I have some experience with full size cordless cleaners. Tacony has made the cordless Freedom/SupraLite models now for more than two years. They have made two engineering changes - a removable battery pack as well as increased motor speed. The battery (at full charge) lasts almost an hour, and the cleaning ability is excellent. The huge bag holds a TON of dirt - months worth in most homes.
However, they have only a perfunctory appeal to the average person. It's the older customer who really is intrigued enough to make the purchase. MANY say they don't want a cord to trip and fall over. Younger consumers never really think about falling over a vacuum cord.
The one thing I hear over and over again from people who actually Bought a cordless Riccar or Simplicity is: they clean more of the house than they ever intended (that's a good thing). At the closet to get the vac to clean up a small area, the customer turns ON the vacuum and runs it from the closet to the area they wanted to clean. Along the way, they poke into the bedrooms (since the machine is running), and they use it far longer than the 'moment' they intended to.
Funny that Dyson doesn't intend to put any more money in research for his corded line of sweepers, but still hasn't got a canister with an electric power nozzle. A stick vac will never replace a full size vacuum in most American homes, but will be a good 'quick pick up' machine. Now if I lived in a very small apartment in Europe, that would be a different matter.
