A quick follow-up to my review of the Roomba and US Trilobite.
As I mentioned in the review, Europe has a newer version of the Trilobite—v2.0. The description of the 2.0 version from Electrolux indicated 200 changes from v1.0 (which was Europe-only as well), but despite communications with a number of Electrolux representatives, I wasn’t able to get a list of the differences between the US EL520 model and v2.0.
Based on two particular items—scheduling and smarter navigation—and after ensuring the v2.0 model was compatible with the US chargers and accessories—I sourced one from the UK. (Interestingly, the list price of the Trilobite in Europe is much less than in the US.)
The 2.0 Trilobite’s software is clearly a later revision, and has a number of behavioral differences, as well as scheduling and a graphical “time to charge” indicator. Although advertised as adjusting its cleaning time based on obstacles found in the room, it does not seem to act any differently (in this area) than the EL520. Most of the mechanical design seems to be identical to the EL520: I believe that the vast majority of the 200 improvements are already in the US version.
After using it for a while, I can say the scheduling capability is well done and nicely thought out. It covers the options you want, is easy to disable, and behaves as expected.
Overall, a minor-but-nice improvement over the EL520. If you need scheduling, I suggest sourcing a US charger on eBay (well under $100, if you can find one, as opposed to the ridiculous list price of $300) and importing… who knows when—or if—Electrolux will bring these improvements to the US.
