cordless cleaner, it's well worth a look – providing you like blue.

RRP £159 (available at £139 at time of publication)

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