I did see induction working. However, I ended up buying a DIVA sight unseen. I think the main things to consider are how the switches actually work - for example the Diva has an on/off switch for each burner, then low/med/high and/or single increment increases or decreases. It is extremely easy to operate. You might want to listen to the unit - mine makes a slight hum, but some people describe a louder sound. Also you should put pans on the unit to see if you like the burner configuration. I am very happy with the DIVA. Easy to clean, responsive, quick to heat water etc, no extra heat escaping to heat up the room.
Basically I was sold on the concept of quick response, easy cleanup and no opportunity to leave the burner on after the pot is removed.

Did you consider Miele? My store doesn't carry Diva.

In my research so far, it seems like it all comes down to personal pref. Nobody says one brand is lots more or less reliable than the others.

I did consider Miele, but the units weren't shipping when I had to make my final decision and I was afraid I would be without a cooktop. Have you checked out the induciton site? Tons of information

I bought my Miele induction after seeing a GE induction demonstration on how fast the water heats up. That's it :)
I also watched some videos online and asked a lot of people on this site.

I have to say I'm very pleased with my DIVA induction. There is a slight hum but it is hardly noticible. Induction so far suits my style of cooking - and it is very quick to adjust up or down. Clean up is so easy. So far so good.

I did the craziest thing... I bought a De Dietrich 308x induction cooktop from New Zealand (Cookpower/Prestige Appliance) sight unseen based on the rave reviews in this forum. I don't believe I even tried an induction unit at the store.

Why? Well, I tend to be a little crazy sometimes... besides that, I loved the fact that induction is so efficient, doesn't heat up my kitchen, and is such an incredible piece of technology. At the time I bought mine, which was about 2 years ago, there were few domestic units available that had any decent power output. I don't regret my purchase at all.

Bought my De Dietrich from an out of state store, sight unseen. They were incredible to work with. If you're interested in a de Dietrich it was Salon Blue Ridge in North Carolina.

Ours has absolutely no hum but on the lower settings there is a clicking noise.

I believe the degree of "hum" varies with the type of cookware. My cast iron stuff never hums, but my All-Clad Stainless hums -- the smaller fry pans even vibrate and start to move on their own!

I had a scare a few days ago with my unit. In the middle of cooking it started beeping and these two strange symbols appeared on the display of every burner. It was like the letter "O" and the symbol to the right was just the top half of the "O". I freaked out, I thought something horrible happened. I turned off the circuit breaker for about a minute and the unit came back to life. It happened again when my partner was cooking, but this time the circuit breaker had no effect...

I did some online research and discovered it is a child lock! This feature isn't even covered in my De Dietrich 308X manual. I'm so glad there was nothing wrong with my unit. My heart completely sank when I saw that strange code blinking.

This actually brings me to another point. With any electric cooktop, you can only cook as long as it has electricity. With gas, you can cook even if your power goes out. There is something to be said for not being dependent on electricity for the most basic tasks, such as cooking.

OK, for those who bought sight unseen, what did you do in advance? For example:

Get estimate from electrician for induction circuit?
Actually get circuit installed?
Get estimate from appliance installer?

I would tend to get all that done first. Otherwise I would worry that the total cost with labor could be astronomical.

We knew we needed the circuit so it was built into the electrician's estimate, so I don't know exactly how much extra it cost. They had to install an extra breaker board for the whole kitchen so probably not much more for the 60A circuit.

We bought new construction, and at that point I had decided on the Viking 4-burner induction cooktop with oven underneath. I had the builder install two 50-amp outlets/breakers instead of the single outlet that was standard.

By the time we moved in, I changed from the Viking to the De Dietrich. The De Dietrich actually required less power than the Viking, I believe, and allowed an oven to be installed underneath. You should definitely have everything estimated ahead of time in order to know what you're getting into cost-wise.

Depending on which unit you are considering, you can usually download installation instructions as well as specification sheets from the manufacturer web site. Provide the power specifications to your electrician and the installation instructions to your carpenter or cabinet maker if you require any openings to be cut or modifications to be made. The appliance installer does nothing more than hook up the electrical on the unit and drop it into place.

I know that it's impossible to guess at a price for the electrician's work, but in a house with enough power (200 main breaker), is it likely that that would be MORE than the cooktop itself? Like, thousands of dollars?

Bought the DeDetrich 308X induction sight unseen about a year ago from Salon Blue Ridge. I LOVE it! I have actually had to have demo's as folks really want to see how fast it boils water.

Too funny, sshrivastava--the same thing happened to me!!!

Phrog, you should ask your electrician for an estimate and go from there.