For the most part, this refridgerator has done a good job keeping the drinks cold, and the size is reasonable: small on the outside, big on the inside, perfect for the dorm room. The interior is sound and the temperature is very cold, even on the minimum setting.
So why did it lose three stars? Because of one minor flaw, and one serious problem. The minor flaw is that while the fridge keeps the things inside cold, the top and sides get uncomfortably warm. Not enough to set anything on fire, but definitely not the thing you want to put your bare hand on for long. Good if you want to keep lunch warm though.
As for the serious problem-- the pipe in the back gets really, really cold. After running this for three weeks, my mother noticed that the fridge was leaking water. Upon further inspection, I noticed that it wasn't a leak...it was water dripping from MELTING ICE THAT HAD FORMED around one of the pipes in the back of the fridge, just outside of the insulation that had wrapped around the pipe. The chunk was about an inch and a half in diameter, and looked like a chunk of white foam wrapped around the pipe.
It took me 15 minutes to ease the ice off, then as I was inspecting the pipe under the insulating cover, another chunk of ice popped out. All told, it took about 20 minutes to get the mess handled, but I'm glad my mother noticed the water dripping when she did, otherwise, I fear that the fridge might have short circuited and cost us $100 in the process.
EDIT: In regards to the ice--the refridgerator's parts seem to be watertight, so you don't have to worry about the ice harming it. I do recommend that, should you buy this fridge, to either put some foam/insulation around the pipe to reinforce the one already present, or, more simply, just putting a tray under the ice to catch the drips.
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Purchased a Drink-O-Matic for my son at Sharper Image.Simple to set up.Worked perfectly right out of the box.Drink-O-Matic looks "cool", and cools sodas fairly well, but drinks are not as cold as a real refrigerator.Also, it makes a continuous fan sound.Not loud, just continuous.If cooling drinks is your top priority, buy a small fridge instead.But if you want a "cool" conversation piece, I recommend the Drink-O-Matic.My son loves it in his room.
