I used this at my mother's house over Christmas and must say that this is not a good blender. There is no noticeable difference in the 12 speeds - only between speeds 1-6 and 7-12 and I had to repeatdly turn off the blender, dig in there with a spoon to stir up the fruit (or ice) and then turn it back on again, then it turn off , dig in there with a spoon to stir up the fruit (or ice) and then turn it back on again... And even then I didn't get a well blender smoothie/milkshake.I personally own the "Oster 4093-8O Classic Beehive Blender, Chrome" and love it (I have a review there). Its well worth the extra $7.22 - makes SMOOTH drinks on one blending cycle.