This machine is designed to give baseline service in a rice cooker.  It uses a design  and technology over 15+ years old.  For the amount of money being charged you might want to consider getting a machine that at least has a retractable cord.
On the plus side - the pan heats well and is teflon coated; does white long grain and Japanese medium and short grain very well.
Be aware that the water markings on the interior of the pan correspond to cooking Japanese rice which uses a different ratio of rice to water than other varieties such as, wehani or short grain brown.
This machine has to be played with to do shorter grain varieties of brown.  It can handle long grain brown fine.
I would make the suggestion of looking at (all) the rice cookers there and find one that has the following things for the money:
1) stainless steel pan or aluminium pan lined with teflon; 2) retractable cord; 3) warming function;
An on/off switch is NOT standard on an Asian rice cooker.  It is due to the fact that in Japan and Australia there is an on/off switch right in the wall plug area.  The manufacturers did not take into account that Americans with their different outlet styles would be rice junkies (silly them).
Do not cook anything less than a cup or try for more than 3 cups.  Too little rice cooked comes out a bit odd while too much means your pot lid will pop up due to too much steam.
Oh yeah, that's another thing - the lid can make noise due to the steam lifting it during the cooking process (bubbling pot lid kind of stuff).  It is not dangerous so don't freak from the noise.
This machine is fine for the dorm or home.  But do examine the cost of the machine, the amount of rice you eat and the cost of the machine to features.
This machine is good but it is not great.
This machine is designed to give baseline service in a rice cooker. It uses a design  and technology over 15+ years old. For the amount of money being charged you might want to consider getting a machine that at least has a retractable cord. On the plus side - the pan heats well and is teflon coated; does white long grain and Japanese medium and short grain very well. Be aware that the water markings on the interior of the pan correspond to cooking Japanese rice which uses a different ratio of rice to water than other varieties such as, wehani or short grain brown. This machine has to be played with to do shorter grain varieties of brown. It can handle long grain brown fine. I would make the suggestion of looking at (all) the rice cookers there and find one that has the following things for the money:
1) stainless steel pan or aluminium pan lined with teflon; 2) retractable cord; 3) warming function;
An on/off switch is NOT standard on an Asian rice cooker. It is due to the fact that in Japan and Australia there is an on/off switch right in the wall plug area. The manufacturers did not take into account that Americans with their different outlet styles would be rice junkies (silly them). Do not cook anything less than a cup or try for more than 3 cups. Too little rice cooked comes out a bit odd while too much means your pot lid will pop up due to too much steam. Oh yeah, that's another thing - the lid can make noise due to the steam lifting it during the cooking process (bubbling pot lid kind of stuff). It is not dangerous so don't freak from the noise. This machine is fine for the dorm or home. But do examine the cost of the machine, the amount of rice you eat and the cost of the machine to features. This machine is good but it is not great.